This rumor is up there with Apple releasing the next iphone in June. The only thing we know for sure is that there will be a new phone this year no earlier than September. Customers who bought the iPhone 5 have to wait a full 2 years to upgrade that are on contract. I love Apple products but one has to ask why has it taken so long to release a bigger screen phone. It is obvious that samsung is waiting to copy Apple's next product, but Apple can not let their next thing be the iPhone 6.
one has to ask why has it taken so long to release a bigger screen phone.
No, one doesn't. Tim Cook has stated exactly why they haven't gone down that path yet. The only reason other manufacturers went bigger earlier is because of the poorer power efficiency of their hardware and software.
I love Apple products but one has to ask why has it taken so long to release a bigger screen phone.
The last design change was back in 2012 and that design was probably set a couple years before that. There is also a chance that Tim Cook's comments about waiting for the technology to be there before moving to a larger displays device might hold some truth to it.
Right now I'm assuming you're thinking, "If others can launch a larger display on a smartphone then why can't Apple, and Apple has a larger display on their iPads, so how can that possibly true?" Perhaps what Apple is waiting for, as an example, is a way to use a larger display without making the device too Brobdingnagian so that it can't reasonably be used one-handed. This could be accomplished with some newer technology but also with a new design that makes the thickness less thick and making the squared edges more round so that the it fits better in the hand.
Another reason might be having to update iOS and Xcode to allow for other changes. For instance, Apple uses a 1136x640 display but I am not sure that would be good on a 4.7" or 5.5" display as that would mean a PPI of 277 and 237, respectively, which might be too low for Apple to want to claim it's Retina. This would then mean updating everything in iOS to support this new resolution pixel-for-pixel for optimum power efficiency. This isn't something they have historically taken likely as they have used 4x the number of pixels (2x resolution) for every move to Retina and despite the iPhone being a high PPI when it launched by the iPhone 3G it was on par and by the iPhone 3GS it was falling behind as Android-based device started picking up speed. Personally, I want to see a new resolution for a larger size iPhone(s) that they can use for many years to come.
iPhone 4/4S is ~600,000 pixels iPhone 5/5S is ~730,000 pixels 1,334-by-750 is ~1 Million pixels 1,920-by-1,080 is ~2 Million pixels
I really hope that they get the screen resolution right and aren't too conservative, especially since they won't revisit this for another 2 years. I realise they have been somewhat hamstrung by backwards compatibility but 1080p is a pretty important spec to hit.
Android phones have been shipping with 1,920-by-1,080 displays for a while. We also know the A7 chip can already support graphics output to ~3.15 Million pixels without breaking a sweat.
There is no rule that says the best phones must have the largest screen.
If a large screen iPhone becomes available, fine. I just hope that there will be two or more top-of-the-line iPhones that differ not in tech/performance/features, but just screen size, and that the smaller screen phones are not short-changed in any way.
I really hope that they get the screen resolution right and aren't too conservative, especially since they won't revisit this for another 2 years. I realise they have been somewhat hamstrung by backwards compatibility but 1080p is a pretty important spec to hit.
Android phones have been shipping with 1,920-by-1,080 displays for a while.
1) I think it's important to get this right which, to me, means planning out many years in advance, not just 2 years of essentially the same looking device, but actually plan for many, many years of the same sizes. I don't think it's good that we'll be having iPhone apps that don't fit perfectly on the display and need to wait for developers to issue updates like we had with the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5. It's simply too much effort all around to not plan well, which is why I am leaning toward the 4" iPhone still existing.
2) How are the battery life, game graphics, size and weight for those Full HD devices? From what I've seen it's not something Apple would release… but it has been a couple years so that could happen. They are already on 16:9 which covers one of the developer hurdles since I don't most people are still using 3.5"-only apps on their iPhone 5/5S.
One thing that has been holding back Apple is the lack of resolution independence in iOS. They are getting there but right now everything (apps) assumes certain things about the size and lays out their UI on a pixel basis based on that assumption. Auto layout and other similar features allow you to start down that path and auto layout was first in iOS 6 but was a first pass that was not that easy to use. In iOS 7 it got a lot better. I expect we'll see a lot of screen resolution independence stuff at WWDC this year.
Not to make Steve turn over in his grave, but a stylus with a finer tip would be cool for the larger one. Personally, I think I would choose the 4.7. I don't need a big chunk in my pocket.
I would be all over a stylus (or screen, or both, whichever would be required technologically) whose tip can be sensed independently of any skin.
