WSJ: Apple to increase iPhone screen size to 'at least' 4-inches

Status
Not open for further replies.
Don't know how I feel about a bigger screen. I have an evo 3d, and while the screen is nice, I prefer using my brothers 4s because it feels more intuitive. Everything is within thumbs reach and I don't have to continually readjust my palm to reach an app or the power button. That said I think it'll be interesting to see what they do with a bigger screen, provided the rumors are true.
 
I'm willing to bet the screen size will go to 4" with only a minor change to it's overall size. It's quite an apple thing to do. Then, everyone will go rush and copy it.
 
Air said:
Don't know how I feel about a bigger screen. I have an evo 3d, and while the screen is nice, I prefer using my brothers 4s because it feels more intuitive. Everything is within thumbs reach and I don't have to continually readjust my palm to reach an app or the power button. That said I think it'll be interesting to see what they do with a bigger screen, provided the rumors are true.
Click to expand...

the 4s screen is to small , i hate having to do stuff on my sister's 4s. I have an epic 4g and think even that screen is to small. A 4.5 or so should work for me
 
yogloo said:
I'm willing to bet the screen size will go to 4" with only a minor change to it's overall size. It's quite an apple thing to do. Then, everyone will go rush and copy it.
Click to expand...

of course everyone will rush to copy it , they will rush so fast that they will have already had 4 inch screen models on the market for 3 years or so by the time the new iphone hits !
 
nib95 said:
Not entirely the case. Android is still a more complex and customisable OS, call it more mature and flexible if you will. Whereas the iPhone's is more simplistic and easy to use. I thought I'd prefer the latter, but feel like I'm having my hand held through the UI, with aesthetics that look way too over simplistic and archaic. That coupled with, believe it or not, the screen size, is exactly why I'm moving over.

But different strokes for different folks. Some of my friends are ardent iPhone lovers and don't consider a switch to one of the other OS's. The simplistic approach of iOS is why they stick with it.

But yea, I bet no one could have predicted the Note would sell as well as it did either. That's verging on tablet size right there.
Click to expand...

Don't overshoot this simplistic thing too much

Working in IT I know some of the most wonderfully technical people that build incredibly complex systems, and they own iPhones. They have no care for whether it is simplistic, but they appreciated the detail and the UI. And it's quite evident that Google are simplifying things more and more from what I first witnessed with the G1 and the Nexus Galaxy

Brilliant UI, attention to detail snd clean looking 3rd party apps. This is why I use my iPad and iPhone.
 
Putting the whole elongated screen theory aside, the dilemma they face with increasing the screen size, be it 3.75 or 4", either way the retina quality is going to take a hit. That's sort of a big deal..
 
Chronic reporting in:

ZIfgg.png
 
Sentry said:
Putting the whole elongated screen theory aside, the dilemma they face with increasing the screen size, be it 3.75 or 4", either way the retina quality is going to take a hit. That's sort of a big deal..
Click to expand...

why would it take a hit? they just change the shape of the sheets they cut the displays from.
 
Sentry said:
Putting the whole elongated screen theory aside, the dilemma they face with increasing the screen size, be it 3.75 or 4", either way the retina quality is going to take a hit. That's sort of a big deal..
Click to expand...

That's assuming that they'd keep exactly the same screen resolution instead of a larger one.

Apple's not gonna let the 4 and 4S have more pixel-dense, superior displays to the 5. End of story.
 
176 new pixel rows.

Anyone have any idea how much a 'row' of icons on the homescreen takes up? All signs point towards a screen of the same width as the current one (1mm difference is probably due to inches rounding up/down) so it looks like they'll just eat a bit from the top/bottom bezel as many have speculated so many times in this thread.

Edit:
This is almost 16:9 but not quite.
1136×639 is 16:9.
 
