Monthly Archives: August 2014

Why the iPhone 6’s will be Probably be This Screen Size

In my previous post (2 Reasons Why the iPhone 6 Won’t Need to be 1.5x Retina Resolution), I explained why Apple isn’t so constrained about the rumored iPhone 6 screen sizes. That blog post was long enough, so I thought I’d break out into a new post exactly what size(s) I’m expecting in the iPhone 6 4.7″ and 5.5″ phones (assuming the rumors are real).

I’m thinking Apple will make both phones at 1920×1080. Then they will be able to contain letter-boxed 1.5x-sized existing apps (fitting inside a 1704×960 rectangle). Each phone will have 1.5x-sized tap targets (66 points tall instead of 44 points tall) but will still have an extra 10% or so extra space vertically (1920 vs 1704) and horizontally (1080 vs 960), so there’s a little more room for app content.

The benefit to users: Continue reading →

Standard

2 Reasons Why the iPhone 6 Won’t Need to be 1.5x Retina Resolution

When Apple moved to iPhone 4 and iPhone 5, there were tremendous constraints that Apple wisely overcame to determine exactly how it made its phones with higher resolution and then larger (taller). How?

With the iPhone 4, Apple exactly doubled the resolution, leading to a 2x “Retina” resolution. And with the iPhone 5, Apple kept the pixel density (pixels per inch) the same, but just extended the screen size vertically, to create a 16:9 screen ratio.

This resulted in a great user experience, as well as minimizing the efforts for developers and UI designers.

Now Apple is coming out with two much larger iPhone 6 models, reportedly 4.7” and 5.5”. Many pundits are saying these phones will need to be 1.x Retina resolution or the phones need to have the same pixels-per-inch as the iPhone 5S. But Apple isn’t constrained by the same circumstances as before. There are two things that have changed in the past 5 years that mean that Apple can make these new iPhone 6’s any resolution they want: Continue reading →

Standard

Product Owners: It’s Time to Throw Off the Shackles of iOS 6!

One year ago, Apple introduced the most significant visual upgrade in iOS’s short but significant history: iOS 7 had a completely new look. Along with that look came subtle but significant changes in how to design and implement iOS apps.

Those subtle changes by themselves weren’t so hard to implement, but there was one albatross that hung over developers’ and designers’ heads: Continue reading →

Standard

Are Apple’s Continuity Technologies Enough to Get iOS Developers to Write Mac Apps?

At this year’s Apple WWDC–a conference for iOS and OS X developers–Apple announced a set of technologies call Continuity, that makes it very easy for users to work on whatever Apple device is best suited for the current task. This is great for users who own both an iPhone and a Mac–but how common is that at work?

Not very. So this is a play by Apple for more small business and enterprise businesses to buy Macs. But for a business to buy Macs, there must be software.

Chicken and egg.

But, wait! There are tens or hundreds of thousands of iOS developers–there are more than a million apps in the iOS App Store. Couldn’t Apple leverage these iOS developers to write Mac (OS X) apps? Maybe, but there’s one thing pulling iOS developers away from the Mac: Continue reading →

Standard

Apple Expands its Branding with Beats Acquisition: A Company of Solutions Wrapped in Experiences

beats_icon
If there’s one thing everyone can agree about Apple, it’s that Apple has impeccable branding.

There is that one brand that sits over all others: The Apple logo.

Sure, there are sub-brands, like the Mac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Even the outline of the iPhone and iPad could be brand service marks–that home button and rounded rectangle are defining of Apple products.

But when you get right down to it, the Apple logo sits over everything.

That’s why it is notable–if not surprising–that when Apple today announced that Beats by Dr. Dre had officially joined the Apple family (after regulatory approval worldwide), that Apple so prominently featured the Beats logo, seen above.

What this means is Continue reading →

Standard