Apple Testing Taller iPhone Prototype with 3.95-Inch 1136x640 Display?

[Trius]

i dont understand..

Why is everyone so concerned over developers having to update their apps?? Are we all supposed to just halt progress because of a few lazy devs that would rather sit back and collect checks than improve their apps for new tech? Same kind of thing with the new dock connector... Someone said it would be a "deal breaker" for him if they changed the dock connector??? Thats asinine.

Computers and technology in general have been quickly evolving and changing since the early 90's... I have come to terms with the fact that if I want to enjoy the "latest and greatest", I might have to try/use/buy different things... The fear that people have of "change" blows my mind..

 

[QCassidy352]

Recent rumors suggest that Apple's days of "innovation" may be severly limited based on their propensity to grow more and more conservative.

After all, they've accomplished the greatest achievement of all. They have their customers convinced that if it's made by Apple... you just buy it. No questions asked. Specs be damned, just cough up your money.

I quote:

"Whatever Apple ends up going with, the source behind this info claims it won’t be a huge change. One more aspect of the phone’s design that has reportedly been finalized is the continued presence of a physical home button"

It's so dull, very, very dull.

There's a balance to be struck. On the one hand, you don't want to completely redesign a massively popular and profitable product because you might screw it up. On the other hand, you don't want to make RIM's mistake of making the same thing for a decade. Where exactly to draw the line is a good question, but more change is not necessarily better.

 

[Renzatic]

They're just saying that to avoid negative comments about Tim Cook's engineering strategies and talents. Also, saying that Steve had input on this design will boost sales when the phone is released. You can't believe every rumor you hear or every book you read.

I'm almost definite Jobs had plenty of input about this new iPhone before he died. Apple has likely been working on a complete redesign since the release of the 4 well over a couple of years ago. Think about it. The 4s was really nothing more than a speed bump upgrade. Same body, same screen, and an upgraded rev of the same basic hardware. Siri integration was about the only big difference about it, but that would be all done on the software side. In short, the 4s isn't something that'd require a full year of hard planning or constant busywork from the entirety of Apple's design and engineering resources to produce.

So what were they doing in the meantime? Twiddling their thumbs? It's more likely they were hard at work on the true and proper new iPhone in the interim. If they were doing this since the release of the 4, then that means they would've been working on it since Jobs was alive.

So yes, it's likely Steve Jobs had more than a small amount of input into the final design of the iPhone 5 (or 6 or whatever it's gonna be called). I doubt they're just riding his name for the sake of publicity.

 

[Moonjumper]

I like the concept of this, but I'm curious what would the dock icons do in this situation?

The iPad always has 4 icons across the short side of the screen and 5 across the long side. The only difference with my suggestion is the icon order stays relative to the device, not the dock.

I forgot that the iPhone home screen does not rotate, so there is no problem there.

Of course the simpler solution would have been for Apple to have a 5x5 arrangement for the icons on the iPad. The fact that you can put 6 apps in the dock shows that there is the space without crowding. It would be a nice option for iOS 6.

 

[Moonjumper]

Would the landscape keyboard still be feasible with this aspect ratio? I'm not sure it would...

And I may be wrong, but didn't this whole rumour just originate as some guy's suggestion?

Make it the same pixel height it is now, use the extra width to add a number pad!

 

[Reason077]

The whole purpose of enlarging the screen IS to make everything larger so you can read it and touch it without having to pinch to zoom and panning around everything. Not all users have young eyes that can see tiny text on the screen.

OK, Grandpa! Have you had your prescription checked recently?

With your logic just double the resolution keep the screen at 3.5" and put double the content on the screen at once.

No. Each pixel stays the same size. There's just more of them.

 

[anti-win]

I don't like making the screens simply taller. To me it looks stupid. Lets get rid of that bezel along either side, bring the screen right up to the edge where (if we still have the same antenna design) the metal is then make the screen a little taller. But to keep the bezel the same and just stretch the screen to please the critics that are spec oriented is stupid. One poster mentioned about writing iMessages and how you cannot read the message while in landscape mode. I personally find that a design flaw. Make the screen go edgeless on the sides, stretch it out a little and call it a day. Plus adding more icons on each screen, seems pretty pointless to me. I'd like to see iOS completely redesigned, I'm tired of the grid look. Most of my coworkers have droids and I'll be honest, their home screens are nicer to look at with a lot more information visible. I'm a die hard apple-er so I'll always stick with my iPhone, but it is time for a change Mr. Cook... oh and improve the damn battery! My iPhone 4s barely lasts me an 8 hour day with only three apps running at a time.

