The iPhone “Icon Ceiling” has been broken: is this the beginning of the end?

http://justinhileman.info/article/the-iphone-icon-ceiling/

by KuraFire • 14 years ago

160 88 14 years ago

dhyasama• 14 years ago

The iphone 7 prototype looks like a good start but they can take it much, much farther. A quick calculation: my arm is roughly 34 inches long and an icon row is about 1/2 inch. Factoring in for hardware chrome they could squeeze in maybe 64 rows for a whopping 256 apps on the home screen! There is TONS of room to grow here.

cincinnatus• 14 years ago

My first thought when I saw it; I used to have a receiver with a remote of those dimensions. Of course now I have one with a touchscreen remote...

Tichy• 14 years ago

They could add rails for the arm, like for the guns in Taxi Driver, except you could slide the iPhone up and done your arm. That way you could still reach everything with your thumb.

jerf• 14 years ago

This suggests an augmented reality approach where the icons are arrayed on a curved 2D surface in front of you, with your iPhone being just a window onto it. Or, heck, why a surface when you could have the whole sphere surrounding you? I'm pretty sure we could pack thousands of icons onto that, and just think of the awe-inspiring demos.

kolinko2• 14 years ago

The only reason iPhone 7 mockup looks weird is because our laptops' screens are not tall enough.

I predict Macbooks Airs in 2014 will be 28 inches tall and will display the new iPhone 7 photos flawlessly.

ConstantineXVI• 14 years ago

You jest, but I'm afraid we're going in the other direction. 4:3 laptops are all but dead, and spotted an extra-wide (~21:9?) laptop at Best Buy the other day.

FrankBooth• 14 years ago

Personally, I'm looking forward to CinemaScope (2.66:1) A/R displays.

xutopia• 14 years ago

This is extrapolation like the ones with Glenn Beck at the blackboard.

rWolfcastle• 14 years ago

THAT'S THE JOKE.

Tipzntrix• 14 years ago

If you read the whole thing, this seems like some very clever satire.

abengoam2• 14 years ago

The manipulation present on that "projections" graph alone is nauseating.

tlrobinson• 14 years ago

You know it's a joke, right?

...it is a joke, isn't it? Oh god I hope so.

abengoam2• 14 years ago

Exactly.

ezolotko• 14 years ago

I would say, it's not only icons count, but the screen aspect ratio also. Now it is more to a stripe than to a square. Having an unpleasant feelings about this, and the future of Apple.

JangoSteve• 14 years ago

When I started reading the article, I thought 21 icons meant they overflowed the first screen, and that the phone shipped with one icon on the second screen. That seemed very un-Apple-like and interesting. As soon as I realized that number includes the four in the dock, and that there are still three spaces left on the first homescreen, suddenly it seems like a non-event.

incision3• 14 years ago

Anyone can make a larger smartphone display. But if you go large for large’s sake, you end up with a phone that feels oversize, awkward, and hard to use. iPhone 7 features a 7-inch display designed the right way: it’s bigger, but it’s the same width as iPhone 4S, 5, 5S, 6, 6G and 6GS.

twmb• 14 years ago

I don't know why everybody claims that the iPhone has the "perfect" screen size[1]. I have never had a problem with any android phone size... they are larger, but nobody ever considers they aren't just larger for larger's sake.

I appreciate the larger screen, not only for the extra space on the keyboard but because I like the extra display. My pockets aren't miniature. They can fit a slightly larger phone. Sitting down with any phone in my pocket is uncomfortable, so I always take my phone out of my pocket. Screen size for pocket size is not an issue.

My thumb is not tiny, and can reach across an extra inch. I don't know how far away the guy in the linked article holds his thumb, but I have always been able to reach across every android I have come across, without a problem. The -times I notice that I cannot reach across don't matter because most apps that are designed well don't put tiny buttons on the side of the screen.

I would enjoy a larger android with the iPhone retina resolution more than an iPhone with the retina resolution.

[1]http://www.iphonehacks.com/2011/10/iphone-4s-no-4-inch-scree...

nuclear_eclipse2• 14 years ago

As a counter-point, I bought a Nexus S (4.3") when they were first available, I loved it and appreciated the screen size bump from my older Nexus One. But when my employer gave me a Galaxy Nexus (4.7"), I thought the screen was too large. I can still use the phone, but a lot of one-handed uses feel awkward or strained because my thumb can't reach the top of the phone without having to first reposition the phone in my hand. When I go back to my Nexus S, I miss the size and clarity of the larger screen, but I love having the smaller and lighter device in my hand, and it's so much easier to use.

