It’s no secret that smartphones have been getting larger and larger with each new release, but Apple may have taken this trend too far. The companyunveiled three new phones last week, and now it is now being widely criticized for making the iPhone XS Max too big for women’s hands.
New models are too big
The three new phones unveiled at Apple’s big event on Wednesday sport displays ranging from 5.8 inches to 6.5 inches in size. We’ve already grown accustomed to large phones; after all, Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus has a 6.2-inch screen, while the Note 9’s display measures 6.4 inches. However, based on the growing number of complaints that it made the iPhone XS Max too big for women’s hands, Apple may be learning the hard way that it is possible to make a smartphone too big.
“Women like me with small hands who need the most secure phone for safety reasons are stuck with something they can’t hold and constantly risk dropping,” University of North Carolina Sociology Professor Zeynep Tufecki tweeted.
“Welcome to the big screens” says Apple and women like me with small hands who need the most secure phone for safety reasons are stuck with something they can’t hold and constantly risk dropping. Company that designs $5 billion headquarters without a childcare center for the win. pic.twitter.com/Owzy51RsrH
— zeynep tufekci (@zeynep) September 13, 2018
She’s not the only one saying Apple is making the iPhone too big for women’s hands. British advocate and journalist Caroline Criado Perez told The Telegraph she felt strained while using the iPhone 6, which made her switch to the iPhone SE.
“It genuinely does affect women’s hand health,” Perez told The Telegraph. “Women do buy more iPhones than men, it just baffles me that Apple doesn’t design with our bodies in mind.”
Even though Samsung and other manufacturers also make large phones, it’s worth mentioning that Samsung also releases mid-range smartphone models like the Galaxy A, Galaxy J and other smartphone series, which have a more reasonable screen size. Huawei also offers lower-end models like the Y series.
According to a 2015 study published by the Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference, women’s hands are on average one inch smaller than men’s hands. This year’s new devices are not much larger than previous years’ models, but it’s worth noting that the new trend of bezel-less and edge-to-edge designs is prevailing in the smartphone market.
Smaller smartphones no more
For example, the iPhone XS Max, which is equipped with a 6.5-inch display, is about the same size as last year’s iPhone 8 Plus, but the larger display makes it appear that Apple made the iPhone XS Max too big for women’s hands. However, at 5.8 inches, the iPhone XS and iPhone X are only slightly larger than the iPhone 8.
It’s worth noting that after the new iPhones were announced, the older, smaller iPhone SE disappeared from Apple’s store, meaning the company is no longer selling it. Thus, with pocket-size iPhone models gone, consumers will have to get used to newer, larger devices.
Too large for women’s jeans
Interestingly, The Pudding, an essay website, conducted a study last month which found that an iPhone X doesn’t fit in the pockets of 60% of women’s jeans. That quite justifies the debate about Apple making the iPhone XS Max too big for women’s hands. That said, it will become more common to carry our phones in purses or bags, rather than demanding jeans with bigger pockets.
With smartphones on the market getting bigger and bigger, it may not be long before they don’t even fit in men’s pockets.
