Refinery29:
The new iPhone Xs Max is the biggest yet from Apple with its 6.5-inch screen, which is all very well for those with big hands, but the rest of us – particularly women – will run the risk of a shattered screen every time we use it one-handed.
This hasn’t gone unnoticed, and Apple is facing a backlash for making phones that are too large to fit in the average woman’s hand. The tech giant also recently revealed that it would be discontinuing its 4-inch iPhone SE, which drew ire online.
My wife has small hands and has an issue with the size of her hand-me-down 6 Plus. But does Apple have a “responsibility” to make phones that fit every hand size? Where does it end?
My wife also has small hands. Her current phone is an iPhone 8 Plus. She doesn’t use it one handed very much.
Apple is the only smart watch maker I know of that makes a smaller sized watch. So they should get credit for that at least.
I vaguely recall big phones’ first major success was with women in Asia, and that popularity/demand eventually pushed Apple to go bigger themselves.
Anecdotally over the years I feel like I’ve seen more women with the big phones than men.
Hell I have a 6S plus and *I* don’t use it one handed a lot. I’m 6’6″.
My mom loves her 7 Plus. Easier on her eyes. And isn’t foolish enough to use it one handed without a case.
So what about the Xs? It’s the same size as an iPhone 8 essentially. The only crowd left behind is the SE crowd.
Why would you bother to link to this idiotic article? If someone has smaller hands just don’t buy the Max. I’m a fat guy and I won’t be buying a Mini Cooper. It doesn’t deserve a click bait article and it definitely would not deserve to be linked to on a respectable website like the Loop.
Count me in the disappointed group. I look at the lineup as currently constructed, and none of them look like iPhones I would enjoy as much as my SE. it’s nothing I have to do anything about right now: my phone’s battery is still healthy and I hope at some point to replace it to extend its life. I’m frankly not used to looking at an Apple lineup and thinking, “I wouldn’t want any of these.”
Oh come ON….
First, this article talks about the largest phone Apple is releasing. What about the regular XS?
Second, why is Apple evil here but Samsung et al are not? Where’s the ‘backlash’ against them?
Third, who says you have to use a phone one-handed all or most of the time? You have two hands. Use both.
PS: If you go to the compare page on apple’s site you can compare any 3 iPhones. I set that to compare the Xs, the 8 and the SE.
The Xs is 0.2″ taller than an 8. It’s an entire 0.14″ wider. WOW, these women really have a point! Oh wait, No they don’t, if the regular 6/7/8 were OK with them.
But maybe they were all SE users because we know Apple loves discontinuing products that are selling like hotcakes…
The XS is 0.74″ taller and 0.48″ wider than the tiny SE.
Yeah, that’s more noticeable but is even that really worth the outrage? Or maybe some people just can’t stop the outrage.
PPS: What, you guys couldn’t do this? It’s easy to link, but come on, stop and think about the claims like this before you reward thoughtless clickbait.
I ageee. John Gruber would trash this article so fast the author doesn’t know what hit him (or her).
Took one look at the article title and didn’t bother reading any further.
Yeah, of course it’s sexist, sweetheart. It’s part of a plot by the Patriarchy.
Took one look at some of the other articles this lonely cat lady has written, and figured she had no intention of buying one in the first place. Typical.
Now get back in the kitchen, and make Jony Ive a sandwich.
Somebody buys the biggest phone apple makes then complains it’s too big. FFS.
they discontinued the smaller phone to prevent trump from using the product.
I have to agree on this one. This whole story is just media noise / click bait. It will be forgotten by next week.
Hey, but if you want to start a campaign to make Giant Mini Coopers, I’m with you man. lol
Most of the people I know who have the Plus iPhones are women. They tend to use them with two hands when interacting with it. Many also have a Popsocket or similar handle attached to the back of the phone to facilitate selfies or one-handed operations.
Aaaaaand he’s back.
You contradicted your own argument. You can easily find a car that fits you, but people with smaller hands shouldn’t want a smaller iPhone than Apple now makes?
It doesn’t matter what reason she focused on that phone. Her premise was flawed regardless. People do not choose phone sizes for a single reason. There are people with large hands who prefer smaller phones and people with small hands who prefer larger phones. The size of ones hands when compared with the dimension of the device is but one factor. The fact that she attempted to speak for all women is what has everyone responding in the way that they are.
Would you say that all men would prefer the larger phone? We know that is not the case. Heck, just listen to all of the Apple-centered tech podcasts. Of all the tech podcasts I listen to, there is literally one person who prefers the larger phone. The majority clearly prefers the smaller model and those shows are almost exclusively populated by men.
