Steve Jobs Calls 7-Inch Tablets 'Dead on Arrival', Says 10-Inches Minimum

121107 ipad side view

Steve Jobs made a surprise appearance at today's financial results conference call for Apple's Q4 2010 results. Jobs commented on a range of topics including the fragmentation seen on Android as compared to the iPhone.

Of particular note, Jobs commented on the influx of tablet competitors that are flooding the market, and criticized the 7" tablet size, saying that it was too small.

Commenting on avalanche of tablets heading to market. Just a handful of credible entrants. Almost all use 7" screen, compared to iPad at nearly 10" screen. 7" screen is only 45% as large as iPad's screen. Hold an iPad in portrait view and draw a horizontal line halfway down. What's left is a 7" screen...too small. There are clear limits to how close elements can be on the screen before users can't touch accurately. We believe 10-inch screen is minimum necessary.

This effectively kills persistent rumors that Apple was planning on creating a 7" iPad in the near future. Apple has been known to experiment with different form factors and has even been suspected of creating multiple prototypes to throw off competitors.

Related Forum: iPod touch and iPod

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 21, 2025 2:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are around three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices from credible sources. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X...
iPhone 16 Battery Life Feature

iOS 26's New Battery Life Mode Available Only on These iPhone Models

Saturday June 21, 2025 9:02 am PDT by
Last week, we reported that iOS 26 introduces an opt-in Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode. Apple says that Adaptive Power Mode can make "small performance adjustments" when necessary to extend an iPhone's battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness or allowing some activities to "take a little longer." The full description of...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

iPhone Reportedly Moving to All-Screen Design in Two Stages

Sunday June 22, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
Apple has long been working towards an iPhone with an all-screen design, and it might finally achieve the feat in a few more years from now. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple will shrink the size of the Dynamic Island on new iPhone models released next year. A year after that, he expects Apple to release a redesigned 20th-anniversary iPhone model....
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 2

Monday June 23, 2025 2:57 pm PDT by
Apple provided developers with the second beta of iOS 26, introducing the first changes and refinements to the new operating system since it debuted after the WWDC keynote. Because we're early in the beta testing process, there are quite a few tweaks to iOS 26, which we've rounded up below. Control Center The background behind the Liquid Glass Control Center buttons has more blur, allowing...
ios 26 control center b2

iOS 26 Beta 2 Fixes Control Center Design

Monday June 23, 2025 10:58 am PDT by
With the second beta of iOS 26 that Apple provided to developers today, Apple addressed one of the major complaints that people have had with Liquid Glass. iOS 26 beta 1 on left, iOS 26 beta 2 on right The Control Center buttons are now slightly more opaque, making it easier to see the different control options even on a multicolored background. The new, more opaque look is apparent with the ...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro's Alleged Vapor Chamber Cooling System Partly Revealed

Sunday June 22, 2025 6:37 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models are rumored to be equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, and a leaker known as Majin Bu today shared a photo of an alleged copper thermal plate for the system. Many high-end Android smartphones like Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra are equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, which can manage heat dissipation inside the...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adding Two New Wi-Fi Features, Allows AirDrop and AirPlay Alternatives

Saturday June 21, 2025 7:02 am PDT by
iOS 26 is gaining two new Wi-Fi features, including Captive Assist and Wi-Fi Aware. MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris discovered a reference to Captive Assist within the code for the first iOS 26 developer beta, but Apple has yet to enable the feature. It should be available by the time the software update is released later this year. In his Power On newsletter last month, Bloomberg's...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 26 Includes These Five Smaller Features You Might Have Missed

Saturday June 21, 2025 11:18 am PDT by
While the dust is beginning to settle on the first iOS 26 beta, we continue to take a closer look at new features coming with the update. Below, we recap five smaller changes that you might have missed. Emoji Game Apple News+ subscribers in the U.S. and Canada can play a new Emoji Game, which tasks players with completing words and phrases with emoji. This is the fifth game that is...
airpods 4 blue

Apple Offering Free AirPods — Here's How to Get Them

Tuesday June 17, 2025 6:33 am PDT by
Apple is running a new promotion that offers free AirPods to qualifying customers. Now through September 30, college and university students in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Singapore can receive free AirPods 4 when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. AirPods Pro 2 are also available at a discount. If you do not want AirPods, the promotion also offers various other...

