iPhone 6 may ship with sharper 1,704 x 960 resolution display

Shawn Knight

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iphone apple iphone 6 screen resolution

The iPhone 6 is likely to get a resolution bump to go along with its larger screen size(s). The iPhone 5s owns a resolution of 1,136 x 640 but as 9to5Mac points out, the next model could push that up to 1,704 x 960 which would result in a pixel per inch rating of 416 on the rumored 4.7-inch model and 356 on the larger 5.5-inch device.

The iPhone rumor mill is in full swing as we’re probably 3-4 months out from the launch of Apple’s next generation handset(s) with the majority of the discussion focusing on display size. All indications suggest Apple is preparing to launch two different models – both with larger screen sizes than currently available.

If true, it’ll be a significant shift for Apple as they have traditionally been reluctant to play the “bigger is better” game. Since the original iPhone was released in 2007, Apple has only increased the size of the iPhone once – from 3.5 inches to 4 inches – starting with the iPhone 5 in 2012.

Even still, it’s no secret that the market is moving toward larger phones and customers want something a big bigger even if it would be more difficult to control with a single hand.

Customer demand is only part of the equation, however, as they’re very mindful of resolution bumps as it relates to developers. The rumored 1,704 x 960 resolution would essentially be a 3x bump over the “base” resolution of 568 x 320 and would allow Apple to retain the current Retina branding.

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I already tought 1,136 x 640 was weird, but logical at the same time since it fitted with the older 840*640, but 1,704 x 960???? Seriously???? Can't they just use 720p or 1080p like EVERYONE else just for once?
That resolution makes no sense anymore.
 
I already tought 1,136 x 640 was weird, but logical at the same time since it fitted with the older 840*640, but 1,704 x 960???? Seriously???? Can't they just use 720p or 1080p like EVERYONE else just for once?
That resolution makes no sense anymore.
It makes sense. They dont want developers to have to remake their apps again. They already had to do that for the iPhone 5. They are doing it in ratios. 1704 is a 33% increase over 1136 and 960 is 33% larger than 640. They want to keep the dimensions in a logical way so that developers dont have to remake their apps.
 
I already tought 1,136 x 640 was weird, but logical at the same time since it fitted with the older 840*640, but 1,704 x 960???? Seriously???? Can't they just use 720p or 1080p like EVERYONE else just for once?
That resolution makes no sense anymore.
It makes sense. They dont want developers to have to remake their apps again. They already had to do that for the iPhone 5. They are doing it in ratios. 1704 is a 33% increase over 1136 and 960 is 33% larger than 640. They want to keep the dimensions in a logical way so that developers dont have to remake their apps.

Or maybe Samsung has patented 720\1080 and they don't want to pay royalties to Samsung. :)
 
It makes sense. They dont want developers to have to remake their apps again. They already had to do that for the iPhone 5. They are doing it in ratios. 1704 is a 33% increase over 1136 and 960 is 33% larger than 640. They want to keep the dimensions in a logical way so that developers dont have to remake their apps.

So basically this is another way of saying, "It's the developers' lack of motivation to adjust that we're not increasing our iPhone screen."

Since most apps you find in Apple store are also available in Android, that handles different screen resolutions, I'm pretty sure experienced app developers wont find it anymore difficult to adjust in iOS.
 
I must give it to Apple, for the little dance on the edge between surprising and bizarre. I think they should stick with the prime numbers, at least there would be a consistency.
 
So basically this is another way of saying, "It's the developers' lack of motivation to adjust that we're not increasing our iPhone screen."

Since most apps you find in Apple store are also available in Android, that handles different screen resolutions, I'm pretty sure experienced app developers wont find it anymore difficult to adjust in iOS.
Yeah, while it does make sense, it is annoying. I feel like introducing a resolution such as 1920x1080 would motivate developers to update their apps, but they probably dont want to do that so often. Also, you would expect Apple to go for 1080P just to look comparable to the Galaxy S5, HTC One, etc on paper, but it seems like they can care less about numbers.

Or maybe Samsung has patented 720\1080 and they don't want to pay royalties to Samsung. :)
LMAO yeah.
 
I already tought 1,136 x 640 was weird, but logical at the same time since it fitted with the older 840*640, but 1,704 x 960???? Seriously???? Can't they just use 720p or 1080p like EVERYONE else just for once?
That resolution makes no sense anymore.

Just what I was thinking. I can see it allows them to implement a 1.5x scaling going from the current 1136 x 640, but still seems weird to stick with non-standard res and one that can't playback 1080p content without uprezzing.
 
I am willing to bet, if you played a standard HD movie on a alleged release of a bigger screen iPhone 6, and also on something like a Galaxy S4, you all couldn't tell what the resolution was without being actually told. And if you can't tell, AND it makes no difference, then why care?
 
How. On every single article about the next iDevice screen rumours, there is an important aspect missing - HOW?

It's stated this is a 3x pixel bump. The only way to retain the old UI is to bump up in multiples of two. Retina iPad mini did it, but this resolution for a 5inch display won't work.

C'mon authors - throw some opinions into these articles. Convince me that this is all somehow possible, because at the moment I am instantly dismissing this pathetic 'rumour' as impossible.

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I already tought 1,136 x 640 was weird, but logical at the same time since it fitted with the older 840*640, but 1,704 x 960???? Seriously???? Can't they just use 720p or 1080p like EVERYONE else just for once?
That resolution makes no sense anymore.
It makes sense. They dont want developers to have to remake their apps again. They already had to do that for the iPhone 5. They are doing it in ratios. 1704 is a 33% increase over 1136 and 960 is 33% larger than 640. They want to keep the dimensions in a logical way so that developers dont have to remake their apps.

Only, it's not gonna happen. The retina screens were doubled, so they could just use a 2x2 grid of identical pixels to represent the old apps. How are they gonna represent the 'retina v1'-built apps now? The market will be segregated, apps will have to be remade. You can't use 1.5 pixels to represent 1 pixel, it's impossible.

So either everyone remakes their apps, or Apple updates the SDK to allow for different screen sizes (something that IMO won't automatically update the apps compat anyway).
 
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Duh!!! Checkout the Oppo Find 7 QHD (2560 x 1440 pixels) display at 5.5" screensize at 538 ppi. And it is already launched. APPLE is way beyond nowadays the Android leading phones in what they deliver.
 
they could just use a 2x2 grid of identical pixels to represent the old apps.

That was what I was thinking, but I always had big doubt about doubling on a 4,7inch since that would be a crazy high Ppi and I doubt apple would have gone this high, it only really made sence to double for a 5,5inch screen.
 
Did some quick math. In order to keep back-compat with iPhone5, the screen has to be 2272*1280. At 5 inches (a reasonable step up from 4 inches) this would make the PPI 521, which is currently possible.

If you take the above as one of the only possible options Apple has, this 'rumour' is totally incorrect.

Although I'd love to be seen proven wrong by Apple. I'm genuinely curious how else this can be done ..
 
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