There is positively no chance in hell Apple will shoot their Retina initiative in head by introducing a 264 PPI phone. None.
iPad mini?
Sub 5" 1080p phones are coming soon and from a number of manufacturers. I don't know what pixel density that works out to, but it is higher than the current iPhone by a good margin. You don't answer that with a new phone with giant pixels by comparison. That's backward progress, and will get the device panned.
If we get a larger screen option, PPI is going up or at the very least staying the same.
You don't understand, Apple is under two constraints. Screen technology, and a desire to keep developer fragmentation issues to a minimum. That's why the iPad mini is the resolution and diagonal size that it is. It was dictated by those factors.
The same goes for an iPhone Plus. And because there never was a retina iPhone Plus, Apple understands that they don't have to make it retina, as the non-retina iPhone Plus is still
adding options that otherwise never existed, instead of taking away options, which is what would happen if the iPhone 5S were to drop retina, for example.
And iPhone Plus without retina is better than no iPhone Plus at all.
Also, why do people get all worked up over whether
they'd want one? It's like they have to personally approve of each and every product that exists or something! There are only two relevant questions:
- Is there an iPhone that you do want?
- Is the product in question appealing to a sufficiently large number of people?
In this case, there are enough people who prefer the 3.5" iPhone 4S size (not me, but there are those here who do!), the 4" iPhone 5 size (I prefer this greatly over the 4S), and who even further, prefer the much larger sizes offered by Android phones. I'd have to see it to be sure, but I think I'd prefer an iPhone Plus over an iPhone 5.
Ok, so maybe
you don't want a Plus. Good for you! They already make one you
do like, so what's the harm? On the other hand, there are plenty of people, as proven by the success of the Galaxy SIII and even the almost comical (to me) Note II. If they want an iPhone Plus, how can anyone possibly argue that Apple shouldn't offer it if they can?
I mean, honestly, how does, "I don't like it, so no one else should be allowed to have it!" make a lick of sense?