“Hats off to Apple. The markets may disagree, but WWDC 2014 was a resounding success,” Gordon Kelly writes for Forbes.
“Its mixture of imitation and innovation plugged holes against Android and set off a new war in both wearables and smart homes via smart SDKs (software developer kits),” Kelly writes. “Furthermore Apple execs seemed upbeat and relaxed, as if the company was finally comfortable in its post-Steve Jobs skin. And yet there was one major, potentially disastrous mistake.”
“Unlike owners of increasingly big Android rivals – users of iPhones can easily reach the top corners of their devices,” Kelly writes. “It is convenient and, to quote the ad [below], ‘a dazzling display of common sense.’ But the common sense won’t last much longer.”
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote back in January:
One-handed interaction is a concocted load of bullshit attempting to cover for not having a proper lineup of iPhones offering customers varied display sizes at even this late date.
See: Apple in April 2013: ‘Customers want what we don’t have’ – April 7, 2014
“Everything changes with the iPhone 6… increasing the screen size from 4 inches to 4.7 inches,” Kelly writes. “pple’s mantra that you can reach the top corners is about to go out the window and the big flaw in the otherwise impressive iOS 8 is that hasn’t been taken into consideration. Why is it such a big deal? Look at the images below and see what Apple places in the top left and top right corners of iOS…”
Kelly writes, “Yes, the most important onscreen navigation buttons.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Or something.
Kelly is obviously prone to hyperbolic overstatement.
Newsflash: It’s a beta. Not to mention that people who buy phablets don’t expect one-handed operation.
As our proctologist uncle is fond of saying, “It’ll all work out in the end.”
Related articles:
Large screen smartphones: How Samsung blew it – May 30, 2014
Am I crazy for wanting a small 4-inch iPhone 6? – May 29, 2014
What a load of bull, how is that a disastrous thing?
Nothing is BS; bigger than 4″ phones do require move hand movements if you try to manage with them by just one hand.
However, if people want to have bigger screen, this should be allowable option — it might me good trade-off.
My thought with the larger screen is that the controls that are currently at the top of the screen (back, done, cancel, etc) could be moved to the bottom, so all controls (except maybe URL bar in Safari, etc) are still easily reachable with one hand at the bottom while the content sits at the top.
Obviously this would break current UI paradigms but Apple’s not been afraid to do that before…
A “disastrous mistake”?!?
No. The buttons have to be placed somewhere. Would Kelly like the buttons to be in the middle of the screen, obscuring the photo you’re editing or the email you’re reading? Wow, can you imagine the hateful outcries Apple would receive then?
People who want a larger phone accept that they will need to use two hands to control it. People who place importance on one-handed operation will buy a smaller phone. No “mistake”, just reality.
Excellent observation MDN. Thanks for not taking the fanboy route. Thanks for being honest and objective. It has been clear for several years that Apple should have had a larger iPhone. They haven’t and that is no one’s fault but Apple. And yes, the one-handed operation is just that, a load of bullshit. Nothing but an excuse to cover up Apple’s mistake. Period.
Since the new OS allows calls on all devices, does it matter?
What, pray tell, is wrong with this? This actually is an improvement! Whoever wrote this is either an AndyBot, or is too nostalgic for iOS 6.
So he has an iPhone 6 I assume?
OMG another .7 inches what are we to do? I will have to get longer fingers. Oh wait I just checked and I can still reach it. Perhaps I am one of the few who can and perhaps not. You have to love the articles with headlines like “potentially disastrous mistake.” Where was the author of this article a few months ago. Most likely extolling the Hemorrhoid phones and their huge screens and how Apple needs to catch up with the rest of the world. Listen Apple makes iPhones of multiple sizes and Im sure they will make one that fits the common man or woman. The great thing is they get to choose which phone they want. They come in many colors, sizes and with a variety of different features. So you can say find one that suits you and buy the one that is best for you. One that fits in your hand is great and if you can reach all the buttons even better. Galaxy users use their ping pong paddles/phones with two hands and if you have small hands and can’t make the leap from a 4.0 to a 4.7 inch screen there is no need to panic just buy what you feel comfortable with. If you go into a store and want to buy a pair of jeans that are too small or to large you buy the size that works for you its the same thing. More importantly why this writer if you want to call them that these days completely misses the fact that with Siri you can drive the phone via voice for the most part. The question is can the writer of this FUD article reach the home button?
Apple pans to sell finger extensions for $39.95. Don’t fret, they’ll be $1.99 with free shipping on Aliexpress. Next problem.
Moving my search to DDGo. Is that possible now in Safari?
Just go to Safari>Extensions and download the DDGo extension. Activate it and your search bar queries will automatically go to DDGo.
Apple will offer finger extensions for free in an array of colors. Just Apple’s way of giving everybody the finger.
Probably not, since his is on the top. /
Nothing but “Apple-Bad” click bait. Worthless.
The button location is probably a decoy to prevent inadvertently confirming the new screen sizes. My money is that IF it is really an issue, it will be changed in the final release when the new display sizes are revealed. I however am not sure it is a terrible issue, though.
What I see as a mistake, if the rumors are correct is to move the on/off button to the right side. This is a horrible location, from my experience with a galaxy s3. I’ve been waiting for a larger phone (older eyes work much better on larger screen) and have really been looking forward to the larger iphone. Please keep the on/off button on the top. Why? When you squeeze the device to press the right button the volume button also gets pressed. This is a royal pain due to the nature of the location these buttons are in.
I have been telling my wife for decades that size is not that important.