While I still prefer the Android OS, I think Apple has struck a good balance in the iPhone 5 by making the screen larger and a proper widescreen resolution (I love being able to watch Netflix fullscreen on my GNex), and the hardware design looks amazingly good. I just wish I could run Android on it instead of iOS.

incision3• 14 years ago

Because Apple.

The notion of a "perfect" screen size makes exactly as much sense as a perfect ring, glove, shirt or shoe size - none.

esolyt3• 14 years ago

I'm not sure about what you mean by retina, but there are Android phones with both higher PPI and larger screen than the iPhone 5.

wonderzombie• 14 years ago

I have a Galaxy Nexus. The keyboard is precisely why bigger is not better for me. Typing anything one-handed or hitting something on the upper or lower right of the screen is difficult for me; I end up letting the device rest in my hand somewhat precariously, which is extra fun when standing on a shaky bus in stop-and-start traffic.

I'm not the biggest person but my hands aren't tiny. I've been able to use other (e.g.) Nexus phones without any trouble. So from my perspective the bar ought to be higher than "we're making it bigger because we like more pixels" or whatever.

unconed• 14 years ago

Remember the original Xbox controller, designed for giant man-hands? I'm sure the people behind that didn't see anything wrong it either.

I wish there was an iPhone 5-sized Android out there that didn't suck.

mtgx• 14 years ago

There's also the iPhone 10, the tallest iPhone yet!

http://9.mshcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/iPhone-10.jpe...

And iPhone 20:

http://5.mshcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/iphone-20.jpg

Thumb actions might be a little hard there.

stcredzero2• 14 years ago

Both of those have potential as interfaces for music.

http://www.stick.com/instruments/

After looking a bit at the above site, I'm also thinking that they have potential as interfaces for teledildonics. (This is both serious and a joke at the same time. This goes for the whole field.)

TazeTSchnitzel3• 14 years ago

re: teledildonics, the vibration function on the iPhone would become more popular, and I'm not even joking.

jamie_ca• 14 years ago

Speaking of music, that'd be a reasonable approximation of an http://www.eigenlabs.com/ - and it wouldn't need a separate laptop to act as speakers :P

ionforce• 14 years ago

The site isn't loading. Does anyone have a summary?

tta• 14 years ago

Mirror: http://justinhileman.info.nyud.net/article/the-iphone-icon-c...

bobthecow2• 14 years ago

Back (hopefully for good?)

klrr• 14 years ago

Broken link?

swalsh• 14 years ago

If Steve Jobs was still around, i'd predict that Apple would wait a few years after Google Goggles. They'd work to get it right, and the future smart phone wouldn't have a screen at all.

In post-jobs world though, its going to be a me-too game.

Zikes3• 14 years ago

I think you mean Google Glass. Goggles is their app for scanning photos and identifying things.

TazeTSchnitzel3• 14 years ago

Google Goggles used to be site previews, IIRC.

mmackh• 14 years ago

Blog seems to be down: http://thequeue.org/cr?id=http://justinhileman.info/article/...

bobthecow2• 14 years ago

Back now.

evoxed• 14 years ago

On that note, why can't we change the icon size already? I think I've clicked enough 1 hour ago | flag | 23 comments links by now to handle at least twice as many icons on screen...

nostromo• 14 years ago

I feel like yesterday's announcement has left a news vacuum that is trying to be filled.

The announcement was not so amazing that the cheers are deafening; nor was it so disappointing or controversial that the opposite occurred. So, instead we're giggling at Jimmy Kimmel videos and long iPhone photoshops.

Perhaps this is why Apple hasn't announced the iPad mini yet -- to make sure the iPhone 5 gets a bit of time in the limelight. If it was announced yesterday, few people would be talking about the new iPhone today.

georgemcbay• 14 years ago

In addition to the announcement not being that amazing in absolulte terms, the leaks this time were pretty much 100% exactly right.

Apple's big reveal was that the iPhone 5 was, in fact, pretty much exactly what everyone expected them to announce for the past half year or so.

yawn.

mdonahoe• 14 years ago

I enjoy that the media hypes the iPhone release and then bashes it for not living up to the hype.

