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Business News/ Tech-news / News/  iPhones with bigger screens may find eager buyers among seniors
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iPhones with bigger screens may find eager buyers among seniors

Apple unveiled two new iPhone models: one with a 4.7-inch screen and another with a 5.5-inch display

Phil Schiller, senior vice president, Apple Inc., speaks about the iPhone 6 (left) and the iPhone 6 Plus during an Apple event at the Flint Center in Cupertino, California, on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters Premium
Phil Schiller, senior vice president, Apple Inc., speaks about the iPhone 6 (left) and the iPhone 6 Plus during an Apple event at the Flint Center in Cupertino, California, on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

San Francisco: Eden Adams, 65, is ready to upgrade after using her iPhone for about three years.

The schoolteacher from Fremont, California, had looked at her daughter’s Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd smartphone, which has a larger screen, and considered buying the Korean manufacturer’s device before learning of Apple Inc.’s plans to roll out new iPhones with bigger displays.

“My daughter’s is easier to read; the quality of her pictures are really good too," she said, adding that she hopes to buy a new iPhone soon. “I am even tempted to switch, but I don’t want to learn too many new things."

Adams and others at or near retirement age could prove to be a customer category that will help make the iPhone 6 another bestseller. Apple unveiled on Tuesday two new iPhone models: one with a 4.7-inch screen and another with a 5.5-inch display. The larger model now sits squarely in the same league as similar oversized models made popular by rivals such as Samsung and LG Electronics Inc.

After pioneering the smartphone market, Apple is moving away from its focus on smaller screens. While bigger displays make it easier for a younger crowd to read digital books, play games or watch movies, the large screens also let people who need reading glasses boost the size of the font and images on their smartphones without sacrificing screen real estate.

Slightly more than half of consumers planning to buy a smartphone will opt for a larger device, according to a survey conducted earlier this year by Accenture Plc.

Big fonts

“Samsung did sort of create this phablet market, but I think that doesn’t mean that Apple wouldn’t benefit greatly by moving into this direction," said J.P. Gownder, an analyst at Forrester Inc., referring to products that are considered an amalgamation of phones and tablets. “The average age is getting older and clearly visual acuity declines in that situation."

The 4.7-inch iPhone 6, which will have rounded edges and a thinner frame than earlier models, will cost $199 to $399 with a two-year contract in the US, while the larger 6 Plus is priced at $299 to $499. The devices are set to ship on 19 September in a limited number of countries.

At 5.5 diagonal inches, the heftiest iPhone is more than one-third larger than the last model, in terms of screen area. It’s also larger than one of Samsung’s leading devices, the Galaxy S5, which has a 5.1-inch screen. The iPhone 6 Plus is just slightly smaller than the Samsung Note 3, which is 5.7 inches. Other phones made by LG and HTC Corp. are also 5 inches or larger.

Clear vision

Mel Gurney, a retired physician in Santa Rosa, California, said he’s looking forward to replacing his 5S iPhone with the new 5.5-inch version. While the 58-year-old’s current smartphone lets him enlarge the typeface for some items, not all applications let him easily expand letters and numbers.

“When something comes through on my iPhone that I really need to read, I got to run around the house, looking for my reading glasses," he said. “Vision is everything. If you can’t see it, it doesn’t do you much good."

Gurney also said that the bigger display not only helps him to see the screen; it’s also beneficial for tapping, since he has larger fingers that sometimes makes it difficult to manipulate icons and menus.

“The other advantages far outweigh the discomfort of trying to fit it into one of my back pockets," Gurney said.

Larger displays are increasingly critical for users as they absorb more digital content through mobile applications and the Internet, Gownder said. That’s coming at the expense of voice capabilities that once were more central to phones.

Potential buyers

More than a third of consumers who weren’t planning to upgrade their iPhones would do so if a larger-screen model were available, according to a survey in June by RBC Capital Markets. More than a quarter of those who responded said they’re willing to spend $299 to buy a 5.5-inch iPhone, according to the poll.

It isn’t just retirees who are poised to buy bigger iPhones. Shannon Stark, 42, is ready for a larger screen as she relies more on her glasses. Her current phone, the 4S with a 3.5-inch screen, just isn’t as easy to use as a larger Samsung device that her mother has, said the construction estimator, who lives in North Bay, Canada.

“I would love to have an iPhone that is bigger," Stark said, adding she’s aiming to get the 6 Plus. “My iPhone felt like a little-kid phone after playing with hers for a bit." Bloomberg

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Published: 10 Sep 2014, 08:46 AM IST
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