Potential iPhone 5 screen size?

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shurcooL

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Apple typically supports the last 3 generations of an iOS device. When the next iPhone (5?) comes out, 3GS and its 480x320 screen will get pushed out, leaving only 4/4S and the 960x640 resolution. That opens up the opportunity to introduce a new resolution*.

imagedb.png


The current iPhone has a pretty thick bezel, which gives some room to increase the screen size without increasing the physical phone size.

Here's how three potential screen sizes stack up in terms of physical size. Note that even the 5" screen is still about the same size as the total size of the physical iPhone 4S... If they can get rid of the bezels completely. *dreams*

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This is the screen of iPhone 4/4S:

imagevi.png


I've noticed that if you increase its width by 25% and height by 50% you get:

imageum.png


Coincidence? You tell me.

The reason I didn't multiply the width by 50% is because it becomes too wide for fingers to grip. But there's no reason not to increase the height more. Well, it changes the aspect ratio of the screen of course.

If you wanted a more boring/conservative 25%/25% increase in both directions, you'd get this.

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*iPhone Apps would have to be updated to support the new resolution. Old apps would be displayed in the 3.5" middle part of the screen (no smaller than on iPhone 4S screen) with black borders, or scaled by 1.25x to fill screen. Similar to how iPad 1 ran iPhone apps in 1x or 2x mode.
 
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Apple so far has only increased resolution in cases that would allow them to both double both vertical and horizontal resolution.

Apple wants to ensure that there is perfect scaling in all of it's legacy apps, to give a consistent, non-fragmented, experience. With Jon Ives at the design helm, I still find it highly unlikely that that paradigm will shift. The only way for them to increase the height like you mentioned was changing the aspect ratio. The only way for legacy apps to be supported seamlessly then would be to have black bars. Although it may seem silly, from an aesthetic point of view, I don't think Apple would be happy about having black bars.

On the other hand, I don't think it's entirely unlikely that there will be an increase in the size of the LCD for the iPhone 5. I'm guessing they'll make the leap to 3.7"-4.0", but stay away from the ever-increasing sizes of Android phones. I think that shift will simply come at the cost of slightly lowering the DPI.
 
UnknownSouljer said:
Apple so far has only increased resolution in cases that would allow them to both double both vertical and horizontal resolution.

Apple wants to ensure that there is perfect scaling in all of it's legacy apps, to give a consistent, non-fragmented, experience. With Jon Ives at the design helm, I still find it highly unlikely that that paradigm will shift. The only way for them to increase the height like you mentioned was changing the aspect ratio. The only way for legacy apps to be supported seamlessly then would be to have black bars. Although it may seem silly, from an aesthetic point of view, I don't think Apple would be happy about having black bars.
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Not completely true. There was the change of resolution from iPhone 3GS (480x320) to iPad 1 (1024x768) which was an uneven change. The iPad ran iPhone apps with black bars or in 2x scaling mode until iPad-specific apps were made for a new resolution.

I would say it could be similar type of situation here. The 5" or 4.375" screen could display iPhone 4S apps at native size of 3.5", pixel perfect. Apps would have to be updated to support the full screen resolution.

Edit: Anyway, yes, I agree that this would cause a lot of work for developers. In comparison, Retina-fying a screen (i.e. going from non-Retina to Retina by exactly quadrupling the resolution) is an absolutely trivial change. However, Apple dug themselves into a hole here, so they have only two choices: i. keep 3.5" indefinitely, or ii. go through a hard-work of resolution transition. Now is the perfect time because the 320x480 resolution of 3GS will become obsolete.

On the other hand, I don't think it's entirely unlikely that there will be an increase in the size of the LCD for the iPhone 5. I'm guessing they'll make the leap to 3.7"-4.0", but stay away from the ever-increasing sizes of Android phones. I think that shift will simply come at the cost of slightly lowering the DPI.
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If they do that, the DPI will dip below 300 and fail to qualify as Retina. I don't really see that as an improvement. Things would get more blurry. I don't think Apple sees lowering DPI of iPhone as a viable option.
 
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The reason for the resolution change on the iPad was due to aspect ratio considerations, that you've touched on briefly in your posts. Apple always stars with wha they consider to be the ideal, and they tend to not like to compromise. That said, the 3:2 ratio of the iPhone will more than likely stay the same, as will the 4:3 aspect ratio of the iPad.

I understand what you're saying about the 3GS being eliminated and how that could create the possibility of supporting a new and different resolution. However, I think Apple is more obvious and formulaic. The retina display already outstrips most competitors and doesn't need to be touched. Apple will more than likely just bump the screen size slightly, make it thinner and lighter, make it faster with possibly a larger storage size model, and do improvements to iOS.

If I was to throw pie in the sky stuff out there, I would say they might make the screen curved, or put in a highly improved anti-reflection screen,similar to what the Lumia 900 has in it. Bezel reductions possible, all aluminum enclosure, more band compatibility (for foreign countries especially,) and some other stuff like that.
 
Am I the only one who doesn't want a larger screen?

I find 3.5" a great size. Right now I can reach every corner and edge of the screen with my thumb while holding the phone in one hand.

