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

If Apple gives the next iPhone a bigger display, than it's going to be a...


  • Total voters
    120
Where do you get the idea that Apple doesn't like the wider aspect ratios? 18:10 is just about equal to 16:9. We're talking a 1% difference in ratio.
I realize it's only 162:90 vs 160:90, but you must not forget that 18:10 is still a very uncommon aspect ratio and would require a lot of changes in the manufacturing process and I have doubt that suppliers like Samsung can ship 18:10 panels in huge quantities in just a few months. Aspect ratios like 16:10, 16:9, 4:3 and 3:2 are much more common.
 
I read last month that LG has a new contract with Apple to supply several million 4.3" screens to Foxconn for the 3rd Qtr.
 
I realize it's only 162:90 vs 160:90, but you must not forget that 18:10 is still a very uncommon aspect ratio and would require a lot of changes in the manufacturing process and I have doubt that suppliers like Samsung can ship 18:10 panels in huge quantities in just a few months. Aspect ratios like 16:10, 16:9, 4:3 and 3:2 are much more common.

I honestly don't think that cutting the glass in a new size/shape would be that difficult. I'm guessing it's more complicated for the OEMs to futz with the pixel density than it is to change the cutting dimensions. Besides, at the volumes that Apple deals with, I think the OEMs will adjust the aspect ratio to whatever Apple wants.

Anyways, it's all speculation at this point. Apple will do what they think is best and people will gobble it up.
 
Watching Hipsters try to pull a 4.5"+ phone out of their Skinny Jeans is quite hilarious.

Exactly!! That'll be hard.

I think it'll actually stay the same. If not, maybe a little bit bigger. People forget, Apple does things for very specific reasons. :apple:

They aren't the type to upgrade size because everyone else is doing it. The iPhone, as is, rocks!

We'll see though.
 
Exactly!! That'll be hard.

I think it'll actually stay the same. If not, maybe a little bit bigger. People forget, Apple does things for very specific reasons. :apple:

They aren't the type to upgrade size because everyone else is doing it. The iPhone, as is, rocks!

We'll see though.
A bigger display does not equal a bigger phone. And, oh, Apple is very unpredictable. They made the iPhone 3G bigger, heavier and thicker. The same for the iPad 3.

I still think it is very well possible that Apple is going to introduce an iPhone with a bigger display anywhere within 18 months from now.
 
So, before I continue, in short why I looked this up: anything at or above 264 pixels per inch is fine (icons will never become bigger than what you see on the iPad's display) and it allows Apple to use the 'retina display' marketing term.

I don't think your assumptions are correct. They've already said it has to be 300DPI or above at the 12 inch distance, which means no existing resolution for the displays bigger than 3.84" with the current aspect ratio. My guess is that Apple will stick to their guns and will keep it at 300DPI+. iPad's 264 PPI has little to do with iPhone as Apple has already set the parameter for the iPhone viewing distance earlier.

At the end, it's fairly meaning less to think in diagonal. A 4.3" can feel smaller than 4" if the aspect ratio is vastly different. I think the current iPhone aspect ratio at 3.84" will be plenty big enough. To give a reference, a 3.84" iPhone display with that ratio will be as wide as a 4.3" qHD Android phone, actually very slightly wider.

But that doesn't stop them from stretching the display like it's been speculated. However I personally don't see much benefit from a display that's just stretched in one side. I guess they could do both - make the current display bigger and add some pixels on top and the bottom, which would make a nice 4" display.
 
I don't think your assumptions are correct. They've already said it has to be 300DPI or above at the 12 inch distance, which means no existing resolution for the displays bigger than 3.84" with the current aspect ratio. My guess is that Apple will stick to their guns and will keep it at 300DPI+. iPad's 264 PPI has little to do with iPhone as Apple has already set the parameter for the iPhone viewing distance earlier.

At the end, it's fairly meaning less to think in diagonal. A 4.3" can feel smaller than 4" if the aspect ratio is vastly different. I think the current iPhone aspect ratio at 3.84" will be plenty big enough. To give a reference, a 3.84" iPhone display with that ratio will be as wide as a 4.3" qHD Android phone, actually very slightly wider.

But that doesn't stop them from stretching the display like it's been speculated. However I personally don't see much benefit from a display that's just stretched in one side. I guess they could do both - make the current display bigger and add some pixels on top and the bottom, which would make a nice 4" display.
There's a difference, however, because a retina display only becomes a retina display when you can't distinguish the pixels from a certain distance.

A 4.3" 960 by 640 display would have a pixel density of 264 pixels per inch. So, when is this a 'retina display'? When you hold it 13 inches away from your eyes.

In comparison, the current 3.5" display is only 'retina display'-worthy when you hold the device a little more than 11.5 inches away from your eyes (and Apple rounds this up to 12 inches).

So, a 4.3" 960 x 640 display is retina worthy at a viewing distance of 13 inches.
The current 3.5" 960 x 640 display is retina worthy at a viewing distance of 12 inches.
The iPad's 9.7 2048 x 1536 display is retina worthy at a viewing distance of 13 inches as well (and according to Apple people hold it at a distance of 15 inches).

They could easily say that, because of the bigger display, most people will hold the next-gen iPhone about an inch further away from their face - and thus it is still a retina display.

