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If the next iPhone screen does get bigger, what will be the resolution?

Funkymonk

Funkymonk

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 7, 2011
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Will it be doubled the current ala iPad so developers have an easier time making changes? Or will it only increase enough to keep the current PPI? Can someone who knows a lot more about this type of stuff explain to me what may or may not work?

By the way, I'd bet money it will be simply called the new iPhone. Not iPhone 5 or 6.
 
My actual guess is that the screen size won't change at all.

But if you told me that it WAS going to change my second guess is that they'd bump it to 3.7" and keep the same resolution.

All just guesses, but that's where I'd place my bets.
 
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yeah, I'm starting to think that it won't get bigger either which is unfortunate for me since I would love a bigger screen. I just want to discuss resolution here though, enough threads about people fighting about other stuff.
 
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It would be the same resolution. There is no need to change the resolution.
 
The only logical resolution to move to is 1280x720, and moving to a proper 16:9 ratio. If the current iPhone were to go edge-to-edge, this would make a lot of sense.

I suspect that this WILL happen at some point, but not at any point in the near (12mo) future. As iOS and OS X converge it will start to make more sense. The iPhone is the odd man out with it's 3:2 aspect ratio. The iPad is 4:3, and almost all the other screens are 16:9/16:10 now. The only thing good about the 3:2 aspect ratio is that this is the standard ratio for photography, but even that is changing. If you move to 16:9, you can still crop out a 3:2 and it looks great. You can't do it the other way around.
 
lordofthereef said:
Depending on the new size, it would need a resolution bump, else it would no longer be a retina display.
Click to expand...

Wow. Still people dont get it? Even after in the latest Keynote, Apple clearly stated it themselves?

Retina is calculated using distance and pixel density. A bigger screen with the same res will be called retina cause its held further away. There is no magic 300PPI number, thats a myth.
 
kre62 said:
Wow. Still people dont get it? Even after in the latest Keynote, Apple clearly stated it themselves?

Retina is calculated using distance and pixel density. A bigger screen with the same res will be called retina cause its held further away. There is no magic 300PPI number, thats a myth.
Click to expand...

I get it perfectly fine. People aren't going to be holding a 4" phone any farther away than they hold a 3.5" phone (as evidence, see how people are using the larger screened phones already on the market). They are going to hold it the same distance. If it looks worse than the 4 and 4S screen, Apple loses. That's all there is to get.
 
lordofthereef said:
I get it perfectly fine. People aren't going to be holding a 4" phone any farther away than they hold a 3.5" phone (as evidence, see how people are using the larger screened phones already on the market). They are going to hold it the same distance. If it looks worse than the 4 and 4S screen, Apple loses. That's all there is to get.
Click to expand...

But Apple will claim they do, and thus the same res will still be retina.
 
If they go a little bit bigger, say 3.7", then I suspect the resolution would stay the same.

If they go bigger than that, then the resolution will probably change, but not doubling again, they have already done that. To do it again would only be of benefit if the phone was much larger, too big for a useable phone.

If they do change the resolution, they might change the format, maybe to 720p, keeping part of the screen for notifications, so the existing OS layout still works, while allowing more options for apps / video.
 
kre62 said:
Wow. Still people dont get it? Even after in the latest Keynote, Apple clearly stated it themselves?

Retina is calculated using distance and pixel density. A bigger screen with the same res will be called retina cause its held further away. There is no magic 300PPI number, thats a myth.
Click to expand...

how convenient
 
kre62 said:
Wow. Still people dont get it? Even after in the latest Keynote, Apple clearly stated it themselves?

Retina is calculated using distance and pixel density. A bigger screen with the same res will be called retina cause its held further away. There is no magic 300PPI number, thats a myth.
Click to expand...

why is it so hard to understand?

iphone 4s = 326ppi

Iphone 6 = lets say 280ppi

Galaxy Nexus = 316 ppi

SGSIII = >300

am i the only one who thinks this is impossible? only if they dont go higher than 3.8. if they go 4.0, resolution is changing

300ppi is the MAGIC number, its called marketing ;)
 
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lordofthereef said:
Jimmy James said:
It would be the same resolution. There is no need to change the resolution.
Click to expand...

Depending on the new size, it would need a resolution bump, else it would no longer be a retina display.
Click to expand...

You know I actually started typing a caveat in my original reply. I was going to say that it's not necessary to change the resolution "except to comply with an unnecessary and misunderstood marketing term". Then I deleted that part before posting because it seems like a dead horse that's already been beaten to death. A dozen times. In the afterlife. However, you proved me wrong. Congratulations.
 
Not quite sure I'm as concerned about the resolution as much as I am concerned about the DPI.
 
beosound3200 said:
why is it so hard to understand?

iphone 4s = 326ppi

Iphone 6 = lets say 280ppi

Galaxy Nexus = 316 ppi

SGSIII = >300

am i the only one who thinks this is impossible? only if they dont go higher than 3.8. if they go 4.0, resolution is changing

300ppi is the MAGIC number, its called marketing ;)
Click to expand...

Why is it so hard to understand?

If the screen looks good to the average consumer, and Apple, whom they trust, calls it retina, guess how much that PPI number will matter?
 
To people suggesting that the screen will be 16:9, I really doubt it. I'm sure Apple has decided when they released the original iPhone that it would be a 3:2 display.
 
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I doubt they will change the resolution just because of the existing apps on the App Store. A change in aspect ratio would be even worse.
 
I too would like a resolution change to 1280x720, even though it's likely that that won't happen. I watch a lot of videos on my 4S, and the black bars bother me. (Before you ask, I only have 16:9 videos stored ATM. WRT 2.35:1 content, I haven't bothered with buying or encoding them because they're too small on the 4S screen.)

The recently released Sony Xperia S is intriguing, with a 1280x720 non-pentile display. I would have seriously considered this if I had never bought the 4S last October. (Before anyone accuses me of being an Apple-hater, I've owned a number of iPods, and I have an iMac and an iPad2 at work. The 4S is my first smartphone of any kind.)
 
kre62 said:
Wow. Still people dont get it? Even after in the latest Keynote, Apple clearly stated it themselves?

Retina is a silly marketing term used to sell electronics. A bigger screen with the same res will be called retina cause its held further away. There is no magic 300PPI number, thats a myth.
Click to expand...

Fixed it for you:cool:.
 
kre62 said:
Why is it so hard to understand?

If the screen looks good to the average consumer, and Apple, whom they trust, calls it retina, guess how much that PPI number will matter?
Click to expand...

so iphone 6 will have 960x640 and sub 300dpi when every other high end phone on the market in late 2012 will have 720p and well over 300 dpi? you really dont see the absurdity in this?

so iphone 6:
same resolution, bigger screen
thinner
lte that works only in us
a5x

thats not enough if they want to stay on the top
 
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