Bigger phones, bigger pockets: Fashion retailers redesign trousers for iPhone 6 Plus

Following the iPhone 6 Plus bendgate saga, clothing retailers are making jean pockets bigger

Smartphones are getting bigger, so pockets are changing with them (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Clothing is adapting to technology, with major fashion retailers announcing that they will increase the size of their pockets to match the increasing size of your smartphone.

This move was no doubt prompted by the iPhone 6 Plus bendgate controversy which saw consumers complain that their iPhones had contorted in their cramped front pocket.

There are, however, numerous smartphone models on the market that you’d struggle to fit in the front of your jeans.

So, who are the retailers bending over backwards for the phablet craze?

There’s Uniqlo, who told Quartz: “We are having conversation currently with the product development team regarding technology overall, and how our clothes can provide compatibility from a user perspective. Jean pockets is one of those conversations.”

American Eagle said their men’s pockets already accommodate larger smartphones, and that they are considered extending that feature to women’s as well.

Levi’s told Mashable: “Without being iPhone 6-specific, our mantra, like [Steve Jobs’], will always be to design products that make people’s lives a little better.”

And J. Crew also indicated that they are exploring new tech accessorites for the iPhone 6 or special interior pockets to carry the various generations of tablets.

These major brands may be making the change because it’s good sense to work with Apple rather than against, but the iPhone 6 Plus is only the latest edition to a growing list of super-sized smartphones.

Big smartphones:

There’s the Sony Xperia Z Ultra with a gargantuan screen of almost 6 and a half inches; and the 6.3 inch Samsung Galaxy Mega; and a range of 6 inch screens from LG to Nokia.

The iPhone 6 Plus, Apple’s biggest ever smartphone, is sized at 6.2 by 3 inches, with a display screen of five and a half inches.

Perhaps these designers will help ascertain when a smartphone becomes a phablet becomes a tablet – and then consumers will have a choice of pocket size alongside length, waist and cut.