Apple CEO pans OLED displays but stops short of ruling out iPhone with larger screen

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
In his keynote interview kicking off the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference on Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook discounted the appeal of OLED displays while simultaneously appearing cagier than he's previously been when responding to questions on whether Apple should develop an iPhone with a larger screen in order to address competition.

bigger iPhone
Mockup of iPhone with 4.94-inch screen, created by Marco Arment.


"I don't want to say what we will do or won't do," with regard to screen size, Cook said, in what appeared to be a slight change of tune on the subject.

In the past, Cook had been more firm in his responses regarding screen size. Asked about the issue during the company's quarterly conference call just last month, Cook seemed almost dismissive of larger-screened handsets.

"We put a lot of thinking into screen size," he said, "and believe me, we've picked the right one."

In speaking of Apple's approach to the evolution of the iPhone and mobile devices in general, Cook largely criticized competitors who he believes are largely repeating the mistakes of the past:
Let me compare to the PC industry. Over the years, the way companies competed were two things: specs and price. People wanted to say, I've got the largest drive and fastest processor. In the camera business, people began to talk about megapixels. The truth is customers want that a-ha moment, and that's rarely a function of those things.
For its part, Cook said, Apple has instead chose to focus on the entire iOS experience, not particular specs.

"Do you know the speed of an AX Processor?," he asked. "You probably don't. Does it matter? You want a fantastic experience."

Cook went on to equate the screen size race among Apple's competitors to the specs race in the PC industry. He expressed confidence that Apple is on the right track with the Retina display featured in its iPhones and discounted the notion that OLED displays would deliver an improved experience for Apple customers due to their "awful" color saturation.

"If you ever buy anything online and really want to know what he color is, as many people do, you should really think twice before you depend on the color from an OLED display," he said in a swipe at rivals like Samsung, which uses OLED displays on its Galaxy S3 smartphone.

"There are many attributes to the display, and what Apple does is sweat every detail," he said. "We care about all of them and we want the best display, and I think we've got it." He immediately followed that, though, by repeating: "I'm not going to talk about what we're going to do in the future."

Apple's most recent phone, the iPhone 5, introduced a 4-inch Retina Display, a departure from the 3.5-inch screens featured on previous iPhones. The unit has seen strong sales, but industry observers believe the company is missing an opportunity in not introducing a larger-screened phone to compete with many Android devices.

Recently, rumors have surfaced that the company is in fact working on a larger-screened device to debut some time over the summer, currently dubbed by industry watchers as the "iPhone +"
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 60
    IOS experience needs to be updated and I'm looking at you iTunes/videos/music app.
    Also multitasking on iPad.
  • Reply 2 of 60

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Jimbo1234 View Post



    IOS experience needs to be updated and I'm looking at you iTunes/videos/music app.

    Also multitasking on iPad.


     


    Oh, didn't you hear, Tim cook announced that there won't be any more updates to iOS. Sorry.

  • Reply 3 of 60
    Well, the OLED expert they just hired might not be happy to hear this ;-)
  • Reply 4 of 60
    macrulezmacrulez Posts: 2,455member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Jimbo1234 View Post



    IOS experience needs to be updated and I'm looking at you iTunes/videos/music app.

    Also multitasking on iPad.




    The regulars here say that iOS already has all the multitasking it could ever need, ever since v1.0.  What more could anyone possibly want?

  • Reply 5 of 60


    Originally Posted by Jimbo1234 View Post

    IOS experience needs to be updated and I'm looking at you iTunes/videos/music app.

    Also multitasking on iPad.


     


    Yes, please, tell us more about how iOS is the worst thing to ever be put on any sort of storage but refuse to actually explain what's wrong with it…


     


    All iOS devices already have multitasking. Get over it.

  • Reply 6 of 60
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    stelligent wrote: »
    Well, the OLED expert they just hired might not be happy to hear this ;-)

    How do you make the leap from "existing OLEDs have color issues" to "OLEDs will never be any good and therefore not worth looking at"?

    I think it's really rather humorous. People complain that Apple is too set in its ways and ignore alternate technologies, but when Apple chooses to look at alternate technologies to see if they might have a future, Apple gets criticized for that, too.
  • Reply 7 of 60
    So, if we stick to pattern, we'll see an OLED display and perhaps a larger iPhone.

