Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Bigger than what is presently being offered. I'm sure you were against the increase to the present screen size, right? The 3.5" fit you hand perfectly, right?

No, I like my 5s and the 5's screen when it came out and people were saying its not much, even tho I never got one. I also think it should be 1/8th-1/4th~ of an inch wider, with a higher ppi resolution. I jus don't see how one "needs" a 5+ inch screen.
 
Last edited:
This doesnt make sense...

  • 1280x720 in a 4.7" phone is not "retina enough". Definition wise, it's a step down from previous iPhones.
  • 2304x1440 for the 12" Macbook Air means actually 1152x720 real state. That's in fact below the current 11" Macbook Air.

I don't see it.
 
If Apple were to adopt these screen resolutions, it would seem very strange to me. Of course this is perfectly possible, as Apple has suprised us several times before. And who knows what goes on inside the minds of these guys.

But I would say the following about these screen sizes and resolutions (and please let me know whether you agree with me or not :D):

iPhone 6:

First of all, 4.7" is a very large display size to replace the 4". I wonder which size would the iPhone screen be if the bezel around the screen would be completely eliminated, but I guess it wouldn't be nowhere near 4.7". 4.7" is large and may be not so comfortable on the hands of the user. Perhaps Apple would release a 4.7" iPhone, but keep the smaller 4" version around. It may be dangerous to apply such radical and deep changes to a very popular product, axing the 4" iPhone. People might start disliking the iPhone because of the added size. Apple has played safe in the past, and it would be strange to see such a bold move right now.

As for the resolution, it doesn't make too much sense for me. The current iPhone, having a 1136x640 resolution crammed in a 4" screen, has a 325 ppi. A 4.7" screen with a 1280x720 resolution would actually have 312 ppi, a downgrade from the previous product. Although a 312 ppi phone can still be called retina, the downgrade here may be obvious.

The 5.7" version brings additional perplexity. It would be a giant iPhone, and that whole story of being able to use the iPhone with just one hand would just sink. It would be a phablet, after Tim Cook bashed toaster-refrigerators. It wouldn't make much sense.

As for the resolution... 1920x1080 on a 5.7" screen would equal to 386 ppi. The bigger iPhone would have more pixel density than the 4.7" version, which doesn't make much sense, since users tend to look at larger screens at a distance.

In addition to all this mess, iOS would have to be substantially update to make sense of these new resolutions. And apps would as well. Apple used careful mechanisms in the past to not break screen resolutions in iOS (first, it quadrupled the screen resolution, so it went from 480x320 to 960x640, and apps could still be used at the same screen size; then, it added vertical pixels only, going to a 1136x640 resolution, which allowed old apps to still be used although not benefitting from the added space). Two new iPhones with different resolutions would make all this effort pretty much worthless.

And Apple has become the master of making products with custom display resolutions, which no other manufacturer uses. Why would they succumb to the same mainstream resolutions of the high-end Android devices?

iPad 5:

The iPad 5 with a thinner bezel is very likely to happen.

As for the new iPad with a 12.9" screen and a 2732x2048 resolution... well, that remains to be seen. Anyway, a 2732x2048 resolution does not represent a perfect 4:3 screen ratio. It would be some sort of 4:2.9985 screen ratio. Strange, isn't it?

Such a screen would have a 264 ppi, which is also slightly higher than the one found in the 9.7" iPad (263 ppi).

One could also notice that such 12.9" iPad would have more pixels than the 15" retina MacBook Pro. Sounds a bit weird to me, considering the fact that it's an iPad we're talking about.

Also, I guess it wouldn't make sense to have a 7.9" and a 9.7 iPads with the same screen resolution (2048x1536) and a bigger one with a higher resolution.

iPad mini:

That one makes sense. And the one that makes most sense of all. It may happen. Or it may not. But at least it makes some sense.

MacBook Air:

This one puzzles me. I wasn't expecting a 2304x1440 resolution on a 12" screen.

The pixel density would be similar to the one in the 13" retina MacBook Pro (about 226 ppi). That makes sense. If the retina MacBook Pro is supposed to be the high-end offering, then it makes sense that the MacBook Air, being the thin-and-light consumer laptop, sports a smaller and lower-resolution display. It also would hint at a redesigned MacBook Air.

