Apple Rumored to Debut 4.8-Inch 'iPhone Math' in June

[AZREOSpecialist]

No, just no. No no no no no, NO. Buy an android device, please. Stop making it sound like bigger screens are a necessity. THEY are not. this is simply a matter of taste. If you want a bigger screen, buy a phone with a bigger screen. This does not mean apple has to do the same, and I hope to god they don't.

Why do you think that Apple can only do one thing at a time? Apple already sells devices with different screen sizes, only the iPhone 5 has a larger screen. If they further increase the screen size, you will have smaller screen options. Why are you upset?

 

[Drunken Master]

The phablet is a transitionary gimmick and a fad.

In five to 10 years we'll look back on them with the same sort of embarrassed guilt as anyone who remembers wearing acid-wash Jordache jeans, pumping up their Reebok Pumps or buying a leopard-print snap bracelet.

Yes, Apple will make glut of money making a phablet but considering most people don't talk on the phone anymore, why not just make an iPad Mini that has texting? Will phones get bigger and tablets smaller until there's really no more distinction?

 

[dkersten]

Why exactly should the 4" phone be "lesser" than the 5" one? Big =/= high end. If they insist on producing a large phone it shouldn't come at the expense of the regular iPhone.

Your right... poor wording on my part. Like I said in the post the only difference would be a larger screen and an extra graphics boost to power what you would assume to be a larger resolution. No other differences needed.

 

[KnightWRX]

I'm coming late to this particular thread (and I hope you guys don't mind if I interject)....but question for @xtacee: What is your definition of "established"? From following this set of posts, it seems you're equating established to popular. Maybe the crux of the argument that you're having with @KnightWRX is this: his definition of established != yours.

Now while there are different levels of popularity, I think the Galaxy S brand was pretty much both, having achieved 50 million units combined of the original Galaxy S line-up and the Galaxy SII last june when the Galaxy S3 was launched :

http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/samsung-galaxy-s2-and-s-sales-hit-50m-7m-notes-flogged-50008132/

Not bad for a brand that's "not established". The plain fact is, Samsung keeps the name alive because it is one that has been established (both Galaxy as their line-up of Smartphones and Tablets and Galaxy S that signifies their flagship models).

 

[sbrhwkp3]

why is apple bending to the big screen trend? ugh

For the same reason they make 4 different iPods. Not everyone wants what you want.

 

[Renzatic]

The phablet is a transitionary gimmick and a fad.

In five to 10 years we'll look back on them with the same sort of embarrassed guilt as anyone who remembers wearing acid-wash Jordache jeans, pumping up their Reebok Pumps or buying a leopard-print snap bracelet.

What do phablets have to do with any of those things you mentioned? You could make that argument with literally anything.

Like I could easily say iPads are a fad, cuz remember when big hair and power ballads were THE thing? Yeah. See? iPads are gonna die just like disco!

 

[cappadonna]

Revolutionary!

Giving **** to competition for making screens that are too large and then making a screen that is too large!

Hilarious! Giving credence to ridiculous rumors like an iPhone math!

 

[KnightWRX]

I'm trying to follow the debate between the two of you, but I can't seem to get it. You claim he is ignoring or disagreeing with facts, but which facts might that be? He claimed that prior to the S3's success, the Galaxy S series wasn't an established brand, rather it was a brand name on the rise that only achieved its status of "established" when the S3 starting making its scene on the market.

Is there a fact as to when the Galaxy S series became an "established" brand?

Just posted those "facts" for your viewing pleasure (see my previous post). You don't do 3 generations of similarly branded products if a brand is not "established". You could argue that the Galaxy SII cemented the brand, but personally, I find that the relative level of the Galaxy S brand was already high enough to deem it established. The US had a hiccup there with their particular branding on the 1st generation, but that didn't happen elsewhere (the Galaxy S in the US was released as 4 models, the Captivate, the Fascinate, the Vibrant and the EPIC 4G, one per carrier).

But there's no denying that by the time the S3 hit, it was already established. 50m units of the brand don't lie.

