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That thing there, if you choose to believe the word of Chinese component supply chain news sources, is the new display panel of the iPhone 5. If true, it confirms that the next-gen iPhone will be a 4″ model with a wide 16:9 aspect ratio format screen, which includes new touch technology within the LCD itself to help reduce thickness.
The shape of the plate does indeed correlate with the many leaked images of the iPhone 5 we’ve already seen, although the move to include this newer, thinner form of touch tech might not necessarily mean Apple’s next iPhone will be claiming to be any slimmer once finalised, as we’re already expecting NFC tech to be squeezed into Apple’s next posh telephone as well as all the usual smart parts. [MyDrivers via Recombu]
Why I Think the Next iPhone Won't Be 16:9
Report: The Bigger iPhone 5 May Have a Stretched-Out 16:9 Display
There Are Two F-16s Hiding in This Picture
Is this the point where as Android users we’re allowed to point and laugh at fragmentation?
Alleged:
Change in display aspect ratio, non-integer multiple of existing display resolutions
Change in dock connector, every previous Apple dock needs an adapter.
I thought every android fanboy was already doing that over retina displays.
Thing is, Apple might fragment their products, but provides the tools for developers to minimise the damage. They’ll probably have their “switch to widescreen with only three lines of code” API and within 2 months all major apps will support it and within 6 months you’d be hard pressed to find an app which didn’t.
Unfortunately the retina displays are fine, that was the whole point – because the resolution of the iPhone display increased by a factor of 2 in each dimension, and so did the iPad, there were no scaling issues to deal with.
1 pixel on the old display equaled 4 pixels on the new one.
With the alleged change in aspect ratio, sure Apple could double the longer side of the display again to achieve the 1920px needed for a 1080p display, but there would be no point increasing the other dimension beyond 1080px (a 1.6875x increase, rather than 2x).
Which would mean that for app developers, it’s no longer a simple problem.
No, this isn’t the point. The point is when it’s released and the rumours are true.
It does make me wonder. When the iPad came out it allowed you to stretch iPhone apps up to iPad size, will the new iPhone also come with built in stretch technology that will make the apps look as crappy as TV does when a 4:3 image is stretched to 16:9 ?
Apps will likely still be required to support 2:3, if they choose to support 16:9 as well and that’s the version the iPad will continue to use if it’s doing upscaling of a phone app.
Unlike some OS providers, Apple planned a strategy for using phone apps on tablets that worked well from the first release of the tablet version of its OS.
A 4″ screen is still laughably small for a MK5 iPhone. Just this week, I went from a 4″ i9000 Galaxy S to a 4.8″ SIII, and already, I wouldn’t want to go back.
This huge pickup truck is perfect for me, why would anyone make a smaller car?
See, the thing is, though, the form factor of devices like the HTC One X or SIII are no more or less unwieldy than rinky-dink 3.5″ devices, yet the benefits of a larger and more high-resolution screen are completely, unarguably better.
4″ is nothing more or less than “where the high-end was 2 years ago”.
If you made the S3 in 4.8″ and 4″ without changing anything, are you saying that the 4.8″ phone would be better for everyone all the time?
Yes. The majority of the SIII device is composed of the screen, not the casing, and weight differences between e.g. the 4″ Galaxy S and the SIII are imperceptible. The wider SIII actually sits better in the hand than the smaller 4″ device, while everything about the display area is sharper, larger and easier to use.
You missed my point completely..
Not really, no. If I had to pick between two identically specced devices except that one was a 4″ screen and the other was 4.8″, I’d choose the 4.8″ version, and I can’t think why anyone else given the choice, barring some weird physical deformity, would do otherwise.
I know this from, y’know, having used a device with a 4″ screen for the last 2 years or so.
There’s also a happy medium to be struck – bigger isn’t always better, as the Galaxy Note’s 5.3″ display shows. It’s a nice device, but basically much too large. 4.8″ fits nicely into a compromise between “easily pocketable” and “almost a tablet”.
Have you ever seen a girl with girl-sized hands try and use a 4.7″ phone? Its hilarious.
If you have lived in a bedsit for 5 years and then move into a 1 bedroom flat, the amount of space you have seems amazing for a while. Then you notice all your friends have houses already.
I feel the same way with CGB1, I have a Galaxy Note and I don’t get excited with phones with smaller screens. My opinion is that if the phone fits my pockets, why not have the maximum screen estate you can get for the same size?
As a long term iPhone user that bought an HTC One S as a result of screen envy from all these larger screened android handsets I can honestly say I actually ended up disliking the screen size as it was too big for comfortable single handed operation and that was only 4.3″. As a result I think 4″ is probably the perfect size for me…
http://gizmodo.com/5847981/this-is-why-the-iphones-screen-will-always-be-35-inches
The discussion is now closed
LOL
i was going to post this
im sure he will write a post saying how 16:9 ratio 4″ is perfect and its the greatest decision of mankind
Am I the only one who thinks that doesn’t look like 16:9? It still looks like 3:2 to me.
agree
People missing the point on what mobile(“Mobile”) device means. I’d rather carry smaller smartphone at all times with me and if I want entertainment or else I just pull out my tablet device. iPhone or any device with over 3″ screen suffice for basic daily needs. If I’m so keen to have “best” camera and “screen” I would Always go for my DSLR and laptop or tablet( awaiting for my ordered Nexus 7). Period