Zeppu said:
Next-gen iPhone rumored to have 1136 x 640 resolution, redesigned dock connector

New Screen
Code: 
DPI: 330.1
Dot Pitch: 0.0769mm
Size: 3.44" × 1.94" (8.74cm × 4.92cm)
Aspect Ratio: 71 × 40 (1.78:1)
Pixel Count: 727,040 
Megapixels: 0.73MP

Old Screen
Code: 
DPI: 329.65
Dot Pitch: 0.0771mm
Size: 2.91" × 1.94" (7.4cm × 4.93cm)
Aspect Ratio: 3 × 2 (1.5:1)
Pixel Count: 614,400 
Megapixels: 0.61MP
Go on then Sentry, amend your mockups.
Click to expand...

ugh. I hope this longscreen stuff is bullshit.
 
I like this better than the current aspect ratio being blown up to 4 inches since you keep the same PPI and width but get more screen real estate and are able to view 16:9 videos full screen. I'll miss the one handedness of the current iPhone but oh well.
 
Wow, so now i may consider an iphone in the future, once you go beyond 4 inches it is hard to go back to those small screens. Plus the design of the phone is old and dated with those huge borders
 
Good Job Bob said:
Terrible.
Click to expand...
Agreed, fuck that. People say they want 4" but this really isn't it (imo). This adds a measly 176 extra pixels, what's the benefit? It's not a huge deal either way but the problems with it don't outweigh the benefits. Those extra pixels will provide what exactly, other than a headache for some game developers and more thumb cramps, it's not really bringing anything beneficial to the table like a true 4"-4.3" would.

Hoping it's not true, since there's a lot of other evidence out there (from more credible/numerous sources) so who knows what direction it'll be going in.

Also, if it's in the same identical glass back and frame of the i4 this'll be worth even less. That'll be what, more than two years without any significant physical refresh? Hope that at least gets an upgrade.

[edit] why is everyone reposting the same pics. :lol
 
Sentry said:
Agreed, fuck that. People say they want 4" but this really isn't it (imo). This adds a measly 176 extra pixels, what's the benefit? It's not a huge deal either way but the problems with it don't outweigh the benefits. Those extra pixels will provide what exactly, other than a headache for some game developers and more thumb cramps, it's not really bringing anything beneficial to the table like a true 4"-4.3" would.
Click to expand...

True. 1.3cm extra height will hardly provide any advantages since text, icons and UI elements will remain exactly the same height. You get slightly more screen real estate, but as you say, it's a very small upgrade for all the hassle devs'll have to go through.
 
Zeppu said:
176 new pixel rows.

Anyone have any idea how much a 'row' of icons on the homescreen takes up? All signs point towards a screen of the same width as the current one (1mm difference is probably due to inches rounding up/down) so it looks like they'll just eat a bit from the top/bottom bezel as many have speculated so many times in this thread.
Click to expand...
Fits fucking perfectly (literally just added another row, no spacing adjustments whatsoever);

Click to expand...
 
Sweet. Hopefully they use those extra 176px for an iAd banner. Just charge $100 to remove it if you want.

$100 subsidized next gen iPhone--that's a winner!
 
Zeppu said:
True. 1.3cm extra height will hardly provide any advantages since text, icons and UI elements will remain exactly the same height. You get slightly more screen real estate, but as you say, it's a very small upgrade for all the hassle devs'll have to go through.
Click to expand...
Damn shame that this will end up being their response to the 4" market. It's a cop out answer imo, and they might as well stick with 3.5 if that's the way they go with it.

But oh well, the devs will deal with it and it'll become the norm within no time. Just very little hype for something so insignificant. This is what Jobs was heavily invested in? Really? Something that a fucking internet forum poster came up with in his free time weeks ago? Meh.

Good Job Bob said:
Your iPhone is really stock, Sentry.
Click to expand...
That's why it's called a mockup. :p
I'd kill myself if that's how my homescreen looked.
 
Zeppu said:
True. 1.3cm extra height will hardly provide any advantages since text, icons and UI elements will remain exactly the same height. You get slightly more screen real estate, but as you say, it's a very small upgrade for all the hassle devs'll have to go through.
Click to expand...

you can read more text in landscape before you have to start a new line, so less eye movement - less eye strain

you can see more of a web page/map/book. Whats wrong with that? Increasing the size in both dimensions but keeping the resolution the same wouldn't give you any more usable space.