Top Rated Comments

KnightWRX Avatar
166 months ago
"What's left is a 7" screen...too small. There are clear limits to how close elements can be on the screen before users can't touch accurately. We believe 10-inch screen is minimum necessary."

10 inch screen is the minimum because 7 inch is too small... business was not part of the reasoning back then.

Steve Jobs always says stuff like this when Apple doesn't ship a product in a category only to turn around and say the complete opposite when they do enter a segment.

Then he makes you believe that Apple somehow "got something" and corrected all the problems that made it so it wasn't feasible until they did it, so that it doesn't look like he's flip flopping.

Steve was the master at flip flopping.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Renzatic Avatar
166 months ago
Only on a Apple forum. Here, I'll carry it further. Since it's nearly 8", and 8" is close to 9", and once you're at 9" it's only a little more to 10". So in reality, the mini iPad is the same size as the original, it's a 10" tablet.

That's the same logic I use when I lie on swingers websites.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kadman Avatar
166 months ago
It would be entertaining to go through this thread post by post and see how many here were criticizing the idea of a smaller iPad and now are singing it's praises. It was stupid when everyone else made one and now suddenly it's innovative. Priceless!

Oh they will, but it will be just as WRX says in reference to the way Steve would explain it away. Those people will indicate how the way in which Apple pulled it off suddenly made it brilliant and THE product to have. I've said it before. The process for products goes:

Someone has a great idea and makes a product (or adds a feature)
Others make a product (or feature)
Apple criticizes the product (or feature)
Zealots here will crow the same for as long as it takes (sometimes years)
Apple finally comes out with their version of the product (or feature)
Zealots here are brought to tears about how wondrous it is
Within 12 months, history is changed and Apple have now created the product (or idea) and all those afterwards are said to have just copied.

Please let me know if I'm off base. ;)
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Anuba Avatar
165 months ago
The kids on the first page of this thread look ultra silly.
True. Old threads are fun. My favorite is this one from 2001 about the introduction of the first iPod, which they thought was going to be a massive flop but ended up laying the foundation for Apple's path to becoming larger than Exxon.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apples-new-thing-ipod.500/

"iPoop... iCry. I was so hoping for something more."

"Great just what the world needs, another freaking MP3 player. Go Steve! Where's the Newton?!"

"hey - heres an idea Apple - rather than enter the world of gimmicks and toys, why dont you spend a little more time sorting out your pathetically expensive and crap server line up?"

"I still can't believe this! All this hype for something so ridiculous! Who cares about an MP3 player? I want something new! I want them to think differently!
Why oh why would they do this?! It's so wrong! It's so stupid!"

"All that hype for an MP3 player? Break-thru digital device? The Reality Distiortion Field™ is starting to warp Steve's mind if he thinks for one second that this thing is gonna take off."

"I for one am disappointed and think that apple is making a mistake by trying to get into this market."

"Cube anyone..."
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Anuba Avatar
165 months ago
As brilliant as Steve was, sometimes he was... drumroll... WRONG.

Sometimes he thought things like the Cube would be a good idea. Sometimes he thought removing features such as Firewire on the 13" MBP was a good idea, only to be persuaded to bring it back.

Some people apparently like to hold a tablet in one hand, and operate it with the other, like this.



Evidently this is difficult to do with the 10" iPad, considering the plethora of accessories attempting to alleviate the problem:







... And then there are plain retarded ones like this, er, BabyBjorn?



Who knows, maybe Steve was so absorbed initially in an "OMG we have a tablet!!!" sort of way that he assumed everyone would happily and ceremoniously devote both hands to holding the device and sit there awestruck forever. Maybe he was convinced that there must be a single sweet spot for this device type. Either way, he might have been -- gasp -- wrong.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleScruff1 Avatar
166 months ago
It would be entertaining to go through this thread post by post and see how many here were criticizing the idea of a smaller iPad and now are singing it's praises. It was stupid when everyone else made one and now suddenly it's innovative. Priceless!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)