Mockups of a 4.94-Inch 'iPhone Plus' Show Why a Larger iPhone Might Make Sense

[Hakone]

The statement here is that Apple has come to follow the market and not create it.

[shurcooL]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

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.

440 DPI and more.

If we get a larger screen option, PPI is going up or at the very least staying the same.

Agree.

[tann]

Not going to happen, if Apple increases the iPhone's screen they are most CERTAINLY going to an ultra resolution/dpi. 1080p at the least.

If they release a 4.9" phone, with a measly 260ppi when other 5" phones have 400+ they are going to look a bit out of place.

[bushido]

not with the current aspect ratio of the iPhone. u barely have any benefit on websites with a 16:9 screen

why is apple so stuck on pleasing the devs anyway? isnt that their job ... to program duh?

if no one would innovate just to please the devs we'd still be playing snake 1 on a black and white screen

[burnside]

Originally Posted by Dr McKay

Yes I dont know how I cope walking about with this Plasma TV in my pocket. Look how dinky the iPhone 5 looks next to it.

Image

LMAO. I like the 4" screen, but I would not hesitate to see how a near 5" screen iPhone would be. I've handled the Galaxy Note and thought it was too big, but a Galaxy sized iPhone might be something I can get used to.

[macse30]

Math sucks

[applesith]

The 16:9 is great for video and holding in portrait mode. But doing anything other than video in landscape really stinks. Pictures have big bars on the side and websites require more scrolling. that little bit extra width would go a long way.

[Anti-Lucifer]

it doesn't matter how much resolution you can pack into a 4" screen because my current iphone 5 is NOT USED as a web browser, image viewer, nor is it used for anything but making phone calls and texting these days. I have an ipad 4 for everything else multimedia.

It's so pathetic, the fonts are so small and the screen being so narrow and safari being too dumb to know how to resize fonts with overflowing formatting, it's quite sad this is my case.

I am looking forward to a 5" samsung Galaxy s4 because not only is the iPhone hardware meh at best, the iOS software is really not improving much at all. I use to feel the ecosystem was there but now competition has caught up.

[Nunyabinez]

I would invite all the posters who think Apple should be listening to their opinions to read Clayton Christensen's "The Innovator's Dilemma." He points out how when companies are at their apex, they create their own demise by listening to their customers. When you listen to your customers you spend your time giving them what they say they want. But as Steve said "People don't know what they want until you give it to them."

I hope Apple is deaf to all the advice-giving of people. Because if that's what they turn into, a new company is going to come along with a disruptive technology and kick Apple to the curb. And they'll have their well meaning customers to thank for killing them.

[japanime]

If Apple thinks there's strong enough demand for a larger iPhone, then the company should definitely sell one. However, I hope a smaller version remains available, too. To me (and I would imagine many others), the iPhone 4 remains the perfect size.

[mabhatter]

Originally Posted by impulse462

4.2" seems like the sweet spot to me. Anything above 4.5" is just too large for a phone imo.

Just add a phone speaker and mic to the iPad mini and call it good. Then Apple will have an iPhone BIGGER than the Galaxy Note!!!! And they won't even need a new product.

I'm holding out for the iCarly-style pearpad .. The one that has a 24" screen!!!

[KylePowers]

Apple really just needs to remove itself from... well, itself. This current framework of "innovation", this boxed mentality that innovation need be simply incremental is a poor excuse for what is supposedly a top-notch company.

Honestly, who the hell cares if the screen is 3.5 inches, 4 inches, or 4.5 inches? Is screen size the only direction this industry is heading toward? I want something crazy. Something next gen. Something analogous to Google Glasses, or smart watches, or 007-like. Stick a screen in my cornea, a mic in my tooth, and a speaker in my ear. Plug me in, make me a robot. Do something. Do anything.

[xkmxkmxlmx]

Make it happen, Apple! Pleeeeeeeeease~~~

[rydewnd2]

Originally Posted by Anti-Lucifer

For the love of jesus christ, why don't you just stick with 1280x768 or use an actual HD resolution, apple!?

You're just making it hard on yourself for any sort of proper design upgrades because your iPhones have really stupid resolution dimensions.

You don't design for iOS do you?

