In Edward Tufte’s video analysis of the first iPhone the game changed of iPhone screen resolution was emphasized. His main point in looking at different applications and design features was: to clarify add detail.
This doesn’t mean that throwing out information can solve chaos, but using design to organize the information properly can create solid messages, and the resolution of an iPhone lets the screen show extraordinary detail despite it’s size. All of these opportunities for detail need to be taken advantage of in a well-designed way.
I experienced my own struggle with screen resolution just this week as I sought to upgrade my smart phone. Being a strong Android supporter and a loyal T-Mobile customer, an iPhone was out of the question. It was down to the Samsung Galaxy SII or the HTC Amaze. Both are fairly comparable 4G smart-phones, the biggest difference for me between the two was screen size and resolution. While the Galaxy was larger and seemed to have more space on the screen, the resolution was lower and noticeably so. Things just didn’t feel quite as polished.
This was reflected most in the phone’s camera capabilities. The Amaze just had a much stronger camera and better display functionality for it and the gallery. For someone who considers her phone as equal parts phone/internet/camera/photo album this was the final kicker for me and I chose the Amaze.
After spending the day analyzing phones, looking at this video of the first iPhone it seems clunky and cluttered. But when I put the design in the context of what phones were like before the iPhone, it is astonishing how one design changed the future of phones. I prefer the Android interface, but I know it wouldn’t be what it is without iPhone as its competitor. With the addition of technology like Siri, the future of the iPhone (and all phones) is ready to be rethought. What will design look like if our voices not our fingers become the primary way we interact with it?