I used Figma to design our iphone app. What iphone model should I use for designing iphone apps?
For what it's worth: I'm asking for iphone model instead of resolution since I can specify the model in Figma.
2 Answers
This is much less of an issue when you design just for iPhone (I assume native?) apps compared to Android apps (because of phone models that are foldable), and also not as much of an issue compared to websites that need to be responsive. However, there is really one main thing you need to take into consideration.
While the overall dimensions of iPhone hasn't changed too much since iPhone SE, the major difference is the appearance of the infamous 'notch' and the 'dynamic island' that features in certain models.
So you will have to decide whether your apps has features that will cater specifically to these features, or if you will simply create apps that find other ways to work around them so that there is a consistent behaviour and design for the interface regardless of the type of model.
Also, the iOS version supported by the different models differ, so if you do choose an older version, then you need to make sure that the mockups match with the actual operating system in terms of visual design and supported features.
This is probably why most designers tend to go with the latest version, as it is probably going to have the most up-to-date documentation and what people are expecting to see so they know what it will look like in new devices. Personally, I think if the design works well on smaller screen sizes like the iPhone SE, then it should work well on larger models, so I like to design on a smaller size to start with, and then make sure it scales well (rather than the other way around).
answered May 19 at 22:23
Adding to Michael Lai, it was always best practice to design in the smallest screens, so one could easily scale up to larger screens, and so that the design has good responsiveness on smaller screens, but since Figma has added auto-layout and tons of responsive options this has become redundant.
Most designers use the latest model in my experience, and with auto layout and responsive designs, this design will scale with changing the frame sizes.
