Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

QCassidy352

macrumors G5
Mar 20, 2003
12,028
6,036
Bay Area
In a world where manufacturers are coming out with 468ppi devices, a regression from retina displays would be incredibly stupid.

That's a bragging-rights-only spec. Not real world different from something with 300+.

Also, don't believe this rumor. They won't lower the pixel density that far.
 

iGrip

macrumors 68000
Jul 1, 2010
1,626
0
The proportions are all off. It is a fugly mess.

The top and bottom bezels are WAY too big, throwing off the entire balance and composition.

Fail.
 

charlituna

macrumors G3
Jun 11, 2008
9,636
816
Los Angeles, CA
At this point, the size is only half the equation. iOS is getting more and more dated by the day.

Without a major iOS overhaul, I don't think they are going to capture any new marketshare.

You might be surprised. Sure the geeks hate that iOS is the same but those are the same folks that were jailbreaking on day one.

The vast majority aren't geeks and likely love that iOS stays familiar because they don't want to learn a new system

Not to mention that Apple doesn't design for marketshare chasing. If they did the iPhone would be in about 50 different forms and$200 off contract tops.
 

Akarin

macrumors 6502
Oct 16, 2011
290
17
Nyon, Switzerland
I thought that one strength of the iPhone was to have only one screen size to develop for? And then only two screen sizes. What's next? As many sizes as there are android devices?
 

iGrip

macrumors 68000
Jul 1, 2010
1,626
0
We conducted similar usability tests a couple of years ago and found that usability suffered dramatically for most users and the majority said they preferred a smaller screen. However, these users were asked to operate the phone with one hand so they became aware of the benefits and liabilities of a larger display.

I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise that the average consumer would be wowed by the larger screen, cos it does look impressive in a lineup and consumers rarely take one handed operation into consideration at the point of sale. It's only when they need to operate it with a cup of coffee in one hand that they realize that the larger screen can actually be a major liability.



I operate my Galaxy S3 without problems, let alone "major liabilities".

Then again, I am forced to wear clown pants so that the ginormous thing will fit in my pocket, my hands are the size of dinner plates, and when I hold it up to my head to talk on it, it looks ridiculous.

But we guys who "just hate Apple" will put up with anything to avoid their otherwise magical gadgets.


/s
 

charlituna

macrumors G3
Jun 11, 2008
9,636
816
Los Angeles, CA
That's a bragging-rights-only spec. Not real world different from something with 300+.

Also, don't believe this rumor. They won't lower the pixel density that far.

Certainly 400+ is a waste for the vast majority.

And I agree, after the crap they got for the iPad mini not being retina no way would they revert an established item.
 

jkichline

macrumors 6502
Aug 25, 2010
362
190
You're all wrong

People that think Apple will make a bigger screen just to compete with Android don't understand Apple or marketing in general. First of all, that would be WAY to easy just to get a useless spec (as one commenter said, hold it closer to your face, duh). Also, it would be like admitting defeat or that you were wrong. Apple wouldn't do that even if it was wrong (I personally think they are very right when it comes to phone size and I find the iPhone 5 a bit hard to use).

What I think Apple will do is come out with a 1280x720 phone. Now you may say NO WAY FRAGMENTATION! But you don't understand this from a developer standpoint or from the standpoint that Apple will do something different. They WILL have the best screen and WILL NOT fragment. How is this possible?

Apple had patented a technology to white or black out parts of a screen using e-ink. Now imagine if the entire iPhone was screen. There are a number of issues of course like where do you put the home button, or what about the microphones and cameras, etc? Hmm... difficult technological issues but ones that Apple would be willing to solve to do it. So imagine this...

1) The home button is invisible. You just hold your thumb in the area and press. Apple's fingerprint and haptic patents cover that you pressed the home button and also add security too.
2) The camera can be set beneath the LED screen or just on the edge of it. Crazy tolerances will be needed but imagine if you could look right at the screen and make true eye contact in FaceTime.
3) Microphones could be moved towards the edge of the screen on in a very thin bezel.
4) The iPhone has a new mode called "Full Screen" that game developers or video players can utilize for true 720p HD gaming or movies.
5) Normal apps run in a letterbox and e-ink whites or blacks out the screen so that it looks and works like a normal iPhone at regular resolution allowing all other apps to run normally (unless they use full screen mode)

So there you have it folks. That's a definitely Apple-like thing to do. No one else has done it or will do it because they don't have the technology or will to make it happen. True edge-to-edge screen.
 

Yvan256

macrumors 603
Jul 5, 2004
5,080
991
Canada
And now for a social experiment

Print dozens of these, put something about as heavy as an iPhone 5 inside so that it feels solid and leave them in various places such as restaurants, etc.

Then just sit at another table and see how long it takes for people to either steal it or give it to management as a lost item. Also, keep count on the thieves vs honest people and report back to us with your findings. Average times, percentages, etc.
 