Of the women I know, the split between which have preferred the plus phones over the smaller version is about even. In fact, the people I know with the smallest hands go for the largest phone every time.
For me personally, I have very large hands. They are 8 inches long from the tip of my middle finger to the base of my palm. I owned the 6 plus, 6S plus, and 7 plus phones, but currently own the X. I am upgrading to the XS Max. Even though I have large hands, I do not prefer the size of the larger phone when holding it. The X has been a dream to use. However, I do prefer looking at the larger screen. In other words, I am willing to make the sacrifice of how the phone feels in my hands to reap the benefit of having the larger screen. Like I said, there are many factors to consider when choosing a phone size.
And one last thing, the new Max is no larger than the:
• 6 plus
• 6S plus
• 7 plus
• 8 plus
The only difference now is that we don’t have a brand-new phone in the 6, 6S, 7, and 8 size category. The XS is close but not quite as small.
You missed the point. See my post above but basically… they’re complaining that Apple’s biggest phone is big.
She can want that all day long but apparently not enough people want it to make it worthwhile for Apple to make 4″ iPhones.
And leaving behind those who prefer smaller iPhones.
Possibly. As you suggested, we don’t know how well the SE was selling.
No, she cited the Max because it makes her point best if you don’t realize she’s complaining that the biggest phone is big (no sh!t Sherlock…). The fact is that the XS is effectively the same size as the 6/7/8 so the only people left out are the people who prefer an SE.
Let them go buy Android phones then… There are a lot of small Android ph… oh wait, there aren’t. But there’s no whiny article about that, is there?
So? Given that the SE didn’t sell well enough to even be continued, those people seem to have been a tiny minority. Or are you actually going to argue that Apple walked away from a large segment of the market just because?
Not well enough to continue it.
Granted. But the number of people here who regularly gripe about other things Apple has discontinued or neglected is relatively high, don’t you think?
Oh yes, poor women and their tiny hands. Yes, compared to many men who are not Trump, they may have smaller hands. But there are more women than men, they buy what they want. If the demand is there for a smaller phone that what is offered now, Apple will make it. Link bait, and should not be spread around.
Nope. Just whiny comments from overly defensive boys. “Let them,” indeed.
Yeah, I’m done with you. Attacking the people making the comments as whiny defensive boys just means you don’t have any real argument or at least you don’t have the intelligence to make it. Welcome to the block list.
“My wife…” “my mom…” So much of the discussion of how people who aren’t the primary tech pundits is based on how those “others” who get hand-me-down phones will be impacted. What if Apple released a _flagship_ device, say, a bicycle with a center bar, a bright pink phone, or a phone designed explicitly for hands the size of a typical female? How would the discussion be different for a product that men might be disinclined to use, or find difficult in some way? I’m not suggesting any sort of responsibility on Apple’s part. I am suggesting a little thought experiment.
(asking for “my husband”
You’re asking a lot of some folks here.
I’m not putting words in her mouth, but you might be. This is a quote from the article:
“The new iPhone Xs Max is the biggest yet from Apple with its 6.5-inch screen, which is all very well for those with big hands, but the rest of us – particularly women – will run the risk of a shattered screen every time we use it one-handed.”
My post was very measured, logical, and not focused on just me. I provided examples of both men and women who prefer both small and large phones. You are the one who is having an emotional reaction to this story.
I am trying to tell you that just because you have large hands, doesn’t mean you can’t drop the large phone either. We all have choices to make when purchasing a phone, but I know people with very small hands who use phones this size all day long, every day, and do not drop them.
Let me put it this way, if the larger phones are simply unusable by people with smaller hands, then there must be no women or men with small hands purchasing and using iPads. Is that the case?
The simple point is this, if the most important factor were how easy it is to hold and use a phone with one hand, then we would never have moved away from flip phones. The bottom line is that these are no longer just phones. They are handheld computers. And if you choose to use a larger one because it makes the computing things you do easier, then you might need to use both hands when operating it.
This is not some conspiracy and it is ridiculous to lump all people with small hands into one group and ascribe wants and needs to them as a group.
I have owned 10 iPhones: 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S, 5, 5S, 6 Plus, 6S Plus, 7 Plus, X. I used and loved all of them at the time. I used a 3.5″ screen for four years, and a 4″ screen for another two years. In other words, half of my iPhone use time has been with, as you put it, “a product that men might be disinclined to use, or find difficult in some way.”
