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

Apple Suppliers Starting to Ship 4" Screens for Next iPhone?

So is Wikipedia wrong - or is the image "comparison" utter BS?

IP4/S Resolution: 960 x 640
Galaxy S2 Resolution: 800 x 480

So how is it the "same image" on the IP4/S contains less information? The display will be smaller - yes - but it won't be showing a partial screen like that. If anything - the reverse is true.

Honestly MR - one of the worst front page articles I've seen yet. No offense - but this one really is subjective at best. You can do better than this.
 
Yumunum said:
4"? Better, but not amazing. I want 4.6" or 5.2" And yes, I realize they'd probably have to make 2 models
Click to expand...

Why would you want a phone thats too big for a pocket and too big for your hands? (unless they are huge) :confused:
 
spiffers said:
I really hope they dont make another screen size. Now coders have four sizes to make graphics for, and another one will just make apps more bloated, because universal apps then have 5 different sizes of each graphic.Further, the 4" screen is just a bit too large for my thumb to reach everything.
Click to expand...

Coders don't make graphics for screen size, only for pixel counts. A 960x640 screen, be it 4" or 3.5" is the same thing.
 
Everyone is gonna want a bigger screen and I think a 4" screen will be the right size.

But you gotta remember, it's a phone and it can't be too big, at some point it will start feeling too big and like a tablet. The Galaxy SII is a pretty nice size but it's pretty big in your pocket...

There's an advantage to having a smaller screen size, portability.
 
KnightWRX said:
That's the beauty of Android, it runs off many screen sizes/resolutions. Sony makes an Xperia in 2.5" screen size just for people like you ;)
Click to expand...

IMO there's nothing "beautiful" about that. Apple has done a decent job in keeping apps running nicely between all generations of their iOS devices, Android is a different story however.

Maybe if Android had the same policies Apple does on what can and can't run on their devices, this wouldn't be such an issue. And apparently ICS is supposed to "fix" this. As an Android and iOS user I honestly despise Android. I'm just glad the only thing I need my Android phone for is making calls.

If your post was sarcasm please ignore this reply too ;)
 
*LTD* said:
Ah . . . very good point.

There are basic usability principles to consider.

----------



Comfortable one-handed navigation. That Home button area is also a nice resting-place for your thumb.

It isn't just about fitting more into less space (something that's not necessarily desirable to begin with), but also about basic ergonomics.
Click to expand...


And also preserving the aspect ratio of the screen.
 
When my current contract runs out in 2013, I hope Apple has a bigger screen on whatever passes for an iPhone.

Personally, I'd like to have a waterproof model, one that can be (ultimately) submersible in a rainstorm :eek: and still operate without setting off the moisture sensors.
 
derickdub said:
IMO there's nothing "beautiful" about that. Apple has done a decent job in keeping apps running nicely between all generations of their iOS devices, Android is a different story however.
Click to expand...

Android has proper screen management baked into their framework :

http://developer.android.com/guide/practices/screens_support.html

They also provide developers with information on devices in the field :

http://developer.android.com/resources/dashboard/screens.html

derickdub said:
If your post was sarcasm please ignore this reply too ;)
Click to expand...

My post wasn't sarcasm. Lack of proper choice is one aspect I don't like about iOS and its associated devices. They do better on the Mac side/OS X side for this.

Not to mention I don't have any problems recognizing the strengths of competing platforms nor do I feel the need to bash anything not Apple and praise everything Apple. Sorry if that offends you.

----------
derickdub said:
960x640 on a 4" isn't the "Retina" display though.

Retina display > 4" screen
Click to expand...

So what ? They'll just tell you to "hold it farther away". ;) Then it's retina again!
 
chrmjenkins said:
Because the volumme (a couple dozen at most for test devices) isn't enough to trip anyone's radar. Seems too early for next iphone displays to be shipping now.
Click to expand...

There's no indication what sort of volume... The source of the report very well could be someone in the factory going, "oh hey, we got a few orders from Apple?" and then it got all blown out of proportion, broken-telephone style.

Simply put: the notion that Apple is ordering production-level volumes of displays for a new iPhone from display suppliers they've never used before, OVER 6 MONTHS before the device will be released, makes ABSOLUTELY no sense. Either this report is total BS, or it's only a small order of test components.
 
pimentoLoaf said:
When my current contract runs out in 2013, I hope Apple has a bigger screen on whatever passes for an iPhone.

Personally, I'd like to have a waterproof model, one that can be (ultimately) submersible in a rainstorm :eek: and still operate without setting off the moisture sensors.
Click to expand...

The moisture sensors are BS. I had a 3GS that never touched water and the one in the dock port tripped. It doesn't take much to do it.
 
The current screen size is great, I wouldn't mind the larger screen as long as they kept it close to the same overall size. I guess not being able to upgrade until next year isn't so bad..iPhone 5 for me next fall..until then I can deal with my thunderbolt.
 
Amazing how Apple's vision of the Post PC world looks. Let's see, I can buy a Mac with a 11" display, or a 13", 15" 17", 21.5, 27" (or if I buy a Mac Pro or a Mac mini any size monitor I want).

The POST-PC era (Apple's version) has 3.5" and 9.7" devices, and fanboys are screaming "You don't need anything else"..... Fragmentation, Fragmentation!!!
 
The thing is though.

Unless they are just shipping a few dozen screens for some demo units. If they ARE shipping in bulk then that can't mean the next iPhone is almost a year away.

It would be March type launch would it not if screens were being shipped now?
 
