Why did Apple enter the big screen smartphone segment with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus?

iPhone 6 iPhone 6 Plus

During the special iPhone keynote event held on September 9 Apple unveiled two new iPhones. With the introduction of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus Apple has finally entered the big screen smartphone segment which has been dominated by Samsung. When unveiling the new phones, neither Tim Cook nor Phil Schiller spent any time to explain why Apple thought they needed to make larger iPhones. When Apple introduced iPhone 5 with a larger 4 inch screen they ran an advertisement explaining that the thumb fits the size perfectly. However, this time there was no story or idea behind the new size.

If you can recall when Steve Jobs introduced the original iPhone and iPad, he spent considerable time explaining the thought process and idea behind those products. But, this time there was no such thing except getting to the product video and talking about its features.

Apple’s fierce competitor Samsung has left no stone unturned in offering a device in every size category possible while on the other hand Apple has continued to believe in one size for all. For the first time Apple will now be offering the flagship model in two variations. It is possible that the company saw Samsung’s success with the phablet segment and didn’t want to lose out on market share. Customers worldwide have shown a lot of interest in large screen smartphones and this probably played a major role in Apple’s decision.

… if the market tells us we’re making the wrong choices we listen to the marketSteve Jobs

Of course there are added benefits with a large screen device; you can view more content, fit larger battery and perhaps make more room for new hardware features. Apple could’ve kept the 4 inch iPhone and still offer the plus sized device, but it seems that they felt the need to increase the size for the base flagship model too.

Since, Apple didn’t answer the question “why bigger screen” it may be easy to conclude that market demand could be the only reason. Steve Jobs famously in a interview with Walt Mossberg said that Apple’s focus is to make great products and if the market tells them they’re making the wrong choices they listen to the market. Skip to 4 minutes into the video.

Steve Jobs was not in favour of a smaller version of iPad, however Eddy Cue successfully convinced him about the need for iPad mini. With iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus Apple is once again aligning itself to the market needs and this goes onto show that the company is extremely sensitive to its customers voice.

There is no doubt that the new iPhones are gorgeous in design and are the thinnest phones Apple has ever made.  It is noteworthy to mention that the new design is reminiscent of the original iPhone design.

With the reachability feature Apple will make it easier to operate the phone with one hand, but will it work just as Apple advertises? Only time will tell when the phone goes on sale.

Apple’s new iPhones are schedule to go on sale on September 19 in the US. The company will begin taking pre-orders from September 12.

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