But here is the downside: if this is true, then competitors are already much ahead of Apple. There are several ultrabooks being released with much higher display resolutions. The Zenbook Infinity and the Acer Aspire S7 both have a 2560x1440 resolution. Dell is also updating its line and launching the XPS 11. Samsung is already selling a 13" ultrabook with a 3200x1800 resolution. These screen resolutions match or even surpass the resolutions of the very high end (and much more expensive) MacBook Pros with retina displays. So, Apple is late to the party here, and it is sub-par. If Apple adopts a 2304x1440 resolution for the Air, then it will be the lowest resolution among all high-resolution ultrabook displays. Underwhelming.
 
If Apple were to adopt these screen resolutions, it would seem very strange to me. Of course this is perfectly possible, as Apple has suprised us several times before. And who knows what goes on inside the minds of these guys.
What they think doesn't make much sense at all. However I will say they could move to a higher resolution (with more width and height) without breaking apps -- they'd just have them run with black borders, like apps on the 5/5S that aren't updated for it, only it would be in both dimensions this time.
 
Having gone: iPhone -> iPhone 3Gs -> iPhone 4 -> iPhone 4s -> Galaxy Nexus -> Nexus 4 -> HTC One -> iPhone 5s

I can honestly say that I don't want a bigger screen on my phone. I thought I did, and it did have its benefits, but the ergonomics are lacking. When my iPhone screen seems a little on the small side I move to my tablet or laptop.
 
I want a phone small enough to keep in my pocket when seated. I don't want to be that loser who puts their phone on the table as soon as they sit down in the restaurant.

I don't want to be the loser you actual looks around and cares what people do in a restaurant.
 
...
But here is the downside: if this is true, then competitors are already much ahead of Apple. There are several ultrabooks being released with much higher display resolutions. The Zenbook Infinity and the Acer Aspire S7 both have a 2560x1440 resolution. Dell is also updating its line and launching the XPS 11. Samsung is already selling a 13" ultrabook with a 3200x1800 resolution. These screen resolutions match or even surpass the resolutions of the very high end (and much more expensive) MacBook Pros with retina displays. So, Apple is late to the party here, and it is sub-par. If Apple adopts a 2304x1440 resolution for the Air, then it will be the lowest resolution among all high-resolution ultrabook displays. Underwhelming.

It is sad. Apple used to almost always be leading the industry in releasing products with top of the line displays.

I was very disappointed that the most recent MacBook Air version (mid 2013) kept the displays from three years ago. I was ready to buy a new one even if the display in the 11" model was improved in the slightest way. They certainly shouldn't be surprised in any way that their share of the PC market has declined.

So it looks like we may see a new MBA like computer with a high resolution display. It is rather underwhelming that we may see this in 2014 when the competition already has models matching what they predict here.

I suppose that the iPhone is where the money is so that is what is where they must concentrate their hardware design engineers and display R&D dollars.

I will be happy to buy a new iPhone 6 with a bigger screen (that is also hopefully noticeably thinner and lighter) and a new 11" or 12" MBA with a new 'close to retina' display. I just hope that it is better than what the rumor we are talking about suggests.
 
Last edited:
It is sad. Apple used to almost always be leading the industry in releasing products with top of the line displays.

I was very disappointed that the most recent MacBook Air version (mid 2013) kept the displays from three years ago. I was ready to buy a new one even if the display in the 11" model was improved in the slightest way. They certainly shouldn't be surprised in any way that their share of the PC market has declined.

So it looks like we may see a new MBA like computer with a high resolution display. It is rather underwhelming that we may see this in 2014 when the competition already has models matching what they predict here.

I suppose that the iPhone is where the money is so that is what is where they must concentrate their hardware design engineers and display R&D dollars.

I will be happy to buy a new iPhone 6 with a bigger screen (that is also hopefully noticeably thinner and lighter) and a new 11" or 12" MBA with a new 'close to retina' display. I just hope that it is better than what the rumor we are talking about suggests.

I was disappointed at the fact that the most recent MacBook Air kept the same design and the same display as the one released in 2010. This fact refrained me from buying the Haswell Air. If Apple had kept up, and released an Air with an IPS high-resolution display instead, I would have bought it. Instead, I went with an Ivy Bridge Retina Pro.

Apple will probably release a new Air design in 2014, and, if the sources are to be believed, it will have a 12" screen with a 2304x1440 resolution. Some Windows laptops are already better than that. And, if Apple keeps its release schedules, this new redesign and screen will last for another 3 or 4 years. That's worrying...
 
Lose those dated looking bezels, foreheads and chins, and a big screen phone isn't so big.

Also, introduce an iPhone Nano. A miniature wonder that zillions of people would buy. Might work with the watch/ring thing.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.