 

[gatortpk]

If they are going to change it at least make it better then the new android standard of 720p.

Android standard? How many Android phones have a 720p display? (Less than 1%) Only three (that I know of), and they all came out after the iPhone 4S. (Galaxy Nexus in November 17, 2011, Xperia S in February 2012, Galaxy S III in May 2012)

720p is a High Definition Television resolution standard set back in the late 90's.

I do agree that it would be nice to see the new taller iPhone be 1280x720p. At 4 inches it would have a resolution density of 367 ppi.
If changing the ratio is going to make it more difficult for developers why not up the resolution too? (Unless keeping the same width still simplifies things)

If you say "make it better than the new android standard of 720p", what would you suggest? If we stick to 16:9 ratio in the new iPhone, then the only next standard resolution is 1920x1080, (except for that messy 1366x768 resolution panels used in cheap HDTV and cheap laptop displays, I know the 11" MacBook Air uses it, but it's very small at 142 ppi!)
1366x768 resolution display on the iPhone at 4 inches would be 392 ppi.
1920x1080 resolution display on the iPhone at 4 inches would be 551 ppi.
That's a nice resolution for detailed Chinese characters. 495 ppi displays have been demonstrated, but 551 ppi for mass production would be quite impressive, and unlikely. (And it would be Retina resolution at only 6.2 inch distance for 20/20 vision; one arc minute of visual acuity)

 

[ixodes]

There's a balance to be struck. On the one hand, you don't want to completely redesign a massively popular and profitable product because you might screw it up. On the other hand, you don't want to make RIM's mistake of making the same thing for a decade. Where exactly to draw the line is a good question, but more change is not necessarily better.

Very well said, I concur.

 

[gatortpk]

Image

That would be acceptable

That looks just like a suggestion I've made several times, keep the same exact iPhone dimensions, and just make the display taller. Leaving less space around the home button and earphone. I actually had exact calculations to determine that, at least from the outside, it seems very reasonable. (And it would provide a 16:9 ratio display without changing the shape of the iPhone itself.)

Nice Mockup.

 

[ixodes]

Just came across this design. It's not bad, by making the corners small, it maximizes space utilization.

http://is.gd/vqoHpW

 

[marksman]

That mini connector is a game breaker for me. Seems pointless to invalidate the ten or so cables I have (car, truck, RV, 1 per room, recharching dock/alarm clock, etc). What would be the point of this?

Because the bigger connector takes up more room? It is pretty obvious isn't it?

 

[vincenz]

Really, it doesn't look half-bad.

 

[garysturn]

So I guess I would prefer more content per screen as oppose to just blowing everything up. What improvement is made by just making things bigger?

Why do people buy bigger screen TV's? So they can see it better. That is why people want a larger screen on a phone, so they can see it better. NOT so they can add more small content of the same size to the larger screen.

If you just want more content zoom out more or show a whole non-mobile version of a web page on that little screen. You can't read it but hay, you have more content.

 

[fs454]

With WWDC in a few weeks, do you really think that they are concept testing the large screen? If they are going to do an unveiling, they'd better have already made their mind up whether or not the screen is going to change.

Then again, this may not be a concept test but a UAT test.

I also like a previous comment, got to use those mock ups

A new iPhone release definitely isn't coming at WWDC. WWDC will be new MacBooks only.

 

[orangebluedevil]

The iPad always has 4 icons across the short side of the screen and 5 across the long side. The only difference with my suggestion is the icon order stays relative to the device, not the dock.

I forgot that the iPhone home screen does not rotate, so there is no problem there.

Of course the simpler solution would have been for Apple to have a 5x5 arrangement for the icons on the iPad. The fact that you can put 6 apps in the dock shows that there is the space without crowding. It would be a nice option for iOS 6.

You didn't answer my question. Hold the iPad in portrait. The dock is on the bottom which is the short side. Now turn it into Landscape. If your solution was implemented each dock would rotate while staying in it's current position. But what about the dock icons? Does the dock stay on the side?

That's the problem with your solution.

 

[garysturn]

A new iPhone release definitely isn't coming at WWDC. WWDC will be new MacBooks only.

