Apple working on two iPhones with larger screen sizes, sources say

Shawn Knight

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The iPhone may have been a pioneering smartphone in a number of categories but one area where it has lagged behind is screen size. Initially resistant to what it deemed as the phablet fad, Cupertino is apparently gearing up to succumb to pressure from competitors in the large-screen smartphone market.

People familiar with the matter recently told the Wall Street Journal that Apple is planning two new iPhones with bigger screens. The first would feature a panel that is at least 4.5 inches measured diagonally while a second device will carry a screen larger than five inches.

The iPhone debuted with a 3.5-inch display that carried over year after year until the iPhone 5 hit the scene in late 2012 with a 4-inch panel. The current iPhone 5s and 5c both feature the same screen size as last year’s model.

The two upcoming handsets are expected to feature metal casings similar to existing models and we are told the plastic shell from the iPhone 5c will be laid to rest. Neither phone will carry a curved display despite the fact that Apple was recently granted a patent for curved touch surfaces. Rivals Samsung and LG have both announced handsets with curved displays in recent months.

The smaller of the two iPhones is reportedly further along in the development process. Sources cautioned that the plans haven’t been finalized and as such, Apple could change course at any time. Naturally, Apple declined to comment on the matter.

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As much as I dislike Apple as a company, I gotta admit favoring the phone pictured on the left above. Makes me wonder though if durability was sacrificed with the screen rolling the edge that way.
 
I do not understand why the editors on this site keep referring to Apple as "Cupertino". That is an actual city, and host to other companies, therefore it is not useful as a synonym for that fruity cult.
 
I do not understand why the editors on this site keep referring to Apple as "Cupertino". That is an actual city, and host to other companies, therefore it is not useful as a synonym for that fruity cult.
It is synonymous with Apple though... being a fairly massive company. If I talk about "the company from Redmond", who do you think of (assuming you are tech enough)? You think of Microsoft of course...
 
The only thing I ever liked about Apples phones was the size of the screens but 4.5" is still OK. Anything bigger and you'd be better off with a tablet. (Android or Windows of course).
 
Apple is going to release a bigger phone, then hold a parade for themselves about how innovative they are and only they knew the proper dimensions to make a phone. Anyone remember the goofy commercial they released where they tried to act like it was magical that a person's thumb would reach all spots on the iphone? They tried to play it off like they figured out some magical thumb to phone ratio.

Next we'll be hearing from all the apple fan boys who want to tout screen size as the defining metric of phone quality and why the giant iphone is better than all other devices. This all despite the fact that there have been many very high quality large android phones for sale for years.

I bargain that Apple as a company hasn't done anything innovative since they released the ipad. A big iphone isn't innovative. Keep trying apple.
 
I dont get the whole apple are terrible android are better or apple are better bla bla bla I have an iphone 5s and it works sweet I have a MBA that I use for college whic I love 12 hours battery :) then I build myself a custom pc corsair obsidian 900D i74770k Asus maximus iv extreme with 16Gb of RAM and msi 7970 GPU and I love that too we are spoilt for choice and its great I dont slate android my girlfriend has a Galaxy tab3 and I think its really cool
 
But if they increase the screen size then my thumb won't reach the edges! What were you thinking Apple!!!
 
I do not understand why the editors on this site keep referring to Apple as "Cupertino". That is an actual city, and host to other companies, therefore it is not useful as a synonym for that fruity cult.

I agree, stop referring to Apple as Cupertino. It's so annoying.

I dont get the whole apple are terrible android are better or apple are better bla bla bla I have an iphone 5s and it works sweet I have a MBA that I use for college whic I love 12 hours battery :) then I build myself a custom pc corsair obsidian 900D i74770k Asus maximus iv extreme with 16Gb of RAM and msi 7970 GPU and I love that too we are spoilt for choice and its great I dont slate android my girlfriend has a Galaxy tab3 and I think its really cool

Well I can't speak for everyone but I don't like how they give you pretty much zero options/customizability.
They say here is your phone. One size fits all. Want a larger screen? Well tough. Maybe next year.

iOS is also very limited as to what you can do. You can't download a file locally to the device (pics yes but not other files).

You can't set certain files to open with selected apps. Want to open a Map in Google Maps instead of Apple Maps? Well no. Tough. You have no choice but to use Apple maps.

You can only share something on specific outlets. Twitter, FB, etc. You have limited choice yet again.
With android, you can share something on any app which has a sharing feature.

Missing features in iOS: SSH, app drawer, true customizability (not just the background), SD card slot (on some phones), live wallpapers, non standard media support (.mkv), +more...
Having to convert videos to MP4 takes ages unless you've got a 2011 Xeon or something.

And don't get me started with iTunes sync.

iPhone/iOS = Simple/Limited/Restricted
Android = Open/Unrestricted. It's your device, do with it as you please. How it should be.

That's my viewpoint anyway.
I know a lot of people will never use features present on Android that set it apart from iOS so it's good to have choice. But in it's current state, I'd never say iOS is overall better than Andoid. No way.
 
Pfft, we all know they will just release a iPhone 6 with 4.5inch screen, looking exactly like their 4inch iPhone 5. Maybe it'll get NFC too. Then, all the loser companies who make apps for iOS first will get on the Passbook bandwagon, and we will have "the latest and greatest innovation from Apple - NFC payments!".
 
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