Apple has unveiled a trio of new iPhones with one of the three donning the biggest smartphone display the company has ever made.
The iPhone XS Max will pack a 6.5-inch display – almost double the size of the first iPhone’s display in 2007.
The size of Apple’s iPhone devices has increased steadily over their 11-year history, starting at just 3.5 inches on the first handset.
As the size has grown, so too has the price, debuting at £269 in its first outing, and going as high as £1,499 for the highest spec on the new iPhone XS Max.
“Creating the optimal screen size has turned into a bit of a space race among smartphone manufacturers,” explained Ru Bhikha, mobiles expert at uSwitch.com.
“As technological progress in smartphone design has become less innovative and more incremental, expansive screens have become more integral as a key differentiator.
“That means reducing the size of the bezels holding the screen without compromising the size and form factor of the devices.”
Apple eventually bowed to pressure to increase its screen size, after sticking to a 3.5-inch display set-up on the iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.
By 2012, the company made the move to a 4-inch display with its iPhone 5, before taking a bigger leap on the iPhone 6 Plus to a 5.5-inch screen, in the face of increased competition from large handsets such as Samsung’s Galaxy Note range.
“These bigger screens are also a response to how mobile users want to engage with content on a daily basis,” Mr Bhikha added.
“In short, consumers want more videos and the same content without scrolling as much.
“As app developers dream up bigger and bolder ways to dominate the smartphone screen, manufacturers have to keep pace.”