Except here is the problem with your argument, I was not disinclined to use them. I did not find them difficult to use in some way. In fact, strictly from a handling and being able to use with one-hand aspect, I really do miss the 4-5S phones sometimes. But from a use-case of using the device as a computer, which is the reason I buy it, I absolutely do not miss them. In fact, I had a 4S in my hands recently and I honestly could not remember how I typed on that tiny screen and enjoyed using apps with such small UIs.
So even for those of us with large hands, it was always easier to hold the smaller phones too. It just wasn’t nearly as fun to use them and they weren’t nearly as useful.
Can you imagine trying to use MS Office, iWork, or the OmniGroup apps on those small screens? There are things that I use my iPhone for every day that would suck to use on those small screens. So while they were easier to hold and use with one hand, I’d much rather use both hands and get all of the added functionality that comes with the larger screen.
You need to stop. This isn’t about women vs. men. This is about choices and some people, like you and the author, trying to speak for large groups of people.
Add my smaller-handed wife to that group. She’d be using her old 5C right now if it was still getting OS updates, but she has an 8 now and still misses the ability to use her phone the way she prefers to.
And of course several commenters here showed up to tell her how wrong she is for wanting something they don’t. Priceless.
Oh, FFS. She cited the biggest new phone to indicate a trend, you puerile, defensive little boys.
This isn’t about most of you and your personal use-cases. Shocking, I know.
The list of presumptive if-thens you’ve incorrectly ascribed to my argument is interesting. They make it easier to presume a point of view that’s lots more extreme than anything I’ve said.
I agree that there’s no conspiracy. But there is a lot of defensive exaggeration.
Not well enough to continue it at 800% gross margin. Perhaps Apple might back off a bit and accept, say, 600% margin to provide service to a few smaller market segments.
Personally I think the discontinuation of the SE and iPad Mini was a triumph of data mining over judgement.
You… don’t understand margin.
Try not to put words in her mouth while making this about you. She was speaking for all women with small hands who would prefer a smaller phone than Apple now makes.
Fully burdened cost of production $100. Salling costs $25. Sale price $925.
Likewise. Buh-bye.
“…a phone designed explicitly for hands the size of a typical female”
First, you assume there’s a typical female and that all women with certain size hands necessarily want smaller devices.
Second, that seems to not have been true since the SE didn’t sell well enough to be upgraded or even continued. If so many women wanted a small device, why weren’t the SE sales high? Apple sells ~200m iPhones per year. If, say, 40m of those (or even 20m) were SEs do you really think they’d have discontinued that line? I don’t.
“How would the discussion be different for a product that men might be disinclined to use, or find difficult in some way?”
Well, men DID buy and use small iPhones for years, from the original 3.5″ device, through the 4″ 5S. Hell, I did and as above, I’m 6’6″ with pretty big hands.
It wasn’t optimal for those of us with larger hands and the screen was a huge compromise when reading or using informational services. But we did.
When Apple released larger versions in the 6 and 6+ tens of millions of people, some men, some women, bought them.
What was your point again?
Sigh. Never mind; thinking through a strategic analysis isn’t your strong point. It didn’t sell well enough to meet certain internal targets within Apple. That doesn’t mean there want a market or a need for it. With the iPod essentially gone and no low-cost iPhone (i.e. affordable by a middle schooler) left in the lineup where does Apple get its next generation of customers? But Cook will be retired by the time that dilemma bites.
I thought everyone was equal and the same now. What happened?
Yes, it’s about choices. And I’m only pointing out that one group of users would like to have a choice that physically suits them better. The article wasn’t a referendum on oppression.
Thanks, but I’m not speaking for anyone. Unlike several folks here who seem to be suggesting that the writer’s personal preferences are somehow invalid or inconsequential. Guess they all know better than she does.
“Large groups”? Yes, if “all women—and men—with small hands who would prefer a smaller phone than Apple now makes” is a large group. Is it? We don’t know. But even if it’s not, it’s still a legitimate gripe that deserves something other than ridicule.
I am neither being defensive nor exaggerating. I am listing factual reality of what is happening in the real world. What do you think I have to gain? And what reason do any of us have to be defensive? It isn’t as if Apple ONLY makes the Max size phone and is therefore limiting the choice of any person who wants the latest device. There are choices. That is why this entire article and the arguments supporting it have struck me as so odd. If Apple were only making the Max, then we could have the discussion that you and the author are trying to have. Until then, you are tilting at windmills.