I always carry my phone with me so I want it as small as possible in my pocket since it's a rigid rectangle.

If I want/need a larger screen I use my iPad.
 
The next resolution increase for the iPhone, if any, will be to 1440x960, which is three times the resolution of 480x320. I'd like to see a 4.6 inch iPhone and iPod touch with that higher resolution, it'd be impressive. (Heck, even 5.6 inches would be awesome... I like large smartphones -- obviously a similar but smaller model would need to be released with it as well.)

There's not really any benefit to changing the resolution to anything else but one which can scale up from 480x320 points, but there's quite a few cons.
 
SirMaster said:
Am I the only one who doesn't want a larger screen?

I find 3.5" a great size. Right now I can reach every corner and edge of the screen with my thumb while holding the phone in one hand.

I always carry my phone with me so I want it as small as possible in my pocket since it's a rigid rectangle.

If I want/need a larger screen I use my iPad.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I hope the next screen is the same size and resolution but the phone is smaller, thinner and lighter. I want a form factor more like the iPod Touch, but even smaller.
 
SirMaster said:
Am I the only one who doesn't want a larger screen?

I find 3.5" a great size. Right now I can reach every corner and edge of the screen with my thumb while holding the phone in one hand.

I always carry my phone with me so I want it as small as possible in my pocket since it's a rigid rectangle.

If I want/need a larger screen I use my iPad.
Click to expand...

I think people who have/want to get an iPad are happy with 3.5" iPhone, but those who prefer to have just a single iOS device (like me) want a slightly larger screen.
 
It could potentially be infinity larger. Seriously who knows, it's all speculation.

On a more serious note..

SirMaster said:
Am I the only one who doesn't want a larger screen?

I find 3.5" a great size. Right now I can reach every corner and edge of the screen with my thumb while holding the phone in one hand.

I always carry my phone with me so I want it as small as possible in my pocket since it's a rigid rectangle.

If I want/need a larger screen I use my iPad.
Click to expand...

.. I used to think this way too when I had my original Droid. I thought, "No way I want a bigger screen, I won't be able to reach across it." Well, then I got my DX2 and I couldn't be without a bigger screen now. Every once in a while I have to stretch to get across the screen but that little inconvenience is SO worth the extra visible real estate.
 
I made this quick mockup of what the physical outer dimensions of an iPhone would have to be, in order to fit a 5" screen.

If they made the iPhone into a completely square brick (even more so than now), and kept the bezel to 1 mm or so, existing iPhone height is enough and the width would have to increase from 2.31 inch to 2.5 inch. Not too bad IMO.

Of course, they'd also have to figure out where to put the front facing elements (ear piece, FaceTime camera, ambient light & proximity sensors, home button), perhaps on the sides of the phone or behind the screen somehow. (Or they can increase the height slightly over 4.5 inches to make room, or use a shorter 4.375" screen.)

iphone5h.png


For reference, here are existing iPhone 4S outer dimensions:

iphone4sbodysize.png
 
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I've made some more mockups of what it could look like with a bottom base (where a vertically shorter home button can reside), or both top/bottom bases. Square all the way.

iphone5xl.jpg


iphone5y.png


If they go for this approach, I think they're more likely to use a 4.375" 3:2 aspect screen though. :(
 
shurcooL said:
If they do that, the DPI will dip below 300 and fail to qualify as Retina.
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Retina is not a scientific term. It means "impossible for the human eye to resolve individual pixels at normal viewing distance". FYI, the newest iPad is well under 300 dpi.
 
Decreasing DPI is not good. It means pixels get larger, and hence everything become more blocky. Apple doesn't want to release a new product that's "better at X, Y, Z, except its screen is worse than iPhone 4S because it has lower DPI".
 
I could see them adding a small increase in screen size(without increasing form factor) while keeping the current iphone 4/s resolution. As long as it is above 300dpi they'll be fine. I don't think they will increase resolution, especially incrementally and not doubled like stated above.
 
I won't really care either way, but if I could have it my way I'd probably go with having a smaller and lighter device with the same screen size as the 4....or maybe slightly larger to support native 720p. I am by no means a power user though, and if I were I think I'd definitely prefer a larger screen, because the 4's screen is kind of small compared to many Android phones.
 
darkhorse said:
I could see them adding a small increase in screen size(without increasing form factor) while keeping the current iphone 4/s resolution. As long as it is above 300dpi they'll be fine. I don't think they will increase resolution, especially incrementally and not doubled like stated above.
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I thought they would do that when iPhone 4S got released, but nope. It's not like Apple to do minor changes. They usually improve things drastically, or not at all.

At this point, it makes no sense to double resolution. It's already Retina-level. Doubling it further while keeping the same screen size would put you in the 600+ DPI range, which would be pointless at normal viewing distances. So if they do increase resolution, it will be to maintain high DPI of 329~ while increasing the screen size - not to keep the same screen size.

As things stand now, with any kind of screen size/resolution increase - double or otherwise, apps would have to be rewritten to take full advantage of it. That's why they're not gonna double it.
 
shurcooL said:
I thought they would do that when iPhone 4S got released, but nope. It's not like Apple to do minor changes. They usually improve things drastically, or not at all.