Premium1

macrumors 65816
Jan 26, 2013
1,391
1,619
People that think Apple will make a bigger screen just to compete with Android don't understand Apple or marketing in general. First of all, that would be WAY to easy just to get a useless spec (as one commenter said, hold it closer to your face, duh). Also, it would be like admitting defeat or that you were wrong. Apple wouldn't do that even if it was wrong (I personally think they are very right when it comes to phone size and I find the iPhone 5 a bit hard to use).

What I think Apple will do is come out with a 1280x720 phone. Now you may say NO WAY FRAGMENTATION! But you don't understand this from a developer standpoint or from the standpoint that Apple will do something different. They WILL have the best screen and WILL NOT fragment. How is this possible?

Apple had patented a technology to white or black out parts of a screen using e-ink. Now imagine if the entire iPhone was screen. There are a number of issues of course like where do you put the home button, or what about the microphones and cameras, etc? Hmm... difficult technological issues but ones that Apple would be willing to solve to do it. So imagine this...

1) The home button is invisible. You just hold your thumb in the area and press. Apple's fingerprint and haptic patents cover that you pressed the home button and also add security too.
2) The camera can be set beneath the LED screen or just on the edge of it. Crazy tolerances will be needed but imagine if you could look right at the screen and make true eye contact in FaceTime.
3) Microphones could be moved towards the edge of the screen on in a very thin bezel.
4) The iPhone has a new mode called "Full Screen" that game developers or video players can utilize for true 720p HD gaming or movies.
5) Normal apps run in a letterbox and e-ink whites or blacks out the screen so that it looks and works like a normal iPhone at regular resolution allowing all other apps to run normally (unless they use full screen mode)

So there you have it folks. That's a definitely Apple-like thing to do. No one else has done it or will do it because they don't have the technology or will to make it happen. True edge-to-edge screen.

Except your point fails to mention they already did this with the iPhone 5. You think they made it bigger because they felt it needed it? No it was because the competition was coming with larger devices and users wanted that with the iPhone. Stretched out or not they still made it bigger to compete against the larger offerings on the market.
 

phillipduran

macrumors 65816
Apr 30, 2008
1,055
607
Print dozens of these, put something about as heavy as an iPhone 5 inside so that it feels solid and leave them in various places such as restaurants, etc.

Then just sit at another table and see how long it takes for people to either steal it or give it to management as a lost item. Also, keep count on the thieves vs honest people and report back to us with your findings. Average times, percentages, etc.

And post us up some Youtube videos please. :D
 

Woodcrest64

macrumors 65816
Aug 14, 2006
1,303
515
At this point, the size is only half the equation. iOS is getting more and more dated by the day.

Without a major iOS overhaul, I don't think they are going to capture any new marketshare.

It will be interesting to see what Jonny Ive's inspiration is for iOS. Hopefully that is seen in iOS 7
 

greg78x

macrumors newbie
Jan 11, 2013
15
0
So Cal
Before:

"Retina! Retina! Retina! Your eyes can't even perceive the pixels at this density! Even higher pixel density than all the competitors! So amazing! Retina!"

After:

"You know guys, ppi isn't everything. There are so many factors to consider that make up the whole overall user experience. And even though our competitors might accuse our new phone of not meeting some arbitrary threshold that they want to call 'retina', we think that...."

You're confusing ppi with screen size maybe(?) I don't think Apple has ever retracted their ppi comments, though I believe they have about screen sizes.

I could be mistaken. Was the second part of your post an actual quote?
 
Last edited:

Kwill

macrumors 68000
Mar 10, 2003
1,595
1
Too tall

If Apple is going to scale up something, let it be the 4s screen size.

----------

Noooo. We cant go around looking like the Samsung Galaxy Note crowd. :eek:

I smell another Samsung commercial parody of Apple users standing in line with paper cutouts. :D
 

drwam

macrumors newbie
Jul 26, 2005
6
0
That's not a great product

I am sorry, but a blow-up iPhone 5 will not sell well against Android Phones with full HD resolution. And, if they were going to do it, why would they wait until 2014? There is not a heck of a lot of engineering to be done for crying out loud.
I think the real key is with iOS. If Apple made an iPhone approximating 1080p resolution as a third resolution in the iOS universe, what would they do with the size? Would they just stick on extra rows of apps in the grid? Sounds very uninspiring. Frankly the app grid was a great design for a 480x320 phone but surely one can do better with an iPhone HD or even a present iPhone 5. It looks old and tired in the present day. Historically, Apple innovations are preceded by periods of apparent stagnation. In that context, perhaps there will be some new interface paradigms to come.
Also, I would never rule out a third iOS resolution (forgetting the stretch iPhone res in the iPhone 5) because it could be a useful stepping stone to other products, such as a larger screen iPad. Think Different.
 

iPhD

macrumors member
Jun 22, 2007
66
64
<giggle>

"In our testing..." made me laugh out loud.

I pictured very serious fellows in lab coats in sealed clean rooms holding the oRigami phone and making pronouncements like "I'm bringing it to my ear now" and "Switching to left hand on my mark."
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.