“iPhone 5 will grow 8mm in length to accommodate a new 4in screen, according to rumours on iLounge that conjure the shape of the next Jesus mobe out of the mists of speculation,” Anna Leach reports for The Register.
“According to the site’s sources, the iPhone 5 is likely to have the same flat edges as the 4, which means that we won’t get the teardrop-style tapered edges that fanbois were expecting,” Leach reports. “That smoother design was shelved because the battery needed to power LTE, or next-gen mobile broadband, connections is bulkier and requires the extra space. Insiders also say that the casing will be aluminium, just like the iPod Touch.”
Leach reports, ” Apparently [Steve Jobs] blocked the idea of stretching the screen last year because he didn’t want to fragment the experience on the iOS system. It remains to be seen how Apple will resolve that issue.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
RUMOR: Modestly thicker next-gen iPad due in March, 4-inch iPhone 5 coming next summer – November 18, 2011
RUMOR: Apple working with LG on 4-inch iPhone 5 and 7-inch ‘iPad mini’ Retina displays – November 14, 2011
Nothing to see here. Move along!
The more so this rumour is tabloid nonsense.
There is no way how Apple can really make an aluminium back since it will block too much radio signal. Wi-Fi signal and even 2G cell network are much more powerful so Apple can do iPod touch and could do iPhone 1 this way, but not the weak 3G and even weaker 4G signals.
Apple, however, will be able to increase the screen to 4″ if they will only increase sceen’s height and reserve additional vertical space only for iOS functions and wide-screen videos. No fragmentations issues then.
it will block too much radio signal.
..unless it IS the antenna.
The phone is going to be universal and it has to deal with attenuation that sometimes hands cause, so it has to have multiple segments. So even if they would make the metal back as one of the segments, it would tamper with other segments too much — no chance, hence.
Simply changing the screen size from 3.5″ to 4″ wouldn’t fragment anything as long as the resolution stays the same. Incorrect statements like that are what make these iPhone 5 rumors dubious at best.
What would be the point of adding more pixels to the screen making it 4″ if you weren’t going to change the resolution to use the new pixels? If they stretch the screen size, you have to change the resolution. They go hand in hand. Otherwise there is literally not point to making the screen bigger if you are going to have black bars at the top and bottom of it to maintain the old resolution.
HOWEVER, if they can proportionally increase the screen size to 4″ by lengthening and widening the screen so that the aspect ratio remains the same, then there indeed would be no issue, because the software can increase normal screen to the new size to make sure of the new pixels and make everything slightly larger. Also, if it’s only a 2% to 5% increase, then the retina display should still be fine.
I think Apple has enough history of making displays for their various products that they will be able to make the screen size bigger and not have a different screen resolution.
Some types.
*there is literally NO point
*because the software can increase THE normal screen to the new size to make USE of the new pixels…
No, Jobs would not change the physical size of UI, because this would lead to fragmentation — many new Apple will, for simplicity take, suggest that they main users will have new bigger phone, so they will make some of non-system UI elements smaller — and this will look ugly on normal size sceen iPhones.
So the only solution to this, as I said above, to increase only height of the screen with additional resolution points, which will be reserved to iOS functions and wide-screen videos, possibly browsing and book-reading.
Resolution of the screen will be 1132 * 640 (16:9 ratio), and the diagonal will be exactly 4″; the physical width of the screen will be the same; the same 326 DPI.
*many new Apple developers will, for simplicity sake, …
I was thinking this very same thing earlier today.
Good point. That would allow the bottom of the screen to be used for phone specific functions while all the apps and other UI remain the same pixels. Is that what your saying? If so, sounds good. 16:9 also sounds good for widescreen videos.
My solution by the way shouldn’t cause any problems. The existing UI elements would be zoomed slightly, so there would be no change for the developer or end-user. The buttons UI elements would be 5% bigger, but that would be done by the GPU and CPU, so the developer would still only have 2 screen sizes to develop for (iPhone and iPad). They should still be able to achieve close to 300ppi so even the zoom wouldn’t be evident by looking at it.