Sentry - I expect there are a few other things in there too :)
 
In regards to resolution fragmentation, is it possible to fit 1024x768 res into a 4" screen? That way, devs can just reuse assets from their iPad apps. What would be the DPI with that?

And about changing the connector and incompatibility with existing accessories, wouldn't an adapter mediate this issue? They can even make it fit some of those iSpeaker accessories.
 
JayDub said:
In regards to resolution fragmentation, is it possible to fit 1024x768 res into a 4" screen? That way, devs can just reuse assets from their iPad apps. What would be the DPI with that?
Click to expand...
The dpi is unchanged. Theyll reuse assets from the iPhone 4. Only after paying the $100 iAd removal though.
 
giga said:
Sweet. Hopefully they use those extra 176px for an iAd banner. Just charge $100 to remove it if you want.

$100 subsidized next gen iPhone--that's a winner!
Click to expand...
:lol Oh god this is so bad. Fuuuu. If they'll smart that's probably what they'll do, god damn iAds everywhere. I can see it now.

Shearie said:
I have to imagine they'll use that extra space for widgets or something else other than more app icons.
Click to expand...
Maybe, but I doubt Apple gives a shit about widgets at this point. It's no coincidence that the 1136 pixel count fits perfectly for an extra row of apps.
 
giga said:
The dpi is unchanged. Theyll reuse assets from the iPhone 4. Only after paying the $100 iAd removal though.
Click to expand...

For a 1024x768 resolution?

And I can see the resolution NOT changing, and it'd be easy for Apple to say, "lower DPI but still higher than what the human eye can see at that distance."
 
JayDub said:
In regards to resolution fragmentation, is it possible to fit 1024x768 res into a 4" screen? That way, devs can just reuse assets from their iPad apps. What would be the DPI with that?

And about changing the connector and incompatibility with existing accessories, wouldn't an adapter mediate this issue? They can even make it fit some of those iSpeaker accessories.
Click to expand...
First of all 1024x768 is 4:3 iirc, iPhone is 3:2, and now they're supposedly changing it to 16:9, so no that wouldn't be possible to fit in a 4" screen, original ratio or otherwise. And considering that this is the same exact screen and pixel width, but adding another 176 pixels to the vertical layout, means that the assets will go unchanged. The center content simply has more breathing room.

Except it's 16:9 instead of 3:2, which will matter for any app that doesn't use traditional bottom and top nab bar UI, such as games for example.
 
giga said:
No. Why would they use that? Don't say iPad apps.
Click to expand...

Just wondering if that'd be feasible. It would make it easier for devs to reuse the ASSETS from the iPad apps?

Sentry said:
First of all 1024x768 is 4:3 iirc, iPhone is 3:2, and now they're supposedly changing it to 16:9, so no that wouldn't be possible to fit in a 4" screen, original ratio or otherwise. And considering that this is the same exact screen and pixel width, but adding another 176 pixels to the vertical layout, means that the assets will go unchanged. The center content simply has more breathing room.

Except it's 16:9 instead of 3:2, which will matter for any app that doesn't use traditional bottom and top nab bar UI, such as games for example.
Click to expand...


Ah, interesting.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Apple delays Siri AI to iPhone 17 (after advertising it for 16 Pro), gets sued
16
2K
Haint replied
Apple to rename all of its operating systems
23
920
Drew1440 replied
Ultra clear look for the iPhone is wild. Here's how to get it.
48
2K
ShirAhava replied
Tom Holland Rushed to Hospital After ‘Spider-Man 4’ Stunt Mishap
29
419
DKehoe replied
Apple Event | It's Glowtime | iPhone 16 models, Apple Watch and AirPods refresh
Event  2 3 4 5 6
256
26K
Soodanim replied
Top Bottom