When Apple announced its new lightweight iPhone last month, my heart momentarily fluttered before disappointment set in. The new model is admittedly very thin, but I don’t want a thinner phone. I want a smaller one. And I don’t think I’m alone.
It’s no secret that smartphone manufacturers’ flagship devices have become bigger and bigger. But the disappearance of smaller alternatives represents an interesting puzzle. Dynamic market economies are usually very good at catering to many different segments of consumer demand, from the mainstream to the niche. So when it comes to small phone aficionados like me, even if we aren’t the majority, why won’t capitalism give us what we want?
We used to have a powerful ally in Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who mocked the idea of big smartphones in 2010, saying “you can’t get your hand around it” and “no one’s going to buy that”. In 2012, Apple’s advert for the iPhone 5 demonstrated how comfortably the human thumb could reach across its 4-inch screen — something it called “a dazzling display of common sense”.