I live in Canada. We use centimeters…..mainly because sizes then sound very impressive ;-P
I use metric on the computer and above small sizes in the real work (i.e. a couple centimetres) Imperial measurements. I could not swap that usage around at all. How does anyone use inches on computers, as for using longer metric lengths in the real world or KPH for that matter is just meaning less to me. Amazing how the brain can operate almost seamlessly between the 2 mind.
Screen reach is a valid, but definitely NOT disastrous, issue. I personally hope they do keep a smaller screen phone in the lineup. I rarely use two hands on the phone and don’t wish to start.
Disastrous? No. But potentially a huge oversight in basic usability that Jobs would have flipped his shit over? Of course. Assuming that Apple doesn’t already have a solution to this, of course.
I love how people cling to Apple’s precision and attention to details as the greatest example of Apple’s superiority … And then turn around and try to make excuses when they (potentially) blunder in some way that should have been obvious to them.
Gordon here is an idiot for blowing this out of proportion before we even see the next generation of hardware. But he’s not wrong to ask the question behind his hyperbolic drivel.
iOS 8 is operating system software. It does not define the size of iOS devices. In addition, the general consensus is that Apple will offer two or more sizes of iPhones, one of which will likely be similar to the existing, compact 4.0″ display form factor. If Apple ditches the smaller form factor and goes with 4.7″ and larger displays on the iPhone, then you can begin complaining, Gordon Kelly.
The anti-Apple, click-bait hyperbole is advancing to new heights. Apple can now make a “major, potentially disastrous mistake” by releasing information on an operating system update that does not define the sizes of iOS devices that Apple has not even announced. If you search for “prejudge” in the dictionary, it returns “Gordon Kelly.”
Thats not true. If the iPhone is thinner and has less border around the screen, you’ll have more room to reach those further areas with one handed operation. The iPhone at 4.7″ will still be able to operate with one hand. Anything bigger than one handed operation will be considered an iPad nano or another device name entirely.
i have no idea if i am unique or not. i want my phone to fit easily in my pants pocket, and i want to be able to easily extract it when needed. if the phone is too big then it also increases the chances of breaking if i bump against something. when the new one comes out i will go down to the apple store and try it out. but if it is too big i will stick with my 4s or maybe get a 5. i have an ipad and a laptop and a desktop mac. they each are good for different things. i hope they don’t merge into one another. and, in my, possibly unique, opinion, one-handed operation is very useful. i learned this from my old hp calculators (yes, rpn is a way better method for calculators!). in my life writing software i have learned that people can get used to (read: inured) almost anything. that doesn’t make it ok.
Yes, you are unique!
…just like everyone else. For instance your experience with calculators and happiness with the existing phone size is great, but others of us have different needs and won’t be getting “inured” to having a larger screen option, we will be getting delighted by its greater visible/touchable area.
Incidentally, I don’t have huge hands but I have no problem holding the phone with one hand and extending my thumb well past the opposite top corner, so apparently different people also have different techniques for holding and controlling phones with one hand.
Bring on the iOS device size continuum!
How about putting the one button you really don’t want to accidentally touch out of easy reach? So when you do accept or hang up, it’s deliberate and not by accident.
Everything Gordon Kelly writes has been worthless drivel, last time he made the news was with his magnum opus titled “Blind Loyalty’ – Why This Is A Problem For Apple”..
It’s not journalism, it’s entertainment for muppets. The Forbes clown show is actually a good fit for him.
Its always easier to slam somethings usability before there is a device that you can actually use. His BS will of course be forgotten by the time we all know the answer but hey its paid his wages.
it’s an odd world: every acorn that hits the cranium of one of these halfwits becomes an piece of mainstream journalism
I won’t be buying a phone requiring two hands to operate. IMHO such phones will become objects of ridicule and destain, the new scapegoat for everyone with compromised self-esteem issues, the new ethnic cleansing, the new genocide.
Or not.
So absurdly funny. You meant disdain, not destain?—surely not, as witness the tie in with ethnic cleansing, as if a melanin-saturated skin could be scrubbed white! Pure genius and I wish it worked on freckles. I know, I know.
I already use two hands, one delicately balancing the gleaming iPhone, the other with the little pink stylus precisely tapping out an unlisted number, then raising it to my ear for a few murmured French phrases before putting it away with a twinkle and a smile.
It doesn’t quite scan that way when the phone is a slab. Kills the romance.
Distain – shame on me. I was mislead by my spell checker and didn’t question the results.
I too have a stylus at the ready as needed. My weapon is the classy NewerTech NuScribe 2-in-1 touch screen stylus/pen over at Other World Computing. It has a wonderfully small, functional and long lasting tip. I recommend no other. But it does not come in pink. Apologies dear goddess.
On sale from $19.99 to $9.79! Buy now.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/NUSCRIBES/
My hands are too big for the iPhone. Sure, I can type with one hand using my thumb, but it’s clumsy having to curl in so much. I am looking forward to a larger screen that will hopefully solve my man-hands problem.
Not that there won’t be larger iPhones coming, but this was not at all announced at WWDC. And iOS 8 will run on all of these form factors (include the 3.5 inches 4s and the 4-inch 5, 5c and 5s) so I don’t really see how the headline is remotely accurate.
I would imagine that whatever apple do screen wise, they and other app developers will come up with a variety of different solutions of their own. Some will work, some won’t, new trends will emerge and life will go on.
Whoever wrote this obviously hasn’t a clue… Enough said.
Actually, the EXACT OPPOSITE is true. Apple HAS thought of a way to get around the fact that the buttons are too far away to reach: you can instead swipe right from the left edge of the screen. It does exactly the same thing as if pushing the back button in the top left of the screen. This even existed in iOS 7.
Right, I’m puzzled as to why no one seems to know this
By the appearance of all the continual misspellings and poor grammar, most of you one handed “smartphoners” are “half-brainers”.