At this point, it makes no sense to double resolution. It's already Retina-level. Doubling it further while keeping the same screen size would put you in the 600+ DPI range, which would be pointless at normal viewing distances. So if they do increase resolution, it will be to maintain high DPI of 329~ while increasing the screen size - not to keep the same screen size.
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Actually, there would a benefit... games would look better as aliasing would become less visible, but it's not worth it considering the demanding performance increase.
As things stand now, with any kind of screen size/resolution increase - double or otherwise, apps would have to be rewritten to take full advantage of it. That's why they're not gonna double it.
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Actually, iPhone apps are coded for 480x320 points, so any multiple of 480x320 will be just like 480x320 > 960x640.
 
steelbom said:
Actually, there would a benefit... games would look better as aliasing would become less visible, but it's not worth it considering the demanding performance increase.
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There shouldn't be, if the Retina definition works. It says the eye can't distinguish pixels at normal viewing distance, so increasing DPI shouldn't result in any improvement.

Actually, iPhone apps are coded for 480x320 points, so any multiple of 480x320 will be just like 480x320 > 960x640.
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Not quite. iPhone apps are designed for a 3.5" screen. iPhone apps are not going to be optimal for any other significantly different size of screen. Not 9.7", not 5", not 7", regardless of whether the resolution is a multiple of 480x320 or not.
 
SirMaster said:
Am I the only one who doesn't want a larger screen?

I find 3.5" a great size. Right now I can reach every corner and edge of the screen with my thumb while holding the phone in one hand.

I always carry my phone with me so I want it as small as possible in my pocket since it's a rigid rectangle.

If I want/need a larger screen I use my iPad.
Click to expand...

+1. Just add 4g and update the OS.
 
shurcooL said:
There shouldn't be, if the Retina definition works. It says the eye can't distinguish pixels at normal viewing distance, so increasing DPI shouldn't result in any improvement.
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Just because you can't notice an individual pixel doesn't mean you can't notice the improvements from a higher PPI. Until we've got pixels so small than an individual one can't be seen (e.g, a red pixel on an entirely white background) then there's still room for improvement. Even at 960x640 I can still see plenty of aliasing in games on my 326 PPI iPhone if they don't have AA enabled, and even some with it.
Not quite. iPhone apps are designed for a 3.5" screen. iPhone apps are not going to be optimal for any other significantly different size of screen. Not 9.7", not 5", not 7", regardless of whether the resolution is a multiple of 480x320 or not.
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They won't have to be redesigned though. All existing apps will work just fine on any screen resolution which is a multiple of 480x320. At 4.6 inches content will be larger than it is at 3.5 inches, (e.g, a button) but there's nothing wrong with that.
 
While I'm not longer an iphone guy - I would offer this bit of thought. I use a 4.6" Galaxy Nexus and I think that's the upper end in terms of every day use for "a phone". I'm not a midget either - 6'1 with some bigass hands, (lol)

While I think the super thin bezel all around would be cool at first it would quickly lose it's luster when you go to watch a youtube video and the edges of the video are impeded, by your own damn hand. If they snuck a 5" screen but kept the same form factor, I promise you people will start to bitch about it being hard to see their content, or simply touch it easily (without having to contort their hands or stretch)

What's the point of having a 1mm bezel all around when your hands would destroy part of the picture 100% of the time?
 
I dont care what they do. I just want people to stop calling it the iPhone5. The 5th generation is already out, they just called it the 4s.
 
UnknownSouljer said:
...I don't think it's entirely unlikely that there will be an increase in the size of the LCD for the iPhone 5. I'm guessing they'll make the leap to 3.7"-4.0", but stay away from the ever-increasing sizes of Android phones. I think that shift will simply come at the cost of slightly lowering the DPI.
Click to expand...

My thoughts as well. If they go larger on the screen, it'll be the same res for development reasons.
 
iPhone 5 for me would be around 3.5 / 3.7 / or 4.0 with the same form factor. Anything that has a larger form factor, and I look else where. ;) And I have large hands. Had the Galaxy S2 with the 4.3 inch screen and it did not feel comfortable in my hands. :(
 
really depends on the bezel too...

my galaxy nexus with 4.6" screen honestly feels smaller in my hand than my htc sensation with 4.3" screen due to:

- edge to edge bezel
- no hardware buttons on face
- lighter materials
 
While I'd love an iPhone with a 4.3" or greater screen I'm expecting another 3.5" actually. (Maybe 4" in almost same size phone) Not sure what the 4.6" screen rumors were about, but I actually think that 4.6" would be too big for many iPhoners.

Another 3.5 or 4.0" screen iPhone will keep me on the Android side, though Apple won't miss my business and my Droid X keeps pushing me towards Apple
 
Archer1212 said:
I dont care what they do. I just want people to stop calling it the iPhone5. The 5th generation is already out, they just called it the 4s.
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Huh? Since when has your logic ever been relevant in Apple's naming conventions?

iPhone5 is exactly what they should call it, if they follow their current convention.

If they follow their "new iPad" convention, it'll be "The new iPhone"
 
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