Will Apple increase the screen size on the iPhone?

[pyroscott]

I was told that Steve Jobs swore that the iPhone would never grow to where the average person couldn't operate it with one hand. I'm not sure how important that is to anyone. I can operate my galaxy nexus with one hand and that dwarfs the iPhone, but then again, my giant paws are not the size of the average person. Frankly, when using my phone with one hand, I felt like I was more prone to dropping it. So why is it then, that Apple has kept with the smaller form when Android phones keep getting bigger and bigger to the point where they are blurring the lines between tablet and phone.

 

One reason could be that Apple prides itself in the density of the pixels of its screens. It would be much more expensive to build a 4.5 inch screen at that pixel density. But it would be a thing of beauty.

 

Apple also prides themselves in the life of their battery. A larger screen would drain battery much quicker, although they would have more room for a larger battery if the form factor was larger.

 

The device size would increase if they increased the screen size. I don't know how important having a small phone is in the marketplace. The top selling non-iPhone smartphones from December are the Galaxy SII and Epic 4G Touch variant (4.52") Galaxy Nexus (4.65") Droid RAZR (4.5") and Amaze (4.3") so it appears that bigger is better.

 

Apple may be left with no choice but increase the size of the iPhone if the LTE antennas won't fit. But will they increase the size regardless if they redesign the iPhone and come out with the iPhone 5 this year?

[oversight]

I wouldn't be surprised to see them bump the screen size a bit in the near future. Jobs is gone and can't dictate that no one wants/needs a larger screen sizes anymore.

[themuffinman]

I am willing to bet that the iphone 5 will come with at least a 4 inch screen.

[S4GRU]

My guess is 4" too in the next iPhone. They will need the extra real estate for LTE and the giant 700MHz antenna (relatively giant).

[imex99]

They better move to atleast 4in. because I'm debatingon HTC's next sprint device or apples next iPhone.

 

Sent from my EVO 3D w/ MeanRom

[Fraydog]

The pixel density is almost as much on the Nexus. It may be more on the Rezound. I think there would be a subset that would react negatively within the Apple fanbase if the screen size grew.

 

The real problem is that they're using 960x640 resolution when ICS is using 1280x720 as the standard. When people port apps from one OS to the other, what will be gained and lost?

[S4GRU]

What do you all think of the possibility of two iPhone lines emerging? Keeping the 4 series as a value series with the smaller screen.

 

Call the new verision the iPhone 4GS. It is an iPhone 4S with added LTE support and other minor enhancements. Allows people who want LTE and a smaller form factor. Great for people with dainty paws.

 

But the big deal would be the new iPhone 5. It would support LTE and feature all of Apples newest innovations. It would rock a new larger 4" screen.

 

This is what I would do if I was Apple. Although, I wonder if they can fit a 700MHz antenna for LTE in the smaller iPhone. That thing is jam packed as it is.

 

Posted via Forum Runner

[JPSmith]

Two iphone lines is an interesting idea, but I agree it would be really really tough to add LTE to the 4s form factor. Apple will not compromise on antennas after the iphone 4 debacle.

[legion125]

It will probably happen. The 3GS is long in tooth, so the iP4 will become the new value leader most likely for AT&T unless they beg Apple to keep making the 3GS so they can continue to give it away for free. Otherwise, the iP4s will become the $99 model with 8gb of ram.

[JPSmith]

It will probably happen. The 3GS is long in tooth, so the iP4 will become the new value leader most likely for AT&T unless they beg Apple to keep making the 3GS so they can continue to give it away for free. Otherwise, the iP4s will become the $99 model with 8gb of ram.

 

Keeping the current 4 and 4s in production, unchanged, when the iP5 comes out would be consistent with past Apple practice. The interesting question as raised by S4GRU is whether Apple will introduce an LTE phone in the iP4/s form factor alongside the (presumably) larger form factor of the iP5.

 

Besides the extra antenna, the other technical issue with putting LTE in the iP4/s would be battery life; I'm not sure how much progress is being made in reducing power consumption of LTE radios but iP5 (again assuming it will be larger) would accomodate a larger battery while the iP4 would not.

Edited February 25, 2012 by JPSmith

[pyroscott]

It will probably happen. The 3GS is long in tooth, so the iP4 will become the new value leader most likely for AT&T unless they beg Apple to keep making the 3GS so they can continue to give it away for free. Otherwise, the iP4s will become the $99 model with 8gb of ram.

 

WOW 8GB of RAM? Doesn't Apple only put like 512MB in the 4S? I just had to be a smartass...