Apple Testing Prototype iPhones With Six-Inch Screens, Not Expected This Year

[atlatnesiti]

Shocker... people don't always want the same things.

How true. Why are all the advocates of small iPhone screen are so threatened?
Does it really bother you so much that Apple might have more than one size iPhone screen? Apple introducing bigger screen iPhones does NOT mean discontinuation of current 4" format.
All the one handed "finger goes from here to here" users, chill out please, Apple will not abandon 4" iPhones any time soon...

 

[dragje]

This is so funny. When Apple didn't approve a larger screen most people where cheering that Apple was doing good, because bigger screens where no good. No Apple comes with a bigger screen (testing = a need for making those products) and many people cheering that this is good...

Ah well, it's not important really I just find it very amusing.

Anyway, why not introducing the iPad phone? Technically you can all ready phone with an iPad. People can show off how big there phone is: look brother, try to impress me once again after you have seen this *putting an iPad to the ear*

Apple does what it wants to do, no problem with that but I stick with the iPhone 5 screensize. Big enough for me.

 

[ThomasM]

Bigger phones ? :tumbsup:

Personally, i reckon the 5" S4 is a great size.

 

[the future]

Ummm, what about the HTC One mini, the Galaxy S III mini, the Galaxy S IV mini...?

None of those has high-end specs.

 

[ThomasM]

This is so funny. When Apple didn't approve a larger screen most people where cheering that Apple was doing good, because bigger screens where no good. No Apple comes with a bigger screen (testing = a need for making those products) and many people cheering that this is good...

Ah well, it's not important really I just find it very amusing.

Anyway, why not introducing the iPad phone? Technically you can all ready phone with an iPad. People can show off how big there phone is: look brother, try to impress me once again after you have seen this *putting an iPad to the ear*

Apple does what it wants to do, no problem with that but I stick with the iPhone 5 screensize. Big enough for me.

We also argued that MMS was useless and copy/paste was pointless when the first iphone was on the market.

Complaining about something means there's a flaw somewhere, people don't want to admit the flaws.

Also, it's not really about shoving the biggest thing possible up to your ear and call it a phone.

 

[the future]

Also, the iPhone 5 has a 1440 mAh battery. Android phones had that size battery 2-3 years ago. Now flagship androids have ~3200 mAh batteries.

No ****, sherlock. Bigger body, bigger battery. Which Android desperately needs.

 

[ThomasM]

No ****, sherlock. Bigger body, bigger battery. Which Android desperately needs.

So do the iphone.

Battery lifetime is hardly good enough on the 5.

 

[uniq]

Shocker... people don't always want the same things.

Of course and I didn't suggest otherwise. Not surprised at all that people wan't different sized screens but at the apparent volume of those that do.

 

[I Am Designer™]

Testing??.... Apple is way too late for the party!...

Do you mean late like when they we're late to the mobile phone industry party by around 15 or so years?...

Being first, doesn't mean being best.

 

[kthnxshwn]

No ****, sherlock. Bigger body, bigger battery. Which Android desperately needs.

The iPhone battery is huge. Hell, I'm sure that in the same space, you could fit two 3rd party 3200 mAh batteries.

 

[dragje]

We also argued that MMS was useless and copy/paste was pointless when the first iphone was on the market.

Complaining about something means there's a flaw somewhere, people don't want to admit the flaws.

Also, it's not really about shoving the biggest thing possible up to your ear and call it a phone.

We? Are you Gollum? Of course, there is room for nuance, bigger size phones require more battery life, one of Apple's formal reason not to make one and when time passing by new techniques emerge that makes it possible to come up with something bigger without loosing battery life perhaps. But i like the size of the 5

 

[Ciclismo]

really.. now the arguments gonna be accessories? the galaxy line is doing just fine.

some people want a bigger phone. simple as that.

Fixed that for you, because there are no absolutes when it comes to what people want or need.

 

[Boomish69]

About time, I hope the 5 S & C thing flops so they can see how far they have lost the plot, if they release what all the reports say I for one won't buy one..just the same old phone design..oh it might be thinner..jee wiz. Make a phone with a BIGGER screen!

 

[youknome]

How is this news worthy? Of course they'll be testing different sizes, that's what R&D is for.

 

[dazed]

Yeah, as long as you don't, you know, use INTERNET on your phone! Lol, at anybody that buys a NON 4G smartphone in 2013. Why not just buy a dumb phone'?

So no one was using the Internet on their phone before 4G came out? Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Nahaz]

Here's hoping it's true and Apple releases something in the 4.5-4.8 inch range. This would lure me back to Apple as the only reason I left, like others, was just the small screen on their devices.

If they decide to go Phablet, then they might as well look at the idea of introducing a pen to the device. As others have said, they spend far less time making calls on their phones these days, and more time sending data/text.

I saw a Galaxy Note the other day and I thought the pen was just a silly idea, but once you play with it and have the automatic apps pop up that allow you to utilise the device, it's not bad. Of course for the pen haters you can always do things the old fashioned way by using your fingers, but it's all about choices and in some parts convenience.

Interesting times ahead in 2014 it seems.....

 

[dragje]

Here's hoping it's true and Apple releases something in the 4.5-4.8 inch range. This would lure me back to Apple as the only reason I left, like others, was just the small screen on their devices.

