“In the past, when Apple has grown the screen of an iOS device — for example, with the transition from the iPhone 4s to the iPhone 5 — Apple has taken pains to keep the pixel density the same,” John Brownlee reports for Cult of Mac. “The Retina Display on the iPhone 5 is 326 pixels per inch, just like the iPhone 4s. This makes it easier for developers and helps prevent the widespread fragmentation seen in the Android operating system.”
“With many rumors pegging the forthcoming iPhone 6 as having a much bigger 4.7-inch display, a practical issue presents itself: what would that mean for resolution and pixel-density?” Brownlee reports. “If Apple increases the display size, will they increase the resolution to compete with the likes of HTC and Samsung’s 1080p Android smartphones? And if so, what does that mean for app developers?”
“Citing a report by reputable analyst Ming Chi Kuo that says the iPhone 6’s 4.7-inch display will boast a 1,334 x 750 pixel display, the theory is this: even though it will have a bigger screen, Apple will keep the iPhone 6’s resolution exactly the same as the iPhone 5,” Brownlee reports. “In this approach, Apple wouldn’t worry about increasing resolution, and instead “letterbox” apps that hadn’t been updated to support the iPhone 6, surround a 4-inch app with padded borders… The biggest danger here is that Apple would look behind-the-times compared to the competition… [but] Apple might even be able to make a marketing weapon out of it, arguing that their competitors are wasting battery life to power screens with pixels people can’t see anyway.”
Read more, and check out the example images, in the full article here.
“This seems like the easiest path forward for Apple,” Pi writes for The Verge. “The burden on developers is minor (and is similar to the 4″ transition), no apps are at risk of being broken (just slightly annoying to use, thus incentivizing devs to update), and screen costs and complexities can remain low so that either new technologies can be fielded at lower risk (thinner panels, new screen tech, etc.) or just to keep margins high.”
“Plus, devs are further pushed to use auto-layout, giving Apple further flexibility in the future. (Perhaps for that 5.5″ iPhablet),” Pi writes. “Finally, additional power consumption is kept to a minimum since there’s only marginally more pixels to push and light up, so the presumably bigger battery can give a sizable boost to battery life.”
Much more in the full article here.