Last edited:
The only way I could see this happening is if they stopped supporting anything that doesn't have retina (not including iPad), and didn't allow developers to produce content for these legacy devices. If they added yet another device with different dimensions without doing that, it would just be a headache for developers.
 
derickdub said:
The moisture sensors are BS. I had a 3GS that never touched water and the one in the dock port tripped. It doesn't take much to do it.
Click to expand...

Every problem I ever had with an iPhone or iPod touch was due to "water damage" according to the "geniuses" . And none of my iDevices ever came anywhere near water...
 
This is another case of people wanting something they don't need and not knowing what they really want.

The tech guys and iPad haters want a larger screen because they want this to be an all purpose digital computing device. Meanwhile the rest of us plebs already went out and bought an iPad to do the big screen stuff and we want a device that will always be in our pocket, not weighing it down, want one hand operation and just want it to be an mp3 player and phone with the occasional app for convenience.

If they can do a larger screen without sacrificing size I'm all for it. I've had my hands on the various htc and droid devices with larger screens, DO NOT WANT.
 
It would be great to see a 4" display at the current resolution of 960 x 640. The fact is, there are a lot of casual buyers of the iPhone out there because they know its a great product, but now there are also several Android/Win 7 devices with great screens as well - and people are buying them too. In time of a couple of years, if Apple doesn't update its screen size, they will loose profit.
 
Gemütlichkeit said:
larger screen doesn't automatically make it better people.
Click to expand...

Agreed, I talked to a gentleman on youtube that ditched his iPhone 4, and the whole Apple ecosystem for the Samsung Galaxy Note. Well I messaged him asking him how he liked it compared to the iPhone, etc... Apparently he's already in the process of selling it to return back to the iPhone / Apple ecosystem. Point is all of those Android phones fragment the experience, and the WP7 phones have horrible screen resolutions, despite bigger sizes than the iPhone. I'm truly content with my iPhone4/iPad 2 combination.
 
Its definitely time for a bigger screen. 4" or better is 2011+. Apple has to realized that it is not 2007 anymore. We practically use our phones are everything now, especially for entertainment purposes. Netflix on a 3.5" isn't an enjoyable experiences, whatsoever.
 
Personally, I wonder if Apple will combine a hardware screen size change with a UI redesign for iOS 6. Certainly after 5 generations, Apple probably has fresh new ideas that are bigger than the generally incremental improvements we've seen to date. Obviously any changes would have to still be backwards compatible, perhaps with limited functionality, for older devices.

Throwing something out there how about a change in aspect ratio to 16:10? The extra screen area top or bottom for instance could be used for notifications perhaps. The wider aspect ratio would be better for movies, allow games using virtual controllers to have them further on the side so they don't cover the action as much as example benefits, while not being as wide as 16:9 which is more ackward to use in different orientations. 1024x640 as a starting resolution allows all current 960x640 apps to run with no stretching simply black bars. Initially, new apps designed for 1024x640 could simply use the extra space for extra UI elements geared toward quick access and convenience so that not having them on 960x640 devices won't severely impact core functionality. A choice of 3.74" screen up from the current 3.54" screen, means that the physical width of the display in portrait mode is unchanged. The screen is simply taller and can cut into the currently wasted space top and bottom without even requiring reducing the size of the home bottom. There is no need for edge-to-edge screens which could impact cases and lead to accidental touches when gripping the device and the overall size of the phone does not need to increase. A 1024x960 3.74" screen compared to 960x640 3.54", both having similar width, with the 3.74" screen simply being taller means that the size of elements don't change, there is simply more touch area and when running 960x640 apps on the 3.74" screen the black bars top and bottom were previously bezel so there is no change in usability. And conveniently, 1024x960 on a 3.74" (9.5cm) screen works out to 323dpi, virtually unchanged from the current 960x640 3.54" (9cm) 326dpi screen. Changing to 16:10 aspect ratio adds a lot more flexibility since even 4" 1024x960 would be 302dpi and still Retina whereas a 4" 960x640 3:2 screen would be 288dpi and sub-Retina. Still, I think 3.74" 1024x960 16:10 seems like the best all around choice, although I suppose the criticism is whether going from 3.54" to 3.74" is a big enough jump for people. Still the point of the screen size change is not merely size, but the enablement of UI changes if iOS 6 is a major revamp.

Edit: For comparison

Diagonal: 3.54" (9cm)
Height: 2.95"
Width: 1.96"
Resolution: 960x640
Aspect Ratio: 3:2
DPI: 326dpi

Diagonal: 3.74" (9.5cm)
Height: 3.17"
Width: 1.98"
Resolution: 1024x640
Aspect Ratio: 16:10
DPI: 323dpi

Diagonal: 4"
Height: 3.33"
Width: 2.22"
Resolution: 960x480
Aspect Ratio: 3:2
DPI: 288dpi

Diagonal: 4"
Height: 3.39"
Width: 2.12"
Resolution: 1024x480
Aspect Ratio: 16:10
DPI: 302dpi
 
Last edited:
I do not see Apple increasing to 4" at 640x960.

I think 768x1024 is much more likely. If they do that they would almost certainly have iPhone apps run at 640x960, centered, which would be the same size they are now on the 4/4S. This would of course be different than the iPad which only does 320x480 for iPhone apps--even if there are HD graphics included with the app.

This would not really "break" much and would allow an easy transition to 768x1024 from existing iPad apps. So the iPhone 5 gets a screen size and pixel bump, and the iPad 3 retains the same screen size but gets a major pixel bump to retina. IMO, YMMV, etc.

Time will tell...



Michael
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back