10 comments

  • Clark WimberlyClark Wimberly, over 6 years ago

    These facts are correct, but my takeaway is the opposite- that Android made better use of the space. Instead of a physical button, they used on-screen elements, that can be hidden when needed. The outcome? A larger screen when it makes sense, a smaller device always.

    7 points
  • Alexander ZizzoAlexander Zizzo, over 6 years ago

    Whew, I was having a hard time deciding if one rectangle was bigger than another, thank god someone wrote an article on it to straighten things out

    4 points
  • Fabian MendezFabian Mendez, over 6 years ago

    The usual reality distorsion of an Apple fanboy... So, you test a Nexus device ( that has no hardware buttons ) and then you say "5" ANDROID screens". Why wouldn't you check sizes with the S4 5" screen?. Maybe because it's bigger and has far better resolucion than the crappy iphone?.

    1 point
  • Alexis Morin, over 6 years ago

    It seems like a quick judgement call to say this when looking at a single app. Did we consider that the text on Android is larger and more legible? The hit targets for the buttons are larger on Android. Those might be easier to tap for lots of people. If we you really wanted information density, might as well design @1x and pack in as much text as possible!

    1 point
  • Michael LaCroixMichael LaCroix, over 6 years ago (edited over 6 years ago )

    Hiding the navigation UI when necessary is a better approach.

    1 point
  • Jim SilvermanJim Silverman, over 6 years ago

    no.

    screen size is measured diagonally. regardless of the semi-permanent system ui*, the android screen is substantially wider. this is visibly obvious in the comparison photo.

    • the system ui can be made transparents in android 4.4+; content fills the whole screen in a vast majority of cases.
    1 point
  • Adrian ThomasAdrian Thomas, over 6 years ago

    Thanks Johnny, fair points Alex & Clark: I think the point I was trying to make is that it's easy to make assumptions in your design based on specs, but they often don't tell the whole story. :)

    0 points
    • Joseph BarrientosJoseph Barrientos, 6 years ago

      yeah, i didn't catch or read that anywhere in the write up. perhaps a title that says something like "designing for android 5" screens" and then talk about how the space is "lost" when the on screen nav pops up. In fact, no where in the article does it actually say anything about designing, just that you want to say how much "bigger" an iphone screen is. Which (as i'm sure mentioned elsewhere already) is only true when the bottom navigation is up and on a 5" android phone without hardware buttons. A bit misleading and misguided.

      0 points
  • Johnny LamJohnny Lam, over 6 years ago

    Nice write-up.

    0 points