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I personally believe it was a mistake going 1136x640 instead of 1280x720

I

iPad 2

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 4, 2011
137
0
Think about it, if you're going to up the resolution to 1136x640 with a 16:9 aspect ratio and also put a black border around all of the old apps until they get updated, why not just go that tiny bit further and go to 1280x720 allowing for perfect playback of 720p movies without any scaling.

iTunes HD movie rentals are all at 720p, and it's a shame that the iPhone 5 can't play them at their native resolution.

Maybe the iPhone 6 will feature a 4.3 inch 1280x720 resolution screen.
 
Last edited:
1136x640. Anyways, true, but have you thought, that just maybe, screen making technology has matured enough for a 4" screen to make it yet? It was a huge undergoing to get on a 3.5" 960x640.
 
If you extended the iPhone's screen width to 720 pixels wide (staying at 326 ppi), it would probably start getting uncomfortable and awkward to fit into your hands.
 
iPad 2 said:
Think about it, if you're going to up the resolution to 1156x640 with a 16:9 aspect ration and also put a black border around all of the old apps until they get updated, why not just go that tiny bit further and go to 1280x720 allowing for perfect playback of 720p movies without any scaling.

iTunes HD movie rentals are all at 720p, and it's a shame that the iPhone 5 can't play them at their native resolution.
Click to expand...

Is that really a deterrent for you?
 
iPad 2 said:
Think about it, if you're going to up the resolution to 1156x640 with a 16:9 aspect ration and also put a black border around all of the old apps until they get updated, why not just go that tiny bit further and go to 1280x720 allowing for perfect playback of 720p movies without any scaling.

iTunes HD movie rentals are all at 720p, and it's a shame that the iPhone 5 can't play them at their native resolution.
Click to expand...

I agree
 
iPad 2 said:
Think about it, if you're going to up the resolution to 1156x640 with a 16:9 aspect ration and also put a black border around all of the old apps until they get updated, why not just go that tiny bit further and go to 1280x720 allowing for perfect playback of 720p movies without any scaling.

iTunes HD movie rentals are all at 720p, and it's a shame that the iPhone 5 can't play them at their native resolution.
Click to expand...

I personally believe you don't understand how the App Store works, and how developers write applications for iOS.

Prior to iPhone 5, all iPhone screens and their associated apps were in a 3:2 ratio, where as now with the iPhone 5, they are 16:9.

In iOS, applications do not scale to screen size, they are written pixel to pixel. So for each application, the developer has to write it for each screen resolution, pixels per inch and aspect ratios.

Thus, going to 1136x640 was easy because old apps will still display without major issues, and developers can easily change their apps to take advantage of the full screen.

However going to 720P would present a whole host of issues, and old applications would display with black bars on all sides, something Apple doesn't want, and neither do I want.
 
zachnelson said:
I personally believe you don't understand how the App Store works, and how developers write applications for iOS.

Prior to iPhone 5, all iPhone screens and their associated apps were in a 3:2 ratio, where as now with the iPhone 5, they are 16:9.

In iOS, applications do not scale to screen size, they are written pixel to pixel. So for each application, the developer has to write it for each screen resolution, pixels per inch and aspect ratios.

Thus, going to 1136x640 was easy because old apps will still display without major issues, and developers can easily change their apps to take advantage of the full screen.

However going to 720P would present a whole host of issues, and old applications would display with black bars on all sides, something Apple doesn't want, and neither do I want.
Click to expand...

Black bars on four sides vs. two sides for a couple of months is not a big deal.

All of the popular apps will get updated to the new resolution in a matter of weeks.

So a few weeks of having to stare at black borders on four sides instead of two sides is a price worth paying in order to get a 720p screen and native resolution playback of 720p video.
 
Would've been much easier going to 1280x720. Intitally yes, we would've had app issues, black bars on sides, but I don't think app developers and users would mind in the long run...

Or if Apple went above 1280x720 to maybe 1440x900 I think more people would've been more inclined to upgrade from their 4S or their current smartphone. Not saying that its not selling well, but apple could've put in a display which was well ahead of its competitors in generally every way.

The small periods where apps would display with black bars on each side would be acceptable for me personally...
 
iPad 2 said:
Black bars on four sides vs. two sides for a couple of months is not a big deal.

All of the popular apps will get updated to the new resolution in a matter of weeks.

So a few weeks of having to stare at black borders on four sides instead of two sides is a price worth paying in order to get a 720p screen and native resolution playback of 720p video.
Click to expand...

Maybe a 4 inch 720P screen was hard to obtain? Sharp is already having issues with this screen... 720P 4 inch screen would be ridiculous.
 
