One of the main challenges for smartphone manufacturers is finding the right balance between the portability of the device and the visual experience offered by its screen, and Apple knows this well by covering it in the size range of existing iPhones.
In this article, we will explore the importance of size on an iPhone from the perspective of ergonomics and usability, analyzing how it influences the user experience and to what extent it can affect our interaction with these devices.
The importance of size in phones
Without trying to make the typical easy joke: size and weight matter when making a phone, the size of the iPhone being one of the critical aspects in the design and user experience in these and in any other phone for that matter. several reasons:
Transport facility
A mobile phone is, by definition, a device that you carry with you. Therefore, its size and weight are critical in determining how easy it is to transport. After all. a lighter and more compact device is more comfortable to carry in your pocket, bag or hand, which significantly improves its usefulness in everyday life.
Comfort of use
A lighter and more manageable phone is more comfortable to hold during long calls, web browsing sessions or using applications, and since we use our mobile phone a lot for different things, this is very important. A heavy or uncomfortable phone can cause fatigue in the user's hand or arm, which negatively affects the long-term usage experience.
Ease of handling
The right size also influences how easily users can manipulate the touch screen and navigate applications. A phone that is too large may require the use of both hands to operate it comfortably, which limits convenience in certain situations, like when standing on public transport.
Multimedia experience
The screen size of a mobile phone is directly related to its overall size, and I believe no one can doubt this: a larger screen offers a more immersive multimedia experience to watch videos, play games and browse visual content.
But fortunately, thanks to technical innovations, having a large screen is not synonymous with having a large phone, since infinite screen solutions guarantee many inches in a relatively contained size, as is the case with current iPhones that are more than 6 inches without have to be a phablet and which we will talk about later.
Aesthetics and design
Size and weight also influence the overall aesthetics and design of the device, as mobile phone manufacturers seek to create devices that are both visually appealing and ergonomically functional. This means that They must find a balance between screen size, device thickness and weight distribution to create a design that is attractive and practical for the user, while forming its distinguishable identity as a phone.
For this reason, every time we see a phone that physically resembles an iPhone (and mobile phones like the one come to mind Honor 70 Lite or Oppo Reno8 Lite, for example), there is often a lot of talk about “phones inspired by the iPhone.”
The evolution of Apple in relation to weight and size
Apple has always tried to balance the size and weight of its iPhones to offer a device that is comfortable to hold and use, but still has a screen large enough to be functional.
A device that is too large can be uncomfortable to hold in one hand or carry in your pocket, while one that is too small can make it difficult to interact with the touch screen or view content and this is clear to any phone manufacturer. (Or it should have, although there were horrible phones for portability, like the Sony Xperia Z Ultra, which were excessively large and unwieldy)
In addition, the inclusion of new features such as more powerful cameras, larger batteries, or cooling systems can affect the physical design of the device, such as the rumored for the iPhone 16, They mean that the design of the phones has to vary from one model to another and that Apple has to “break the horns” more and more to find out how to find the optimal size and weight by adding those features without affecting the structural stability of the phone.
In the end, as we have said before, for Apple the most important thing is to guarantee portability and comfort of use in a device that is carried with you all day, seeking to find a balance between these considerations to offer an optimal user experience.
The size of the first iPhone
The first iPhone, launched by Apple in 2007, revolutionized the mobile phone industry not only for its innovative touch interface and wide range of functions, but also for its distinctive design and careful consideration of size and weight.
The first iPhone had dimensions of approximately 115 mm in height, 61 mm in width and 11.6 mm in thickness. As for the weight, it was around 135 grams. These dimensions made it larger and heavier compared to many of the mobile phones of the time, which generally had physical keyboards and smaller screens.
Although the first iPhone had a relatively large screen for its time, Apple managed to maintain a balance between screen size and device portability. This was achieved by removing physical elements such as keyboards and buttons, allowing the screen to take up most of the front of the phone without excessively increasing its overall size.
The sizes of all existing iPhones
And although we could make it easy here and list the size of the iPhone by model, we have decided to group them by family and screen size, in order to have a direct comparison of several different models on the market.
iPhone less than 4 inches
In this section of the size of the iPhone we would have the initial model, the 2007 iPhone (also known as iPhone 2G) covering all launches up to the iPhone 4S, which was the last to offer this size.
It is important to note that it lasted for quite a few generations, but in the end the market with the trend towards larger phones and the subsequent emergence of phablets made this screen size obsolete.
iPhone between 4 and 5 inches
In this family of phones we have the timid approach that Apple made to the phablet format and at the beginning of the use of larger screens like those used by Samsung, LG or Huawei, which were beginning to be serious competitors of the iPhone.
This would include all the phones that were launched between the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 8, including the versions of the 5S called “iPhone SE”, which were designed for all those who were looking for a small screen but did not want to give up the latest features.
iPhone over 5 inches and up to 7 inches
And here we would enter the current classification of all modern iPhones that were launched on the market since the iPhone “infinite screens”, they managed to standardize that a phone with a big screen didn't necessarily have to be huge as happened in the past.
The elimination of TouchID, the implementation of the Notch and the final elimination of any physical button that may be on the screen frame are the architects of this technical innovation, which They set the precedents for Apple launches regarding the size of iPhones until today.
Special mention must be made of the iPhone Plus and Pro Max, which began to be launched with the iPhone 6S, and which cover the need for Phablets that exists for Apple users, reaching up to the 6,69 inches that the iPhone 15 Pro Max has in the present.