    Sounds interesting!
  • Reply 8 of 60

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by stelligent View Post



    Well, the OLED expert they just hired might not be happy to hear this ;-)


     


    Unless they hired him/her to try and fix the "awful color saturation." ;)


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    All iOS devices already have multitasking. Get over it.



    Of all the features currently in iOS, IMHO multitasking is near the top of the list of ones that could use some innovation/improvement.  How many years has the multitasking system been around exactly as is? In the same time, iTunes, Music, Video, iBooks, Maps and so on have all seen redesigns and/or upgrades.

  • Reply 9 of 60
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member


    Isn't it more likely that he is being cagey about OLED because of its possible use in the upcoming TV rather than because they are thinking of making a bigger phone?  

  • Reply 10 of 60
    macrulezmacrulez Posts: 2,455member


    deleted

  • Reply 11 of 60


    Originally Posted by Lord Amhran View Post

    So, if we stick to pattern, we'll see an OLED display and perhaps a larger iPhone.


     


    Sounds more like we'll see a better than OLED display on a larger iPad.

  • Reply 12 of 60
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    macrulez wrote: »
    (Somehow my original message didn't come through, so I'll try again and hope the servers are feeling better)

    Many here say that iOS already has all the multitasking it'll ever need, and they've been saying this since v1.0.  What more could anyone possibly want?

    "Multitasking" is not a simple 'yes or no' matter. Many things do multitask on the iPhone. You can play games while listening to iTunes. You can listen to iTunes while sending emails. You can check the web while talking on the phone.

    You can not, however, watch TV at the same time you're playing Angry Birds. To a large degree, it wouldn't make sense to do so.

    So if you want 'more multitasking' on the iPhone, please be specific. What would you like to do that you can't do now?
  • Reply 13 of 60
    macrulezmacrulez Posts: 2,455member


    deleted

  • Reply 14 of 60

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post





    How do you make the leap from "existing OLEDs have color issues" to "OLEDs will never be any good and therefore not worth looking at"?

     


    OLEDs can be a lot more accurate already than they are. Some panels allow your own adjustments even. For phones using them, they're not color correct out of laziness to a large extent and the belief people WANT saturated colors because it adds ooh's and ahh's on the shelf next to 'washed out' LCDs. Most people aren't color experts and don't care. Case and point there's hacking tools out there people use on these Samsung phones to adjust color with a simple software mod. 


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


     


    Sounds more like we'll see a better than OLED display on a larger iPad.



     


    I very much doubt that. OLEDs on screens that size would suck battery more than LCD. Even Samsung's tablets use LCD screens.  

  • Reply 15 of 60
    Case and point there's hacking tools out there

    Case and point? Oh G-d!
  • Reply 16 of 60


    Originally Posted by thataveragejoe View Post


    I very much doubt that. OLEDs on screens that size would suck battery more than LCD.



     


    Better than. As in not OLED at all.

  • Reply 17 of 60
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,415member


    OLED displays have shown to be color inconsistent and many tests on calibrations show that they're way off. The only mobile display that passed color tests? iPad and iPhones

  • Reply 18 of 60


    Yes, bash OLED even though that's what most customers prefer or could not care less about the difference in color.  Keep trying to convince the dummies that your product is superior than others when it's really not. 

  • Reply 19 of 60

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MacRulez View Post


    (Somehow my original message didn't come through, so I'll try again and hope the servers are feeling better)


     


    Many here say that iOS already has all the multitasking it'll ever need, and they've been saying this since v1.0.  What more could anyone possibly want?



     


    Well, there are 17 pasty-faced basement dwellers who want the ability to multitask 14 separate apps.  Apple needs to address those demands or they will forever be branded as not customer-oriented enough.

  • Reply 20 of 60
    herbapouherbapou Posts: 2,228member


    Funny thing is the screen lack of brightness and wierd colors is the first thing I notice on the Nexus 4. The screen look pale and washed out. I tried to rise brightness and it did improve. 


     


    I have the 4s and the Nexus 4 side by side and even with increase brightness on the nexus 4, the 4s still looks more vivid and as what seems to be more accurate colors indeed.  The iphone also seems to have less reflections. On the resolution side, the nexus 4 is 1080x720 on a 4.7" screen.  Pixel density is lower than the iphone, but I still dont see the pixels on the nexus 4, so its good enough for me.


     


    I dont know how IGZO screens compare, but if Apple could avoid OLED it would be a good move, unless they can improved OLED brightness and colors.  That being said, at 350$, the unlock Nexus 4 is a better product than the 4 and 4S to me.

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