Business Insider’s Jay Yarrow published an internal research note from the lawsuit of Samsung, indicating longer battery life was what most iPhone 5 buyers wanted a longer battery life. Number 2 on the list was Apple Maps, and number three was device with a bigger screen. iPhones with bigger displays are expected in the second half of 2014.
Apple has been reported to working on a 4.7-inch iPhone model and another one measuring 5 to 5.7-inch diagonally, although the latter could be delayed with in-cell production technology for a bigger display.
The image presented at the trial:
The research was conducted not long after iPhone 5 made the shelves, showing Apple has been aware of consumer preference for 1 and half year. The internal slides also reveal that Apple is aware the consumers have been opting for sub-$300 phones with bigger screens than 4-inch iPhone.
The reason why the survey went public is that Apple didn’t have a choice once things went to court, providing an insight to Apple’s development process.
A particular slide attributes the reduction in iPhone growth to 3 factors: consumers who prefer cheaper devices with larger displays and carriers with a strong interest in iPhone capping due to high subsidy, competitors who have drastically improved their hardware and their ecosystem in some cases and the handset’s share in the premium market and unwillingness of Apple to let the carriers control the user experience.
2014 is highly poised to be the year of larger display iPhones.