No, but if there is going to be an Aspect Ratio change in the next iPhone it will have to be supported in iOS 6 and that will be previewed at WWDC. If there is no evidence of support for a new Aspect Ratio in the iOS 6 developer preview then the next iPhone will not have a new Aspect Ratio. To just scale up the screen size to 4" but keep the same 960x640 resolution there would not need to be any changes to iOS. They would just have to come up with some spin as to why it is still a Retina Display with a smaller pixel count, and we would not hear about that at WWDC.

 

[orangebluedevil]

9to5mac Correction proves that both rumors could be true

9to5mac just posted a correction saying it would be 3.999" screen, not a 3.95" screen as they original said.

It's important to note that they are extrapolating based on pixel sizes. What they are measuring is the actual screen, meaning the actual pixels have a 3.999" diagonal measurement.

The MacRumors pictures allege that the front face of the next iPod is 4.1" diagonal, so how could this be?

Simple.

Look at your iPhone 4 or 4S with the screen on, you can see a gap between the actual screen (meaning the pixels that light up), and the rectangle cut out of the front face (as shown in the MacRumors pictures). That gap is the 0.1" discrepancy between the two.

 

[bbeagle]

Cry me a river with this "SAME PAY" crap. Developers are professionals. Most professionals now are exempt from overtime. Move on.

I was simply explaining why developers were complaining about another screen size. It's more work. That's all.

I guess people aren't allowed to complain about doing more for the same or doing more for less, right?

If I'm a referee, and I get paid to do an NFL game with 15 minute quarters, and the league increases the quarter length to 20 minutes, and I don't get paid more as a referee, I'm not allowed to complain? Wow.

 

[BaldiMac]

Why do people buy bigger screen TV's? So they can see it better. That is why people want a larger screen on a phone, so they can see it better. NOT so they can add more small content of the same size to the larger screen.

If you just want more content zoom out more or show a whole non-mobile version of a web page on that little screen. You can't read it but hay, you have more content.

And why do we need bigger controls and bigger icons? Apps were designed to work at a particular physical size. Your argument only applies to random internet content that wasn't designed to be read on a mobile screen. A problem that is dealt with through Reader to a large extent.

No, but if there is going to be an Aspect Ratio change in the next iPhone it will have to be supported in iOS 6 and that will be previewed at WWDC. If there is no evidence of support for a new Aspect Ratio in the iOS 6 developer preview then the next iPhone will not have a new Aspect Ratio. To just scale up the screen size to 4" but keep the same 960x640 resolution there would not need to be any changes to iOS. They would just have to come up with some spin as to why it is still a Retina Display with a smaller pixel count, and we would not hear about that at WWDC.

Apple already defined a retina display. There is no way they are going to drop the pixel density below its current number, let alone below 300 ppi.

 

[lilo777]

With Android poised to become the dominant smart phone platform, Apple would be better off if they followed the lead and used 1280x720 resolution. This way it will be easier for developers who develop for Android first (and most of them will be) to port the apps to iPhone. Not to mention the benefit of this resolution being a standard HDTV resolution.

 

[hugo7]

Apple: be bold

A taller screen is too weak an upgrade to be worthwhile. Apple should i) increase the screen height ii) increase the device and screen width (unless they can pull off the bezel-less look) and iii) decrease by just a little the device thickness.

I really don't need an extra row of icons on my home screen and I'm not needing to scroll excessively in the well-designed apps I currently use. So I say "meh" to the extra vertical resolution...

... that said, there's one area where the extra height would be useful - to accommodate better those notifications. Those things currently overlay the top viewing area of an app and make that region unreachable. It very frustrating sometimes waiting for messages to get out of the way (of course, we know Palm does it better ).

 

[iMacFarlane]

Because the bigger connector takes up more room? It is pretty obvious isn't it?

Sure, if your argument is that something smaller is smaller than something that is bigger, you win. Pretty obvious. My point is, WHY make it smaller. To make it smaller?

 

[QCassidy352]

With Android poised to become the dominant smart phone platform, Apple would be better off if they followed the lead and used 1280x720 resolution. This way it will be easier for developers who develop for Android first (and most of them will be) to port the apps to iPhone. Not to mention the benefit of this resolution being a standard HDTV resolution.

Decent troll attempt. I give it a B+.

 

[2 Replies]

Steve would have never allowed this

To be fair, you "MacFather" don't speak for the dead.

That mini connector is a game breaker for me. Seems pointless to invalidate the ten or so cables I have (car, truck, RV, 1 per room, recharching dock/alarm clock, etc). What would be the point of this?

Invalidate them? You mean like Apple did to all iPods and the 1st gen iPhone when they switched the supported charging pinning in the 30-pin from firewire to usb?