I suppose the easiest way to do that is implement the touchscreen patent that Apple has which can distinguish users by the difference in capacitance they register to the system. Simply make a stylus (or tell third parties that they must make their styluses) capaci… tate at EXACTLY such-and-such Hz, and then the device knows to ignore all other capacitances when it senses that one. This would allow you to rest your hand on the screen while writing/drawing/etc., which would make any of those app(lications; MULTITOUCH DESKTOP MAC, HELLO) absolutely killer for, well, anything.
Oh, and there’s no chance that any of Apple’s competitors could pull anything off even remotely close to this. So that’s another couple dozen million sold.
I would be all over a stylus (or screen, or both, whichever would be required technologically) whose tip can be sensed independently of any skin.
I suppose the easiest way to do that is implement the touchscreen patent that Apple has which can distinguish users by the difference in capacitance they register to the system. Simply make a stylus (or tell third parties that they must make their styluses) capaci… tate at EXACTLY such-and-such Hz, and then the device knows to ignore all other capacitances when it senses that one. This would allow you to rest your hand on the screen while writing/drawing/etc., which would make any of those app(lications; MULTITOUCH DESKTOP MAC, HELLO) absolutely killer for, well, anything.
Oh, and there’s no chance that any of Apple’s competitors could pull anything off even remotely close to this. So that’s another couple dozen million sold.
This already exists. Has for years. Microsoft and Samsung both utilize it in WACOM digitizer displays via palm blocking/rejection technology.
The A8 will have only 1GB? I hope that's wrong because that would be the same as the past few generations, but with the faster memory type. It would be especially disappointing if the new iPads also have 1GB. On Google Earth, I'm constantly reaching the limit...
Vey funny - NOT. In my opinion the iPhone 5/5s is just about the perfect size for a PHONE, which is its primary function. Slim enough to hold comfortably in the hand and a good enough distance between the earpiece and the microphone. In a mobile phone I want a phone that can do messaging, emails and photos rather than a tablet that can make the odd phone call. If the latter was the case, the iPad mini retina is perfect.
.. A near-field communications chip (NFC) and metal casing are also part of the build...
Ok, you lost me there, Mr. Kuo. Why would they add an NFC chip now, when they decided not to years ago. Its not a new feature, nobody is using it in handsets that DO have it and Apple has iBeacon which can do the same and more.
I love how in these articles it always starts with "XX speculates that..." but in the middle of the article its worded more like "and WILL have this and absolutely WILL have that.."
Kuo is overdoing it with the NFC being part of iPhone 6. We could guess Apple would increase the screen size again to 4.7" but we can take 5.5" as a phablet fan's opinion.
Comments
Stop it immediately.
BECAUSE APPLE ISN’T IN THE MARKET OF RELEASING CRAP THAT NO ONE CAN USE.
BECAUSE THREE YEAR OLD, THREE POINT FIVE INCH SCREEN IPHONES SELL BETTER THAN ALL BUT ONE OF THOSE “BIGGER” PHONE MODELS.
BECAUSE THERE’S LITERALLY NOTHING TO WONDER ABOUT IF YOU TAKE LESS THAN A MINUTE TO THINK ABOUT IT.
Of course they can, and they will. And it won’t be that big.
one has to ask why has it taken so long to release a bigger screen phone.
No, one doesn't. Tim Cook has stated exactly why they haven't gone down that path yet. The only reason other manufacturers went bigger earlier is because of the poorer power efficiency of their hardware and software.
The last design change was back in 2012 and that design was probably set a couple years before that. There is also a chance that Tim Cook's comments about waiting for the technology to be there before moving to a larger displays device might hold some truth to it.
Right now I'm assuming you're thinking, "If others can launch a larger display on a smartphone then why can't Apple, and Apple has a larger display on their iPads, so how can that possibly true?" Perhaps what Apple is waiting for, as an example, is a way to use a larger display without making the device too Brobdingnagian so that it can't reasonably be used one-handed. This could be accomplished with some newer technology but also with a new design that makes the thickness less thick and making the squared edges more round so that the it fits better in the hand.
Another reason might be having to update iOS and Xcode to allow for other changes. For instance, Apple uses a 1136x640 display but I am not sure that would be good on a 4.7" or 5.5" display as that would mean a PPI of 277 and 237, respectively, which might be too low for Apple to want to claim it's Retina. This would then mean updating everything in iOS to support this new resolution pixel-for-pixel for optimum power efficiency. This isn't something they have historically taken likely as they have used 4x the number of pixels (2x resolution) for every move to Retina and despite the iPhone being a high PPI when it launched by the iPhone 3G it was on par and by the iPhone 3GS it was falling behind as Android-based device started picking up speed. Personally, I want to see a new resolution for a larger size iPhone(s) that they can use for many years to come.
iPhone 5/5S is ~730,000 pixels
1,334-by-750 is ~1 Million pixels
1,920-by-1,080 is ~2 Million pixels
I really hope that they get the screen resolution right and aren't too conservative, especially since they won't revisit this for another 2 years. I realise they have been somewhat hamstrung by backwards compatibility but 1080p is a pretty important spec to hit.