But yes, whatever the solution is, it needs to prevent fragmentation, keep only 2 screen sizes for developers and end-users.
Note: I do like the idea of having a 16:9 screen and having the UI be the same size it is now in portrait or landscape mode, but allowing for a horizontal bar of phone specific items across the bottom (such as the task switcher) or a vertical bar across the side (when in landscape mode). But I am not display expert, so who knows. As long as it “just works” and is simple for the end-user and developer, then I think it will be just fine.
Larger pixels, Ben. The resolution decrease from 326 ppi to around 288 ppi.
And if you increase the pixel size, decreasing the resolution, you lose the capability to call it a Retina Display, and you lose a major marketing point! The display becomes just another also ran.
If they don’t change the resolution the pixel count would be under 300 thereby no longer a retina display which is a huge selling point.
Egzackery.
Big whoop. 288 ppi is still higher resolution than any other smartphone (or most of them anyway). Most people can’t tell the difference anyway, and I think the larger screen size would be appreciated. IMO, 4″ is about the ideal size for a smartphone screen. And the 3:2 aspect ratio Apple chose for the iPhone works well – both 4:3 and 16:9 videos fit pretty well, and can be zoomed to fill the screen with only slight cropping.
Wait, so IF Steve has planned out the next 4 yrs of Apple tech, then it won’t be against his wish, if they do release it like that.
Does SJ’s will cover what apple can and can’t do as a corporation?
No his Will doesn’t, but Steve’s marching orders do, ‘don’t ask “What would Steve do? Just do what’s right”‘ and this rumor’s thinking is that a 4” screen would keep the iPhone in line with the competition negating their spec as a selling point.
Apple has fought basically its entire career against the “spec game”. None of the iPhone ads currently in circulation say anything about the hardware specs. Don’t expect them just to up the screen size because Android phones are doing it.
Also, Apple is crushing the industry in terms of profit share, which means they are in a much better long-term position than any other player. They don’t need to react to the market. Didn’t it just come out that the iPhone 3Gs–a two-year-old phone–is one of the best-selling phones on the market right now? The iPhone specs are fine.
THANK you! This is the correct answer.
Too big for most folks to reach the entire screen with their thumb. Would be wise, if they do this, to keep an equally up-to-date 3.5″ version.
I think, generally, the larger screens look ridiculous. 4″ might be okay.
Two iPhones with same internals and different screen sizes? Go get an Android phone, please…
Why would I want an Android? I’m not among those asking for a bigger screen. I would like them to retain the 3.5″ screen we have, as alluded to in my post.
Asshole.
I dunno, man. I tested this by holding my iPhone in my hand and seeing how far up, left, and right I could move my thumb. With the rest position on the home button, I found I could comfortably move my thumb a half-inch past each edge of the iPhone. And I don’t have freak hands. So I think this is a non-concern.
——RM
Maybe my hands are small, but I could only get to the edges of the screen. Also, keep in mind, many women likely have smaller hands.
“Insiders also say that the casing will be aluminium, just like the iPod Touch.”
I hope not, I hate the shiny silver back on the iPod. I much prefer the brushed aluminium look on the iPad. Hopefully this was a typo.
Just keep it backward compatible. Apps designed for a 3.5 inch display can be centered.
Apple is NOT stupid enough to change the resolution from 960×640. Developers would go into a huge uproar.
Look at their history: Apple still sells the 3Gs, the 4 and the 4S. They all run at the same resolution–or exactly 1/2 the resolution–and therefore they all run every app in the App Store (except where the 3Gs doesn’t have the horsepower).
For Apple to suddenly come up with an entirely different resolution (1024×768, or whatever), it would be utterly chaotic for everybody involved, both developers and end users. All to go from 3.5″ to 4″? I’m not buying it.
This is the kind of move we see in the Android world. Apple will not do it.
Two caveats:
1. If Apple has somehow cracked the holy grail of true resolution independence, then all bets are off. Just…don’t hold your breath on actual resolution independence.