Plenty of andriod phones offer 1280x720 resolution screens. There are even 5 inch screen smartphones with 1920x1080 resolution, so a 4 inch 1280x720 resolution screen is indeed technologically viable.

Jnyce said:
Is that really a deterrent for you?
Click to expand...

Yes, it is a deterrant. I would like to be able to playback 720p movies and 720p iTune rentals at their native resolution. I would like wise be able to output my iPhone to a HDTV at a standard resolution.

1280x720 is a standard resolution, one supported by every HDTV, and every movie out there. 1136x640 is not.
 
the pixel density is so high it wouldn't make a difference at all, it would just waste power.
 
iPad 2 said:
Think about it, if you're going to up the resolution to 1136x640 with a 16:9 aspect ratio and also put a black border around all of the old apps until they get updated, why not just go that tiny bit further and go to 1280x720 allowing for perfect playback of 720p movies without any scaling.
Click to expand...

its been saved for the iphone5s / iphone5 feature :)
 
PortableLover said:
Would've been much easier going to 1280x720. Intitally yes, we would've had app issues, black bars on sides, but I don't think app developers and users would mind in the long run...

Or if Apple went above 1280x720 to maybe 1440x900 I think more people would've been more inclined to upgrade from their 4S or their current smartphone. Not saying that its not selling well, but apple could've put in a display which was well ahead of its competitors in generally every way.

The small periods where apps would display with black bars on each side would be acceptable for me personally...
Click to expand...

Can you explain what the real world drawbacks are of having to scale 720p content?
 
It really don't matter whether it's 720p or this resolution, if the screen is the same. Video Out still supports 720p, and on the 4" screen your eyes wouldn't really be able to tell the difference between 720p and 1136x640.
 
iPad 2 said:
Think about it, if you're going to up the resolution to 1136x640 with a 16:9 aspect ratio and also put a black border around all of the old apps until they get updated, why not just go that tiny bit further and go to 1280x720 allowing for perfect playback of 720p movies without any scaling.

iTunes HD movie rentals are all at 720p, and it's a shame that the iPhone 5 can't play them at their native resolution.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but the people making this argument really don't understand the technicals behind it. Considering they wanted to keep the screen at 4", with the same width, there literally would have been 0 technical or perceptual benefits to putting 720p into the same screen area. The downsides, however, would have been massive.

Once the pixels are too small for your eye to discern, the pixel count no longer matters.
 
extraextra said:
I agree, I was hoping for 1280x720.
Click to expand...

Me too.

I really hoped that when Apple finally got around to upping the resolution again, they would go with a more standard resolution this time.

It's awesome that the phone is 16:9, but its just a tad few pixels short of being a 1280x720 resolution.

Maybe the iPhone 6 will feature a 4.3 inch 1280x720 resolution screen.
 
Nathan576 said:
the pixel density is so high it wouldn't make a difference at all, it would just waste power.
Click to expand...

What is that I hear??? The voice of reason!? A HA!! It IS the voice of reason. Praise be upon the voice of reason!

----------
iPad 2 said:
Yes, it is a deterrant. I would like to be able to playback 720p movies and 720p iTune rentals at their native resolution. I would like wise be able to output my iPhone to a HDTV at a standard resolution.

1280x720 is a standard resolution, one supported by every HDTV, and every movie out there. 1136x640 is not.
Click to expand...

You will never, ever notice the difference on the iPhone itself. On the HDTV, maybe, but doubtful.
 
The truth is apple can do it however they want and thats the way its gonna be. People will adapt to them. Not the other way around.
 
That would only make sense if they were going with a larger screen. A 4.0" 1280x720 display doesn't really give you much advantage over a 4.0" 1136x640 display. The DPI is already so high that an increase doesn't mean much.

Almost all of the 1280x720 phone displays are in larger form factors, like 4.5" or larger. In that case the extra total resolution is required to get a good pixel density.
 
Drawbacks of scaling 720p movies down: none (resolution already is retina, adding more pixels are almost not visible by the naked eye, especially when the content is movie)

Drawbacks ofscaling iPhone screen both in height and in width: huge, pretty much every app will have to be updated.
 
iPad 2 said:
Think about it, if you're going to up the resolution to 1136x640 with a 16:9 aspect ratio and also put a black border around all of the old apps until they get updated, why not just go that tiny bit further and go to 1280x720 allowing for perfect playback of 720p movies without any scaling.

iTunes HD movie rentals are all at 720p, and it's a shame that the iPhone 5 can't play them at their native resolution.

Maybe the iPhone 6 will feature a 4.3 inch 1280x720 resolution screen.
Click to expand...

Apple has certain reasons why they do things. Their committment to easy one handed operation is one of their preferences that's not likely to change.

It seems the majority of their users also like the size, therefore the present 4.0" display is probably here for a few more years.
 
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