Android phones have been shipping with 1,920-by-1,080 displays for a while. We also know the A7 chip can already support graphics output to ~3.15 Million pixels without breaking a sweat.
There is no rule that says the best phones must have the largest screen.
If a large screen iPhone becomes available, fine. I just hope that there will be two or more top-of-the-line iPhones that differ not in tech/performance/features, but just screen size, and that the smaller screen phones are not short-changed in any way.
1) I think it's important to get this right which, to me, means planning out many years in advance, not just 2 years of essentially the same looking device, but actually plan for many, many years of the same sizes. I don't think it's good that we'll be having iPhone apps that don't fit perfectly on the display and need to wait for developers to issue updates like we had with the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5. It's simply too much effort all around to not plan well, which is why I am leaning toward the 4" iPhone still existing.
2) How are the battery life, game graphics, size and weight for those Full HD devices? From what I've seen it's not something Apple would release… but it has been a couple years so that could happen. They are already on 16:9 which covers one of the developer hurdles since I don't most people are still using 3.5"-only apps on their iPhone 5/5S.
I would be all over a stylus (or screen, or both, whichever would be required technologically) whose tip can be sensed independently of any skin.
I suppose the easiest way to do that is implement the touchscreen patent that Apple has which can distinguish users by the difference in capacitance they register to the system. Simply make a stylus (or tell third parties that they must make their styluses) capaci… tate at EXACTLY such-and-such Hz, and then the device knows to ignore all other capacitances when it senses that one. This would allow you to rest your hand on the screen while writing/drawing/etc., which would make any of those app(lications; MULTITOUCH DESKTOP MAC, HELLO) absolutely killer for, well, anything.
Oh, and there’s no chance that any of Apple’s competitors could pull anything off even remotely close to this. So that’s another couple dozen million sold.
I wonder if they can take on the note series
Not without a Digitizer of some sort.
I don't know how well it works, but the way I see it, that is the most touted feature on the Note.
If it is the most used feature on the Note, then Apple may not compete with it in the near future. They are still avoiding the stylus.
I would be all over a stylus (or screen, or both, whichever would be required technologically) whose tip can be sensed independently of any skin.
I suppose the easiest way to do that is implement the touchscreen patent that Apple has which can distinguish users by the difference in capacitance they register to the system. Simply make a stylus (or tell third parties that they must make their styluses) capaci… tate at EXACTLY such-and-such Hz, and then the device knows to ignore all other capacitances when it senses that one. This would allow you to rest your hand on the screen while writing/drawing/etc., which would make any of those app(lications; MULTITOUCH DESKTOP MAC, HELLO) absolutely killer for, well, anything.
Oh, and there’s no chance that any of Apple’s competitors could pull anything off even remotely close to this. So that’s another couple dozen million sold.
This already exists. Has for years. Microsoft and Samsung both utilize it in WACOM digitizer displays via palm blocking/rejection technology.
The Wacom tablets with built-in screens can accept capacitive touch from both their included styluses and your fingers?
No, I don't think so.
Good argument if delinquent on facts.
1) the VAT rate is national not EU
2) the higher the original price the higher the tax.
3) in the absence of VAT the cost is 568 which is high.
Not that VAT isn't ridiculously high.but facts matter.
Vey funny - NOT. In my opinion the iPhone 5/5s is just about the perfect size for a PHONE, which is its primary function. Slim enough to hold comfortably in the hand and a good enough distance between the earpiece and the microphone. In a mobile phone I want a phone that can do messaging, emails and photos rather than a tablet that can make the odd phone call. If the latter was the case, the iPad mini retina is perfect.
.. A near-field communications chip (NFC) and metal casing are also part of the build...
Ok, you lost me there, Mr. Kuo. Why would they add an NFC chip now, when they decided not to years ago. Its not a new feature, nobody is using it in handsets that DO have it and Apple has iBeacon which can do the same and more.
I love how in these articles it always starts with "XX speculates that..." but in the middle of the article its worded more like "and WILL have this and absolutely WILL have that.."
Tell me when you got some real news.