“Back in mid-May, we reported that the next-generation iPhone would feature a taller display that comes in at 3.999 inches [diagonal] with a resolution of 640 x 1136,” Mark Gurman reports for 9to5Mac. “At this resolution, Apple would be keeping the horizontal length of the iPhone display, and only increasing the height.”
“These next-generation iPhones with taller displays feature a home screen that scales to five rows of icons, according to sources,” Gurman reports. “The current 3.5-inch iPhone displays feature four rows of icons. The user-interfaces of Apple’s included applications were also said to be tweaked to take advantage of the taller screen area.”
Gurman reports, “Today, we have found more proof that Apple is at least testing next-generation iPhone displays that are taller. In fact, iOS 6 is completely scaleable to a taller display.”
More info, including screenshots, in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Andrew W.” and “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
Please, make it taller and wider. Taller does NOTHING.
Of course it does something! Imagine your phone about 20% taller. Now, turn it in your hand so it’s on its side… Hey, look! It’s 20% wider!!!
Because of the aspect ratio, 16:9 HDTV content then fits almost perfectly, and would be about 17% larger than on a current iPhone! Games could be made to fit AirPlay-mirrored 1080p displays, and would also fit nearly identically on the built-in display.
So, it most DEFINITELY does do something, and it’s perfect. We do NOT need a wider display. The iPhone is big enough, and you can comfortably use it with one hand.
I’ve played with a Galaxy S3, and I DO NOT want a phone that big. It’s ridiculous, actually. I don’t need “mini-tablet” to try to cram into my pocket, and I’m not carrying a “man purse” or wearing cargo pants/shorts just to have a giant-display phone with me. I’m even a big guy with big hands, and I don’t want a bigger phone!
I agree with the Galaxy S3 being too big, but my hand can easily handle a 4″ screen at the same aspect ratio. A 16:9 ratio looks weird, just like the Microsoft surface.
No, please NEVER make it wider. This is whole point of iPhone — it can still fit to real life pockets and palms.
Taller is EVERYTHING, when you hold the iPhone in landscape mode. That’s when the “taller” screen will REALLY make a difference.
BLN wants the iPhone the size of a Note.
That would be great. But I think I’ll stop at 4.5″.
Go get a dell streak, they can be had for cheap on ebay. Bought by the hundred or so people who like you think a huge phone would be desirable. (they learned, so will you after you carry one around for a while)
I say make three sizes 3.5, 4wide, and 5wide then sell the iPad mini at 8wide
Fragmentation here I come.
No fragmentation will be necessary with this change. Developers can opt to take advantage of the additional screen real estate or not. Existing apps would run exactly as they did, but “pillar-boxed”. This isn’t rocket science.
I asked noted Physicist Ima Dumas Phd and it is indeed rocket science. PS- Stop using the phrase. Everything is rocket science.
Since it apparently eludes you, “it isn’t rocket science” is a colloquialism commonly understood by most to mean, “this concept isn’t so complicated.”
PS – I like the phrase because it’s meaningful and descriptive to most, so I shall continue to use it.
The article mentions that the only [simulator] resolution that supported 5 rows of icons was the alleged 1136 pixels. This would stretch to 90.7 mm, however, which is larger than the physical 90.25 mm of the bezel mentioned by ETrade the other day. Besides, 1136 / 2 equals 568, which does not divide evenly with 16. So does 1136, of course, but to 71, a rather uneven number. The alternative is 560 and 1120 that would fit in the glass bezel but would have problems with the icons.
Now for the scoop – you may think that the larger display is the result of the competition from other mobiles or just the plain evolution to bigger is better. Neither is the way Apple works though. There might be another fascinating reason, however, and that is the size of your hand. The new iPhone features a metal part in its middle where you hold it and that should be large enough for most hands. In the name of symmetry, the front must match the increased length of the rear and that makes the display somewhat longer. You read it here first!
Could it be that this 16:9 aspect ratio shift is a needed change for the new Apple TV (controls, gaming, Airplay filling the screen)?