APPLE’S latest iPhone could be the firm’s smallest in years, if one leaked photo is to be believed – a possible response to criticism that its mobiles are now too big for women to hold.
Posted by a mysterious Twitter account on Monday, the image purports to show the iPhone 12, a new mobile expected to hit shelves later this year.
In the photo, someone holds up their hand next to the phone to show its compact size.
It appears to confirm rumours that at least one version of the iPhone 12 – tipped for release in September – will come with a tiny 5.4in display.
“IPhone 12’s real screen, 5.4-inch,” Twitter user DigitalChatStation, which posted the photo, wrote.
“Isn’t this the small screen flagship you want?”
Apple hasn’t confirmed it’s building a new iPhone yet, though it’s safe to assume a followup to last year’s iPhone 11 range is in the works.
The California company typically releases new mobiles every September, and this year is believed to be working on four variants of the iPhone 12.
Those include a 5.4in iPhone 12 “mini”, a 6.1in base iPhone 12, a 6.1in iPhone 12 Pro and a 6.7in iPhone 12 Pro Max.
At 5.4in, the mini promises to be Apple’s tiniest mobile since the revamped 4.7in iPhone SE, released in April 2020.
iPhone screen sizes revealed. How iPhone screens have changed over the years:
- iPhone (2007) – 3.5 inches
- iPhone 3G (2008) – 3.5 inches
- iPhone 3GS (2009) – 3.5 inches
- iPhone 4 (2010) – 3.5 inches
- iPhone 4S (2011) – 3.5 inches
- iPhone 5 (2012) – 4 inches
- iPhone 5S (2013) – 4 inches
- iPhone 5C (2013) – 4 inches
- iPhone 6 (2014) – 4.7 inches
- iPhone 6+ (2014) – 5.5 inches
- iPhone 6S (2015) – 4.7 inches
- iPhone 6S+ (2015) – 5.5 inches
- iPhone SE (2016) – 4 inches
- iPhone 7 (2016) – 4.7 inches
- iPhone 7+ (2016) – 5.5 inches
- iPhone 8 (2017) – 4.7 inches
- iPhone 8+ (2017) – 5.5 inches
- iPhone X (2017) – 5.8 inches
- iPhone XS (2018) – 5.8 inches
- iPhone XR (2018) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone XS Max (2018) – 6.5 inches
- iPhone 11 (2019) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 11 Pro (2019) – 5.8 inches
- iPhone 11 Pro Max (2019) – 6.5 inches
It’ll fit easily in the palm with a design that goes against the recent trend of “bigger is always better” followed by the world’s leading phone makers.
DigitalChatStation, an account that regularly leaks details of smartphones before they release, gave no context for the iPhone photo.
It appears the snap was taken at one of Apple’s many factories, where production on the new iPhone is thought to have already begun.
However, there’s no way to confirm this, so take the image with a pinch of salt for now.
It’s possible Apple’s alleged decision to make a smaller iPhone was spurred by criticism from users who say iPhones are now too big for women to hold.
When the iPhone first launched in 2007, it had a screen size of just 3.5 inches. Last year, Apple debuted three new mobiles: the 6.1in iPhone 11, the 5.8in iPhone 11 Pro, and the 6.5in iPhone 11 Pro Max.
Apple also recently decided to stop selling the 4-inch iPhone SE, the last hope for people with small hands.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph in 2018, feminist activist Caroline Criado Perez – who was behind Parliament Square’s Millicent Fawcett statue and the Jane Austen £10 note – said: “I genuinely have RSI from having an iPhone 6, and it went as soon as I switched to an iPhone SE.
“It genuinely does affect women’s hand health, women do buy more iPhones than men, it just baffles me that Apple doesn’t design with our bodies in mind.
She added: “We should be furious about this, we are paying just as much money for it as men for a product that doesn’t work as well for us.
“I have to make a choice between making an upgrade to the only phone that fits my hand before they discontinue it – soon there will be no iPhone that fits the average woman’s hand size – even though the technology is two years out of date. Or get a new one and deal with the fact that it’ll give me RSI.
“That’s not an acceptable choice in the 21st century, you need to have a smartphone.”