Once again, she is making her argument based on the XS Max being too large for that group of people. And what I and others have been saying is:
1) The Max is not the only option.
2) You are making a different argument than that of the author. You have expanded it out to all phones Apple makes.
Not helpful in the least.
sexist BS. woman, small hands, been using the bigger phones since the 6 plus. and almost always one handed.
Yeah, I miss the 5c as well: my favorite iPhone. At the time I chose it, I knew I was passing on a great camera (the 5S was the first iPhone camera that took slo-motion video, and if memory serves was the first with Tru-tone flash?), the first implementation of Touch ID and 64 bits. But the 5c felt so good and comfortable to hold and use. I figured—incorrectly—that over the next two years those features would filter down to the 6c, and I’d upgrade then and get those things!
But we know now the 5c was a one-off. So then came the SE, and though it had the top chip and camera from Apple at the time, this time I was passing on 3D Touch, which I thought (and still think) is a pretty neat feature. Again I thought that Apple would eventually update the SE, and that might filter down. Again I’m disappointed to have guessed wrong.
I don’t know if demand has tapered off for real, or if demand really wasn’t there to begin with and it was just a means of using up a lot of 5 parts. Or perhaps the update will come in February like last time. Just color me disappointed.
Although I can see that interpretation, I look at it differently. Apple’s biggest phone got bigger, and its smallest phone got bigger (and its smallest new phone got even bigger than that). To look at the company’s iPhone lineup is to feel that if you don’t want a phone smaller than a 7, Apple is not serving you. And at least at this moment, it looks like in a couple of years it will be serving you even less.
They have shown a commitment to those who want bigger screens, and have not shown a commitment to those who want smaller form factors. The SE suggested they did have that commitment, but at the moment at least it seems they don’t.
As a member of that latter group, I have to wonder what that means for me once my SE gives up the ghost in however many years. Things might be different then.
Sigh. Never mind (hint: the SE wasn’t a $925 item – but then reality isn’t your shtick).
IN any event, the SE didn’t sell well enough to stick around. If it was so valuable to so many people, it would have. QED.
The iPhone XS Max is actually slightly smaller in width and height than the iPhone Plus. It’s a little thicker and the lack of bezel makes the screen significantly larger.
I’m a man with large hands and tried the Plus when it first came out and moved back to the smaller phones because I found the Plus too awkward for me. I think the theme is the same, it is less about hand size or gender and more about personal preference.
Ok.
Even despite that, I don’t want an Android phone. I want seamless connection with my other Apple stuff, and more importantly I want Apple’s commitment to privacy.
That means, I guess, that assuming my SE lasts a couple more years, and assuming the situation we’re discussing doesn’t change, that I’ll be choosing whether or not to carry a smart phone at all. Perhaps by then an Apple Watch will be sufficient on its own, or perhaps my (mild) efforts to use my phone less will have accumulated to the point I can walk away. *shrug*
Simple Answer: Facts don’t get clicks.
Exactly. Just like this whole situation.
I’m a man with small hands – the same size as my fiancee’s.
I don’t see “big phones exist” as a “problem” for me, let alone for an entire gender, which itself has not just one hand size.
I just won’t buy the Xs Max; I already didn’t buy Plus models. I like smaller phones.
This site is not a representative sample of Apple’s customer base.
Just by being here, we’re in the maybe .1% of enthusiasts.
You’d forgo all the advantages of a smartphone because you don’t want to carry something that’s less than 1/4 inch wider and taller? Just a wee bit over the top, no?
right because there can’t be a next generation of customers without the SE. And you think *I* have a problem thinking strategically? You’re the one making up things then, when called out, moving the goalposts. Try again. better yet, don’t waste my time.
Well it’s the convergence of some things. I’ve been trying to use my phone less, and succeeding mostly. There’s a balance there: a set of things that are core to my life that a smartphone enables or makes convenient; an enjoyment of using the device; the ability of other devices (device, really: Apple Watch) to do the same job.
I’ve been working at reducing the first, the second seems to be decreasing, and I feel that the third is increasing. If those trends hold for a couple more years, sure, it could mean dropping the smartphone entirely.
Yeah, I’m 6’2″ and I don’t use my X one handed much either. Sometimes when I’m sitting down, but half the time I’ll end up dropping it onto my lap. But my wife is 5’1″ AND has that Plus, so it’s a funnier image to me. 🙂
Jeez. Thanks for the invaluable contribution.
Agreed. But the tendency to gripe about the loss of something we can no longer have isn’t unique to enthusiasts.