So again, I fail to see how people getting an iPhone 5 are getting "the same ol' thing everyone has in the iPhone 4", but people getting an S3 are getting "something new and unique, because hey, those S2s and original Ss aren't established". It's a contradictory position to adopt and being borderline OCD, I don't like when people have contradictory thoughts, I can't reconcile it.

 

[dkersten]

When I use the term "everyone" I mean this in a way where you and I both have our preferences when it comes to phones, and I am sure in that case the overall user experience you should have on a smartphone, is something that apple specializes in. And we're just going to have to deal with what they come up with. I for one hope that it's just a simple 5S with nothing special and a brand new iOS 7 feature rich. I am only trying to dispute the "need" for a larger screen everyone is talking about.

"Apple needs to prove that they can compete with Samsung.",
"Apple needs to make a bigger screen if they wanna keep up with the competition."

These sort of sentences are what frustrate me, because apple doesn't need to do any of those things. They are doing good in terms of market share, not better than samsung. But we all know who is making more money with their line of phones.

I love comments like this. Let me give you the translation. Apple makes more money than any other smartphone maker so therefore they can sit on their butt and keep things the same only minimally tweaking software and bumping specs. But thats ok because thats what Apple told me I needed

 

[Tulani]

Don't you even think June is too far? Apple needs to pull out something spectacular soon. A lot has not been in favor of our beloved innovator

 

[JohnDoe98]

Just posted those "facts" for your viewing pleasure (see my previous post). You don't do 3 generations of similarly branded products if a brand is not "established". You could argue that the Galaxy SII cemented the brand, but personally, I find that the relative level of the Galaxy S brand was already high enough to deem it established. The US had a hiccup there with their particular branding on the 1st generation, but that didn't happen elsewhere (the Galaxy S in the US was released as 4 models, the Captivate, the Fascinate, the Vibrant and the EPIC 4G, one per carrier).

But there's no denying that by the time the S3 hit, it was already established. 50m units of the brand don't lie.

Yeah I was just reading that post. You make a good case. If the Galaxy S brand wasn't successful and popular Samsung wouldn't have kept it around; and the combined sales of the SI and SII was well over 50 million, so that suggests that even on a loose and generous interpretation of "established", xtacee is trending on thin ice. I guess one could set the arbitrary threshold wherever one wants though, 1 million units, 10 million, 100 million, and so forth, but then I suspect one weakens the force of the claim, rendering it virtually useless.

 

[blairh]

This rumor is nonsense. If and when Apple increases the iPhone screen size it for sure will not happen in 2013. They just released a commercial last fall focusing on the importance of touching every corner of the screen with your thumb. Plus, they will most likely stick with the redesign pattern every two years. We will get the 5S this fall and the iPhone 6 will look different in 2014.

I really can't believe that some people are taking such a rumor to heart. On a related note, I'd love to see a larger iPhone screen, and it may happen one day, but definitely not this year.

 

[576316]

Seems like there's mixed opinions about this. After saying the 4" screen was "common sense" I doubt Apple would give in to competitors and release something nearly 5" big. Although I'd probably like to see quite a large iPhone, I don't think this is something Apple will be doing soon. I think we'll just see an iPhone 5S sometime later this year with simple spec upgrades.

 

[MarkNY]

I don't see the point of 16:9 phones. If there is a 4.8", I'd much prefer it to be 3:2. Whatever Apple is planning, bet they at least have a 5S by May/June, just for upgrade timing issues with AT&T for early 4s adopters.

 

[KnightWRX]

Yeah I was just reading that post. You make a good case. If the Galaxy S brand wasn't successful and popular Samsung wouldn't have kept it around; and the combined sales of the SI and SII was well over 50 million, so that suggests that even on a loose and generous interpretation of "established", xtacee is trending on thin ice. I guess one could set the arbitrary threshold wherever one wants though, 1 million units, 10 million, 100 million, and so forth, but then I suspect one weakens the force of the claim, rendering it virtually useless.

The original claim though was that neither the iPhone 5 or the Galaxy S3 offers their user any kind of "uniqueness" amongst their peers, that both are mass-market devices that pretty much everyone can own and that big enough groups of people do own that any feeling is quite futile.

