Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
If the 5.5 inch has a higher resolution display (which would make sense) it seems logical it should also have faster hardware than the 4.7. You can't justify that your largest, most expensive phone runs slower than the smaller, cheaper model.

But the A7 can already drive the iPad Air/Mini Display at the 2048x1536 So even this Generation Processor would be able to drive such a high res display. The A8 has to be at least capable of that, too.
 
Why they would do this the year after they merged their processor lines again is something I find hard to discern. The A7 in the 5S was deemed good enough for the iPad Air, which has much more generous heat management capabilities. If they were to do this, it seems likely it would be to (somewhat) artificially bifurcate the line to draw consumers to one model over another. I would think they should release them with the same processor at least in the first year to gauge the relative demand of each form factor.

Also, if the die were going to be larger, it is unlikely they're also on a different process. 28nm -> 20nm is a full node shrink so even a bigger GPU may not be enough by itself to make the die larger than its sibling.
 
I find it hard to believe they'll have 4 models around ($0, $99, $199, $299). With the different storage sizes and colors and carriers that's a lot of SKUs.

I always thought the models that had more storage, since they were charigng such a premium, should have had more RAM for apps to run.

I think they're going pull any old models that don't have the lightning connector (I was surprised they didn't last time), but I guess that would just be the $0 phone, so that'll fall off the list this year anyways, right?

Gary

Well the low end models usually lose options to reduce skus. But none the less, Apple runs 3 right now (4S,5C,5S) and its clear they are planning to add one (5.5") So they already made some decision.

I'm sure Apple is getting close to deciding to make a universal phone or cary extra SKUs. At some point it will be cheaper to make all in one than to deal with logistics.

Yeah. Most app crashes these days are related to ram. Apple could help this, but they like the 'Play in the box we gave you' mentality. Don't get me wrong, developers could also do things better to stay in the box.
 
So, they'll probably keep the 5C around - hopefully will give it the A7 and TouchID to keep as the $0 phone, but that technically be a $100 price drop.

But then the 16gb (or, crossing fingers, 32gb) lowest-storage 4.7" could be $199, with 5.5" of same storage being $299.

It would be nice to, going forward, have a 4" "C" model (maybe new name?), and 4.7" and 5.5" flagship models. The 4" would be a year behind, chip-wise and features-wise, with the 4.7" and 5.5" only being differentiated by screen size and processor power - much like 11" Air vs. 13" Air, or 13" retina pro vs. 15" retina pro.
 
One could have only suspected this.

Just as the iPad has a faster clock speed than iPhone, a larger iPhone display would need it too, along with faster graphics to handle an up-scaled display that functions smoothly just as its smaller sibling.

It should cater nicely to the samsung fanatics that enjoy talking to a tablet against their ear. Although I'm sure Apple will make the larger-size phone fad much more usable with actual purpose, targeting specific crowds with multiple sizes to close sales gaps.
 
Different touch module - of course; different size display with probably different resolution. Seems plausible.

But i'm not so sure about different CPU ~ clocks might be different but the CPU probably will be the same. Apple is all about low SKU, bulk production and purchase so diversification of CPU models not plausible for me.
 
The 5C was just the iphone 5 made cheaper to be the low end model of the year. Just like when every new iphone comes out, they make a cheaper version of the previous year's phone and its always $99. The 5C was just the first time they changed the body to save money.

Now to say the smaller 6 will be a C would be a stretch. They will want to make a 5S phone cheaper at the 99 point. Its still a 5 series so they may need a new letter or really confuse things and imply they simply added a fingerprint sensor and other upgrades to the Late 2014 5C.

The 4.7" will likely try for the $199 (or since Apple likes to milk everything $229) price point.

The 5.5" will likely start at $100 more. If the margins for Apple are too tight, they will give it a bigger bump in starting storage (32GB) and increase it to $150 difference.

Heck they could have fun and say iphone Mini (5S), iphone Air (4.7), and iphone Pro (5.5)

My only problem is I want to pay for the best features but to me 5.5" phone is not a feature. So I really hate to be forced to give up features to stay at 4.7"

Apple will probably leave out some of the nicer feature found in the top of the line model out of the budget model like touch ID. Otherwise, may would go with the budget model.
 
Makes sense. Isn't the iPad Air's CPU clocked just a bit higher than the iPad Mini's? Bigger phone, bigger battery. Also, possibly bigger heat sink.
 
I don't buy any of these reports as fact. But I DO think such a thing is possible.

There are good reasons to use different components (CPU? camera?) even if Apple would prefer to have two identical models with different sizes.

Why? Because iPhones sell in INSANE quantities. Other companies sometimes have a greater choice of components, because they know that any one model won't sell in such quantities (and they offer a lot of similar models).

But Apple can't use a component if it means making way too few iPhones.

Using different components in different models of iPhone could help that. (Depends on the component—of course I cannot say which ones would be efficient to split up like that.)

(And then there's physics: as manufacturers learned when using battery-inefficient Android—home of the runaway app and too little reliance in the GPU—a bigger screen can hide a bigger battery! That could be a benefit to Apple too. A bigger battery can allow a better CPU—even just a MHz boost--in the same thickness of shell.)
 
What does the Macbook Pro do that the Macbook Air doesn't? other than being bigger and more powerful?

Is Apple artificially limiting the MacBook Air just to create differentiation from the Pro?
 