If they decide to go Phablet, then they might as well look at the idea of introducing a pen to the device. As others have said, they spend far less time making calls on their phones these days, and more time sending data/text..

noooooooooooooo pen pleaaaaaseeeeee pen's are so outdated.

 

[ValSalva]

Here's hoping it's true and Apple releases something in the 4.5-4.8 inch range. This would lure me back to Apple as the only reason I left, like others, was just the small screen on their devices.

If they decide to go Phablet, then they might as well look at the idea of introducing a pen to the device. As others have said, they spend far less time making calls on their phones these days, and more time sending data/text.

I saw a Galaxy Note the other day and I thought the pen was just a silly idea, but once you play with it and have the automatic apps pop up that allow you to utilise the device, it's not bad. Of course for the pen haters you can always do things the old fashioned way by using your fingers, but it's all about choices and in some parts convenience.

Interesting times ahead in 2014 it seems.....

Apple could release something in the 4.5-4.8 inch range but that's not exactly phablet territory.

Since when is finger input old fashioned? Stylus input was present way before the touch interface with mobile computing. And it's not about hating pens or styli. From what SJ had repeatedly said about pens and stylus input, they aren't part of Apple's DNA, at least not now. There are too many of his disciples still working at Apple.

 

[atlatnesiti]

Apple could release something in the 4.5-4.8 inch range but that's not exactly phablet territory.

Since when is finger input old fashioned? Stylus input was present way before the touch interface with mobile computing. And it's not about hating pens or styli. From what SJ had repeatedly said about pens and stylus input, they aren't part of Apple's DNA, at least not now. There are too many of his disciples still working at Apple.

Pls let's get back on track...
iPhone 4.5-6" screen... ?

 

[Spacial]

Given Apples design & engineering expertise, especially when it comes to size reduction, I'd like to see the iPhone 6 with a 6" display. Having tried a friends Note 2 for a few days, I found it very easy to acclimate to the larger size as compared to my iPhone 5. In use, the adjustment period was nearly instant and the most fun I've had with a smartphone since buying the original iPhone.

 

[Swinny]

I wonder if it would be possible to get some metrics on average screen size in the Android world? All we hear about are the giant, top-spec S4/One type phones so the story always goes that everyone in the Android world has a giant screen. Not true though when you look at the smaller, older devices that are given away free with contracts and that probably make up a much larger proportion of the market...

Personally I've no interest in a larger screen, my 4S is fine and the little bump to the 5S will be sufficient if I upgrade...but it is clear the others do want something larger, so I think it is a good thing that Apple are looking into it. A 4" standard and maybe ~5" larger version would be a good way of filling out the product line.

The big issue is the screen-res though...you can't extend vertically again (it would look terrible). Making it wider would negate the move to a "widescreen" format phone that the 5 introduced (and require more work for Devs). So then you just have to look at scaling the screen but keeping the resolution - and potentially losing the Retina classification? Seems to me Apple have dug themselves a bit of a hole with this....

 

[ThomasM]

We? Are you Gollum? Of course, there is room for nuance, bigger size phones require more battery life, one of Apple's formal reason not to make one and when time passing by new techniques emerge that makes it possible to come up with something bigger without loosing battery life perhaps. But i like the size of the 5

Battery issue isn't that much of a concern even now (depending on how you want to look at it), my S4 survives longer than my iphone 5..

 

[Lightyear2000]

(Sigh) Oh Apple, you are starting to follow the Pack instead of lead them.

Samsung and Google say jump, you say how many inches vertically?

 

[gnasher729]

(Sigh) Oh Apple, you are starting to follow the Pack instead of lead them.

Samsung and Google say jump, you say how many inches vertically?

So what you are saying, if I get this right: If Apple doesn't release a bigger phone it is bad. And if Apple does release a bigger phone, it is also bad. Got it.

 

[Sandstorm]

I've long wanted a ~5" iPhone. Large phones are not for everyone, but I want one and I suspect I'm far from the only one. Screen size is the main reason I contemplate switching to Android device (but only with stock Android) from time to time. Haven't made the jump yet, but I'm getting impatient... Especially seeing so many interesting alternatives - larger screen, better durability, longer battery life and water-proof-ness for me are much more important than even slimmer device or more "sophisticated" bling-y chamfered edges. My less than year old iPhone 5 looks like crap, with deep dents and scratches. And when I go outdoors, hike, run or cycle (I do that a lot), I'm always worried about my "princess" iPhone 5 - it just is so fragile and jewellery-like. I don't want a fancy phone. Don't know, maybe I'll switch to 5C this fall - but one thing is for sure, I won't buy 5S.

Anyway, speaking about 5" iPhone - I even don't need better resolution, I rather like bigger UI (for example, to see everything better when the phone is docked in car). It would also benefit people with less than perfect eyesight (like my father, who complains that he needs glasses to read his 4S). Personally I still have good eyesight, but even I think many things are a bit too tiny on the iPhone right now. The screen with the same 1136x640 resolution, stretched to 5", I think would still be very good. Even if it lost the "retina" marketing bs. Plus there would be no need for developers to do anything about their apps.