2. Maybe Apple keeps 960×640, and makes the screen a teeny bit bigger, but how do they sell “bigger screen, worse resolution”? Part of the reason they’re so great at marketing is because they don’t make dumb decisions like this.
Any article that sethe word “fanbois” is not worth reading so I have no idea what the article said beyond that.
Anyone with a number in his name is an idiot.
I don’t know what he/she typed.
What a crock of shit. A news report about rumors on a fan site. Jesus.
Your new mobile ads are going to lose you a reader (insert a string o explicitives so long it would make the cast of Jersey Shore blush)
i second that – really, really obnoxious, and even showing up on the iPad
Rather ironic that a Mac enthusiast web site so deeply betrays Apple’s core value of delighting the customer
Those stupid moving adverts are driving me nuts as well. Twice now I’ve cancelled a thread I was about to read while trying to tap the ‘X’ in the corner, because the bloody thing keeps moving. Stop them now.
Second that!
Yeah! A bigger screen! And .. and … boy, if Apple doesn’t get those NetBooks out there quick, Apple’s REALLY going to get creamed!
… and other such anti-Apple rumours, wish-lists, and FUD.
No way in Hell I’m clicking on a link to the Register. Those jackasses never saw an anti-Apple story they didn’t like, true or not.
No no, they have it all wrong…
It will be 4″ but that is because it is the first of the Pentoptima (5 sided) screen. That way the iPhone has one more side than all the ‘roid phones.
It will also have USB, Centronix, and PS2 ports, as will the Ipad3 (which will be basically be the same spec except it will also incorporate the new 5-core processor)
If they do anything against SJ’s wishes, I do not doubt for a second that he will come from the grave and go thermonuclear on people.
As a bona fide fanboy, I would welcome a 4″ screen. But Apple must keep the current flat edged design. I like it WAY better than the original curved back design.
As for the all-aluminium casing? Meh. Whatever.
I don’t know if i would like a bigger display… I think steve was right: bigger doesn’t exactly mean better. I do hope Apple reinvents the whole Widgets experience that I had on my Droid X. That’s really all I think android has against ios. Oh and aluminum backing just like iPod touches? Don’t you mean iPads? I really hope the iPhone doesn’t get the fingerprint-prone chrome backing….
4in all the way. It makes a huge difference in readability from 3.5.
Why does everyone think it woukd be to big? You could keep the same size iPhone or slightly larger and still be smaller then all the droids out there.
At some point apple will have to go larger. You can’t stay with a small screen forever. Everything is going to larger screen.
I’d like to have a little larger screen. Of course the pixel dimensions would still be 960×640, so the pixels would be slightly larger.
So it’s not 326ppi anymore – BIG WHOOP! 288 ppi (4″) is still higher resolution than any other smartphone (or most of them anyway). Most people can’t tell the difference, and I think the larger screen size would be appreciated. IMO, 4″ is about the ideal size for a smartphone screen. 3.7″ or 3.8″ would be nice too. 3.5″ really is too small these days.
If they’re worried about marketing a “Retina Display”, they’ll either stop using that term (and deny it ever existed) or modify it – how about “Retina S Display” (for Super Sized).
And the 3:2 aspect ratio Apple chose for the iPhone works well – both 4:3 and 16:9 videos fit pretty well, and can be zoomed to fill the screen with only slight cropping. And photos are presented best at 3:2.
Yeah, the “Retina Display” would be more like a “Cornea Display” but it would STILL be the best friggin’ screen on any smartphone EVAR! I think 4″ is still tolerable – anything larger is ridiculous.
I think the bezel is too big on both the iPhone and the iPad, and you. Can count on them utilizing that wasted space for a larger screen and/or a smaller phone
Maybe the iPhone 4″ and the iPhone 3.5″ nano?
The bigger screens are sexy
Making a 960×640 display at 4 inches is not “Lower resolution”! When someone makes a 1080p HDTV that is 50 inches do people complain that the resolution has been reduced compared to a smaller TV?
Adding new space and pixels to the screen WOULD fragment the user experience because now you would have buttons that only SOME iPhone uses would be able to use. I think THAT is what SJ was worried about.