The 5C is the iPhone 5 internals with a different case basically. They did not go to the engineering effort to create a totally separate production line for this chip. It was already in production for the R&D expenses of the previous flagship product.

If Apple are now doing two types of chips it also adds liability when it comes to software bugs. What if everyone on one of the chips gets a bug? Now Apple have to spend twice as long testing (or twice the man hours/money) to test TWO chipsets. It's just not logical.

Faster clock speed will suffice and thats what I am betting on.

Its not impossible
 
doesn't make sense because it would cost apple more to manufacture. Keeping parts the same across models means lower production costs with higher profits, the apple way.
 
I'm not sure how reliable the source/analysis but it would make sense that you might need more horsepower in the GPU department like the iPads but the CPU will be there same or there a bouts.

I'm not quite sure what the article is trying to say but if it's a speed bump over the smaller iPhone then why, CPU is basically just using extra watts and not providing any speed benefits at all at this point, apple know this and won't degrade the battery like just for CPU cycles.

I feel like apple is trying to keep it simple and the line up of iPhones is getting a bit messy. I hope the 5c will merge or disappear or become the smallest model.
 
But the A7 can already drive the iPad Air/Mini Display at the 2048x1536 So even this Generation Processor would be able to drive such a high res display. The A8 has to be at least capable of that, too.

I'm thinking more of games. The 5.5 should get the same FPS as the 4.7.
 
Is Apple artificially limiting the MacBook Air just to create differentiation from the Pro?

Well I'm sure there are probably technologies they could include... But either way products in the tech industry are limited, usually by cost. All I'm saying is I think the iPhone Air and iPhone Pro would be a good product layout, I'd buy the 'Pro' if it had a bigger battery (don't mind it being thicker).
 
Apple will probably leave out some of the nicer feature found in the top of the line model out of the budget model like touch ID. Otherwise, may would go with the budget model.

I dont agree. I think that would create bad feeling and ill will among iPhone customers with the top tier iPhone users looking down on the lower tier budget iPhone. Apple likes to make its customers feel good not bad so I think they will be the same despite the size difference.
 
Is Apple artificially limiting the MacBook Air just to create differentiation from the Pro?

Not really. Both Mac systems are both thin and light and the Retina Pro's are only thicker and heavier because they got more stuff inside and thus, more capability. You pay accordingly price-wise.

The same might be true for the iPhone 6. A bigger iPhone allows for more capabilities.
 
Makes sense. Isn't the iPad Air's CPU clocked just a bit higher than the iPad Mini's? Bigger phone, bigger battery. Also, possibly bigger heat sink.

iPhone SoCs don't have heatsinks. They rely on the PCB and chassis for conductive heat transfer.
 
Makes perfect sense. A bigger device can contain a bigger battery and allows or makes itself a bigger heat sink, thus allowing more power without burning anyone's hand. A larger power envelope allows a company to make and/or use a chip with more processor cores, bigger caches, or faster clock speeds, using the same fab tech. That's why a MacBook Air with an A8/9/10Turbo in it, if such a thing existed, would be multiples faster than an iPhone 5s.

Or an iPad to run faster than a smaller iPhone, as is now. A 5.5" device would be sort of an iPad Nano.
 
While I don't want the 5.5" model to become the flagship, I'm ok with the 5.5" having a slightly faster clock speed because it has a better thermal profile (larger enclosure like the iPad Air vs. Mini Retina). If it has a higher-resolution display due to the larger screen size, then I'm ok with it having a slightly faster graphics chip. What I don't want to see is a dumbed down 4.7" model that is marginally faster than the 5S, or has less RAM than the 5.5" model, or can't play the same high-end games as the 5.5" model or is missing camera features.

Here's the thing: I get that Macs come in different form factors with different speeds, and sometimes iPads do (original Mini was slower). The difference is that, for the most part, there is only one iPhone form factor that fits each user because they have to carry it in their pocket and hold it in a hand. Normal sized people will get the 4.7". Larger people will get the 5.5", and perhaps a few normal sized people who carry it in a bag because OMG phablets. Getting an iPad Mini vs. and iPad Air is about portability on the go. Do you want a smaller, lighter bag with a device that is easier to hold for extended periods, or do you want a bigger screen that is easier to read or draw on? With a phone, for the majority of people (80-90%), it needs to fit in their hand and pocket. There isn't as much choice. When you remove choice, and force people who want to be just as productive, but aren't giants, to use a slower device because it fits in their pants—then you end up pissing off some of your best customers. We're the ones always buying Apple stuff every year. We're the ones recommending to our friends and family to buy Apple stuff. We're the ones that want a high end device.

I'm not saying it's going to happen, but if it does, I'll be quite upset when I buy my iPhone 6 anyway. Actually, I say that half-joking. If the 4.7" is missing a lot of the 5.5" features, then I might just hold off until the iPhone 6S just to spite them. A dumbed down 4.7" model wouldn't be much of an improvement anyway.
 
Well I'm sure there are probably technologies they could include... But either way products in the tech industry are limited, usually by cost. All I'm saying is I think the iPhone Air and iPhone Pro would be a good product layout, I'd buy the 'Pro' if it had a bigger battery (don't mind it being thicker).

I don't see this because the macbook air is the consumer model, the macbook pro the pro model. I don't see how iPhone can be split consumer/pro. What would a pro iPhone be? how would it be so different? faster twitter and Facebook? haha
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.