------------------------
Edit another all-in-one solution would be to settle with a Full HD 1920 x 1280 resolution at 528 pixels per inch (in case of a 4.3"-ish display). I doubt they will do that, however.
 
I have rewritten my original, first post. Please read it, and if you've got questions... feel free to ask! :)
 
A bigger display does not equal a bigger phone. And, oh, Apple is very unpredictable. They made the iPhone 3G bigger, heavier and thicker. The same for the iPad 3.

I still think it is very well possible that Apple is going to introduce an iPhone with a bigger display anywhere within 18 months from now.

Yea, I'm not disputing that. It is true. They are unpredictable! Just my opinion.
 
I hope for 300+ dpi 3:2 screen. The dimension doesn't matter. 3.5" is fine by me.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I would like to see something closer to 16:9 if they are going to make devs change everything anyways.
 
Most people I know with an iPhone seem to want a bigger screen. And a 4 inch screen seems to be the wish of a lot of people here.
Remember when the 4 inch screen came, and how Stevie said nobody wants a 4 inch phone? And remember how so many people in general thought a 4 inch phone was too big. Now look where we are today. 4 inch phones seem to be the norm with the market.
I think Apple will most likely bring a bigger screen. And it will most likely be a 4 inch screen. They have no choice, as any other size less than 4 inches, Apple shouldn't even bother. It would be a joke, and the iPhone would be the punchline.
 
Lol. You guys use the phrase "retina display" like it's an actual phrase.

Apple literally made that **** up. You realise that right?

There is no such thing as retina display.

And they done goofed when the iPad 3 came along.

First it had to be 300ppi+ to be retina and when they couldn't do that for te iPad, they came up with a bunch of bs and people ate it up. Lol
 
Lol. You guys use the phrase "retina display" like it's an actual phrase.

Apple literally made that **** up. You realise that right?

There is no such thing as retina display.

And they done goofed when the iPad 3 came along.

First it had to be 300ppi+ to be retina and when they couldn't do that for te iPad, they came up with a bunch of bs and people ate it up. Lol

Please, get your facts right, you're making things up.

Retina is not a fixed number as in has to be 300ppi, it's a term used relating resolution and viewing distance, they have said it since the very first day!

201203071026005318-M.jpg
 
Lol. You guys use the phrase "retina display" like it's an actual phrase.

Apple literally made that **** up. You realise that right?

There is no such thing as retina display.

And they done goofed when the iPad 3 came along.

First it had to be 300ppi+ to be retina and when they couldn't do that for te iPad, they came up with a bunch of bs and people ate it up. Lol

You couldn't be more wrong. Yes, the term "retina display" is made up, but then again, aren't all marketing terms "made up"? Apple has always maintained that retina display meant that the screen's resolution is such that, at typical viewing distances, a normal human eye cannot distinguish the individual pixels.

I was watching Jobs' keynote and distinctly remember him saying the bit about viewing distances. He mentioned that most people hold a phone about 12 to 16 inches away and that at that distance, a resolution of around 300 ppi would be sufficient for normal human eyes to be unable to see the pixels.
 
And why couldn't they do that? The iPhone has been at 3.5" for 5 years and still sells well. I would like to see the screen get better but the phone stay the same size.

This. Well, I want a bigger screen only if the overall size of the phone doesn't increase.
 
This. Well, I want a bigger screen only if the overall size of the phone doesn't increase.
I think no one would care if it was only a few mm (all iPhones (except for the -S iPhones), were always a bit longer, shorter, wider or less wide). It would become a problem if we they were adding centimeters or even inches too the iPhone.
 
Please, get your facts right, you're making things up.

Retina is not a fixed number as in has to be 300ppi, it's a term used relating resolution and viewing distance, they have said it since the very first day!

Image

Hey clown face. That pic is from the iPad 3 keynote where they changed the entire meaning of retina display because they couldn't produce a 300+ppi iPad display.

From day one Steve said 300ppi. And when they couldn't produce a iPad display that dense, tey came up with the distance crap
 
Hey clown face. That pic is from the iPad 3 keynote where they changed the entire meaning of retina display because they couldn't produce a 300+ppi iPad display.

From day one Steve said 300ppi. And when they couldn't produce a iPad display that dense, tey came up with the distance crap

I really hate when people are going to claim things without any evidence. I'll give you some evidence. In iTunes, search for "Apple Keynotes" (not the HD versions, because there is no HD version of the WWDC 2010 keynote). Open the keynote and move ahead to about 36 minutes and 50 seconds. You'll hear Steve Jobs saying, and I quote:

Steve Jobs said:
It turns out, that there's a magic number right around 300 pixels per inch that when you hold something at around 10 or 12 inches away from your eyes, is the limit of a human retina to differentiate the pixels.

That's pretty clear: when you hold a 300 ppi display at 10 or 12 inches from your eyes, you can't differentiate the pixels. And that's quite correct. To be more exact: the human retina can't differentiate the pixels when you hold a 300 ppi display 11.5 inches away from your eyes.

They didn't change the meaning. They just gave us a possibility to calculate it for ourselves.

The third generation iPad's display is already a retina display when you hold it 13.03 inches away from your eyes. And the iPad 2's display can be considered a retina display when you hold it 26.05 inches away from your eyes.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.