Anyway, anyone who gets a phone because it will make them "unique" has other problems, or enough money for a Vertu.

 

[blairh]

The phablet is a transitionary gimmick and a fad.

You could not be more wrong. There is a strong market for these devices. You'll see as the years pass.

 

[Syk]

I'll buy it.

 

[jrswizzle]

This rumor is nonsense. If and when Apple increases the iPhone screen size it for sure will not happen in 2013. They just released a commercial last fall focusing on the importance of touching every corner of the screen with your thumb. Plus, they will most likely stick with the redesign pattern every two years. We will get the 5S this fall and the iPhone 6 will look different in 2014.

I really can't believe that some people are taking such a rumor to heart. On a related note, I'd love to see a larger iPhone screen, and it may happen one day, but definitely not this year.

I'd say taking this rumor as truth is as ridiculous as guaranteeing it's completely false....

Apple can/will do whatever they want - and whatever they do this year will have been planned for a least two.

 

[nfl46]

Go BIG or go HOME! Lets get it! 4.8" - HECK YES!

 

[Wicked1]

I can see a 4.3" or 4.5" but it is one reason I gave up on the Samsung Galaxy SIII, the 4.8" was way too big, in that case let me just use an iPad Mini for a phone?

 

[mtek]

This rumor is nonsense. If and when Apple increases the iPhone screen size it for sure will not happen in 2013. They just released a commercial last fall focusing on the importance of touching every corner of the screen with your thumb. Plus, they will most likely stick with the redesign pattern every two years. We will get the 5S this fall and the iPhone 6 will look different in 2014.

I really can't believe that some people are taking such a rumor to heart. On a related note, I'd love to see a larger iPhone screen, and it may happen one day, but definitely not this year.

Agree...it'd be disastrous marketing policy for Apple to increase iPhone's screen size so soon, unless they roll out a new iPhone model in a slight different category, like Samsung did when it invented the phablet category with the Galaxy Note 1.

 

[JohnDoe98]

So again, I fail to see how people getting an iPhone 5 are getting "the same ol' thing everyone has in the iPhone 4", but people getting an S3 are getting "something new and unique, because hey, those S2s and original Ss aren't established". It's a contradictory position to adopt and being borderline OCD, I don't like when people have contradictory thoughts, I can't reconcile it.

Well, perhaps. But consider this. Image this was like the movies, where you only make it when you make it to Hollywood. You may have been a big star in Quebec, but the French Canadian movie scene, though certainly good, and the best Canada has to offer, is nevertheless small potatoes compared to Hollywood. Well, perhaps according to xtacee it's the same with phones. You only really become established on the global scene when you make it big in the good ol USA. So far as I can tell, most of those 50 million Galaxy S sales prior to the S3 were on the international market abroad, and not in North America. The series only became popular and accepted in mainstream America with the S3 (please correct me if I'm factually mistaken here). Further, and more to the point, the S series has progressively gotten bigger and bigger screens, perhaps xtacee's view is only once it hit the 4.8 size did it really step into the lime light. Put one hair on a bald head, and it's still bald. Put two on a head, and it's still bald. At some point though, and we can't say exactly where, suddenly, the head isn't bald anymore. So maybe 4.5 wasn't unique and new, but 4.8 was the magic je ne sais quoi?

All this may be an implausible view, but is it contradictory?

PS: I can't stand contradictions either, but it's dam hard to be consistent

 

[SpyderBite]

Another Unicorn. Whole heard of them this time. Seems its that time of year again when people start throwing a bunch of crap speculations at the wall and see what sticks.

 

[TallManNY]

Math is a poor translation for Plus… iPhone +

You nailed that so dead on that MacRumors should bump this to an edit for the article.

 

[Osullivan1]

I could see them releasing a larger iPhone alongside the current iPhone, since they have two sizes for all their other product lines (except iPod Touch).

As long as they don't remove the choice of the normal 4" version then it would be a smart move (if slightly copying the Samsung's choice to make a Galaxy SIII 4.8" and 4")