[Anti-Lucifer]

Let's do the following:

1) make an iphone with a competing LARGER SCREEN such as 5" keeping the high ppi
2) Make the camera worthy of use; enhance the DR, enhance the auto focus, allow some kind of microSD card for video/still image output so i can go to costco and print my goddam pictures without a computer, and put in a real xenon flash

Do the above 2 things, you're gonna sell 10 million in one day.

[TC03]

Originally Posted by MacRumors

At an iPad-like pixel density of 264 ppi, Apple could have a hard time positioning the iPhone Plus as a Retina device given that a phone is assumed to be held closer to the eye than a tablet, but some consumers may still prefer the option of having a larger screen to offer more flexibility such as being able to zoom out further on text or view small text with the device held further from the eye.

That's why Apple will quadruple the PPI, giving it 528 ppi. source

[burnside]

Originally Posted by KylePowers

Honestly, who the hell cares if the screen is 3.5 inches, 4 inches, or 4.5 inches? Is screen size the only direction this industry is heading toward? I want something crazy. Something next gen. Something analogous to Google Glasses, or smart watches, or 007-like. Stick a screen in my cornea, a mic in my tooth, and a speaker in my ear. Plug me in, make me a robot. Do something. Do anything.

If only Apple could get people laid.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by shurcooL

Larger screens are popular PRECISELY because you can fit more information and content there. Not because of larger pixels.

Mostly agree. One exception is the Galaxy Note. Samsung has somehow convinced a number of people that they should pay a little more than what a Galaxy costs for slightly larger pixels (and larger device). I don't get it (and yes I know the note offers other gimmicks too, like a stylus).

Also, 16:9 sucks for phones.

Like it or not, that's the standard now. Just like 16:9 monitors killed 16:10 ones, for the most part anyway.

[Peace]

Please shoot me then rename Apple,Inc to Apple Mobile,Inc.

[deconstruct60]

Originally Posted by MacRumors

....Marco Arment has spent time developing some speculation and a few mockups showing how Apple could achieve an iPhone with a nearly 5-inch without disrupting the existing app ecosystem....
In the scenario put forth by Arment, an 1136x640 screen matching the iPhone 5's resolution but blown up to the Retina iPad's 264 pixels-per-inch resolution would measure 4.94 inches diagonally. He notes that maintaining the resolution of the iPhone 5 would mean that developers would not have to make any changes to their apps to support the new device, with touch targets and other elements simply increasing in physical size.

They'd have to toss out some hocus pocus about how the 5" iPhone must be held as far away as the iPad by the user versus the 4" iPhone if want to tag it as "retina" also.

There tends to be far few problems in making less dense stuff denser (pixel doubling) than making smaller stuff bigger. Anyone who made a graphic that only looks good at iPhone 5 densities ( 326ppi) will get exposed if drop back to 264ppi. It is like zooming in a graphic/picture. It most likely isn't going to get more refined.

P.S. there something wrong with the 5" iPhone mockup because it looks like there is more text on the screen than the smaller phone. If it is the same number of pixels that isn't right. Should be just same text just bigger. or less text.

[elvetio]

So much crap about the thumb and the best screen size to end up doing this shi*?

Whatever... I dont care.

[powerhx2]

The iphone is Wayyyy too big as it is! I would prefer an iphone mini around the 3 to 3.2 incher. Would be less bulky and more portable. Plus no trouble carrying around in jean pockets.

[shurcooL]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

Mostly agree. One exception is the Galaxy Note.

How's it an exception? It has a bigger screen where you can fit more stuff.

Like it or not, that's the standard now. Just like 16:9 monitors killed 16:10 ones, for the most part anyway.

No, it's not a standard for phones. It's a standard for TVs, yes. PC laptops, yes. Mac laptops, no. iPad, no. Phones, no.

[Dagless]

Is there a race to making the biggest display for a phone? Personally I wouldn't want anything bigger than an iPhone 4S. That's why I'm sticking with it.

[dazed]

So this iPhone+ is different from the rumoured cheap/lite iPhone ?

So a future line up would be .....

iPhone Lite
iPhone 5S
iPhone Plus
iPad Mini
Ipad 5

They are certainly covering all bases and taking the fight to Samsung and their massive line ups