What is the next thing on the hype horizon? The iPad mini?

erichocean• 14 years ago

I'm totally stoked for the iPad mini. I've got an iPad 2 and the new iPad, and I bought a Nexus 7 for testing.

I'm not crazy about the Nexus 7 software and browser, but I love the weight! The screen size is "good enough" and definitely worth making smaller to get the weight down.

Anyway, I agree that's why they did separate the events. The iPad mini is going to sell like crazy.

ja27• 14 years ago

If it's essentially the new iPod Touch with a bigger display and $100 bigger price, will they still sell like crazy? The iPod Touch (32GB) starts at $299. I could maybe see a 16GB iPad Mini at $299 but it could be $349 or $399 for the cheapest device. For Joe Consumer, that'll be a tough sell against a $199 Kindle Fire HD.

AJ007• 14 years ago

I can't be the only one that noticed that during the unveiling the Apple home page continued to display the iPhone 4S and the "new iPhone." It wasn't until later in the day that the front page switched from showing me the Macbook Pro to the iPhone 5.

When I loaded HN all I saw was one story about a journalist going "undercover" in an iPhone factory. I didn't read it.

The hype surrounding each new Apple product is no mistake. Steve Jobs waited to die until the iPhone 4S was finished unveiling. If Apple wants to keep its market position, they will need to keep the hype coming in a carefully timed and orchestrated manner.

devcpp• 14 years ago

Absolutely. Apple has primarily been a marketing company for the last decade. They should keep that in mind, for their own sake.

antidaily• 14 years ago

It was already broken with groupings.

headShrinker• 14 years ago

I started reading this with my usual skepticism. (It isn't hard to believe that some of this could come from the likes of zdnet, or cnet.) I started to crack a smile at the exponential growth graph, then with the picture of iPhone 7, I absolutely lost it! too funny

kmfrk• 14 years ago

I have a feeling that pg should include an algorithm that penalizes submissions whose titles end in a question mark. (For the articles that aren't sarcastic, at least.)

kragniz• 14 years ago

Or the more extreme version: Add a single reply, "No.", and close the comments.

dpeck• 14 years ago

As usual xkcd provides just as much insight, http://xkcd.com/605/

And for something a bit cruder, but even more phone related http://www.buzzfeed.com/jwherrman/the-day-smartphones-stop-g...

gavinlynch• 14 years ago

Sums up this article perfectly. Hilarious, thanks for sharing! :)

heyitsnick• 14 years ago

Very well written, measured and well-paced satire. I think the picture at the end is unnecessary, but understandable.

protobluffers• 14 years ago

Check out the "iPhone backup shootout" under Related Articles. Hilarious!

tarice• 14 years ago

Question: Per this article, what iPhone version will be able to reach to the moon?

Assuming: Increase in icons is quadratic over time. Each iPhone version requires an extra 8.6mm in height to hold the extra icons. The distance to the moon is ~240,000 miles. The length of the iPhone 1 is negligible.

Step One: Regress the data from the article to get the equation "y = 3.25x^2 - 27.65x + 76.95", where y = # of icons and x = iPhone version number.

Step Two: Convert equation to mm. 8.6mm increase for every 5 icon capacity (difference between iPhone 4 and 5) => multiply our equation by 8.6mm/5 icons => new equation is "y = 5.59x^2 - 47.558x + 132.354", where y = mm.

Step Three: Solve for x when y = 386,242,560,000mm (240,000 miles in mm).

*Answer: The iPhone 262,864 will be able to reach to the moon, opening up a key market for mobile users in the year 330,592 AD. It will debut with a little under 225 billion apps, too.

joshu• 14 years ago

IBM has a patent on this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IBM_SImon_in_charging_stat...

snakess• 14 years ago

The iPhone 5 is ok.Tomorrow i order one and have fun the rest of the Year :)

noamsml• 14 years ago

The sky is falling! Quick, run like a chicken with your head cut off!

endlessvoid942• 14 years ago

Are you f*cking kidding me? This is like tabloid trash.

gk1• 14 years ago

Did you notice the satire?

endlessvoid942• 14 years ago

I did not.

djbender• 14 years ago

Is this a well written satire?

Tloewald• 14 years ago

I hereby invoke Betteridge's Law.

The iPhone “Icon Ceiling” has been broken: is this the beginning of the end?

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