back to article 'iPhone 6' with '4.7-inch' display 'coming soon', but '5.5-incher' 'delayed'

Apple's Asian suppliers will begin producing 4.7-inch displays as soon as next month for a next-gen iPhone release this fall, but 5.5-inch displays for an even bigger Cupertinian handset are said to be delayed due to production problems. So reports Reuters, citing supply chain sources – which, as Ars Technica astutely points …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Only in the tech world

    Can an unannounced and rumored product be "delayed".

    When I started hearing rumors of a 4.7 and 5.7 inch iPhone coming with the iPhone 6, the original story was that the 5.7 incher would be coming later. So if it does come later (whether as 5.7 or 5.5 inches) was it delayed, or was that the plan all along?

    The only thing for sure is that Apple isn't talking about future plans, so this is all baseless speculation by analysts who are paid to guess, and collect paychecks whether they're right or not.

  2. ThomH

    I don't want a larger phone

    So that aligns me pretty well with maybe 5% of the market. If Apple finally does move closer towards what the other 95% have shown themselves to want then I think it'll be good for them.

    Spot fact: the current iPhone and the original 2001 iPod are almost exactly the same width — there's about 2mm difference. So presumably that's how wide someone at Apple at some point determined is comfortable for thumbs.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I don't want a larger phone

      Well luckily there are plenty of small Android phones, and they happen to be much cheaper than the flagships and often quite capable, Samsung do 'mini' versions of their flagships, as does Sony, not sure about HTC, but then again they skipped adding a micro sd slot to the One so I skipped looking at their phones......

      I would like a small phone myself, but even the small smartphones are too big... I just want a small phone with a keypad and wifi for tethering tablets etc...

      1. MrWibble

        Re: I don't want a larger phone

        Problem with the "Mini" phones is that the specs are "mini" too. Only Sony seem to recognise that people may want a top end phone, in a smaller size.

      2. JeffyPoooh
        Pint

        "...those of us who use our phone as a phone..."

        How quaint.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      My hunch

      Is that the 4.7" phone will be pretty much the same size as the current one, with less bezel. I doubt those who like the current form factor will be too displeased by more screen in a phone that's the same size/weight.

      The 5.5" one will actually be bigger, but probably thinner since the larger size means more area for battery, and thus less thickness is required for the same battery life despite the larger display.

      1. ThomH

        Re: My hunch (@DougS)

        The 5s is 58.6 mm wide; if every single millimetre of that were screen then at 16:9 that would be a diagonal of just barely more than 119.5 mm — 4.7". So I think you're probably on to a winner there.

      2. Philip Lewis
        Trollface

        Re: My hunch

        "more area for battery"

        Which is the real reason that Android manufacturers need ridiculously large screens ...

        1. JeffyPoooh

          Re: My hunch

          "...Android manufacturers need ridiculously large screens..."

          Android phones have larger screens so that my poor frustrated coworkers have more surface area to lick just before they stick their stone-cold-deaf phones to the office windows, ...begging, ...pleading, ...howling in mental pain and anguish, trying to get the stupid sleepy-head Android OS to wake up and notice that Yes!, OMG!, there's a signal again. It often takes about five minutes before the OS finally wakes up and notices that there's '3 bars' again. I notice these mindless shenanigans because the poor Androidians are blocking the lovely view from my cube.

    3. Matthew 17

      Re: I don't want a larger phone

      I don't want one either, these huge slabs folk seem to be walking around with these days are getting silly, it's like the 80's all over again. I like a small iDevice that fits inside my pocket without getting damaged. I do wish they'd stop dicking about with stuff.

      1. AbelSoul
        Terminator

        Re: I don't want a larger phone

        these huge slabs folk seem to be walking around with these days are getting silly, it's like the 80's all over again

        Whit?

      2. NumptyScrub

        Re: I don't want a larger phone

        quote: "I don't want one either, these huge slabs folk seem to be walking around with these days are getting silly, it's like the 80's all over again."

        The other option is having the 90s all over again, where phones just keep getting smaller and smaller reaching Zoolander-esque proportions ^^;

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I don't want a larger phone

      That whole "thumb" thing was held up when Apple was sticking to tiny 3 inch screens and refusing to go to 3.5 inch. But they went anyway. Then claimed again at 3.5 inch refusing to go to 4. But they went anyway. Now at 4, refusing to go to 4.6.

      When will it die?

      The fact of the matter is Samsung is the world leader in screen tech. The "retina display" was produced at Samsung and sold to Apple for assembly at Foxconn. Apple remains behind in screen size not because of some secret research they have done, but because they will always be behind in tech, because they produce no tech. And now that they refuse to buy parts from the world leader, they will be further behind.

      /Samsung phones looked like iPhones because 85% of the iPhone was Samsung parts

  3. Big-nosed Pengie

    Have they patented 4.7" displays yet?

    If not, why not?

    1. PsychicMonkey

      Re: Have they patented 4.7" displays yet?

      because they need to add the "On a mobile device" bit to it first.

  4. Jodina Joseph

    As long as they use most of that 4.7 inch size as screen then I will be happy. It shouldn't be a problem for 1 handers. I can type with 1 hand on my Galaxy S4 and my hands are not big.

  5. Charlie Clark Silver badge

    Sounds like an April Fools to me

    Apart from the fact that Apple is reasonably (and cleverly) immune to form factor discussions IOS doesn't really have the mechanics to deal with varying pixel densities and sizes. Hence, the head-scratching still going on about how to deal with the I-Pad Mini which by simply shrinking the pixels breaks Apple's own UI guidelines on the physical size of UI controls.

    1. poopypants

      Re: Sounds like an April Fools to me

      Android has been managing multiple screen resolutions for years. It's not that hard.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Sounds like an April Fools to me

        It's not that hard IF you design for it. I'm not a mobile developer, but stuff I've read hints that iOS simply hasn't designed for the functionality of running multiple display sizes that much/at all. While it makes things much simpler (you know how your app will display), it locks designers into certain screen formats.

  6. Steve Medway

    I would like a bigger screen iPhone but not at the expense of iOS game frame rates.

    The reason why an iPhone hasn't had a bigger screen until later this year is that the current mobile cpu's/gpu's weren't a good fit for high resolution screens from a framerate or power usage perspective.

    When running at their native resolution android phones nearly always sucks compared to iPhones for gaming. The more graphically demanding games are prettier and smoother even if they don't push quite as many raw pixels on apple hardware.

  7. Alastair MacDiarmid

    for those of us of an age with changeing eyesight

    The larger displays, I've recently moved from an iphone to a HTC one, really are a lot more readable, it's a problem as you age and one that I've really noticed in the last year as I approach 50..

    I would have stuck with apple if there had been a larger more readable screen available.

    If you're about to blather on about reading glasses etc etc, it's not always convenient in my line of work to be fishing out glasses to read a text or an email. I have a busy physically active job.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: for those of us of an age with changeing eyesight

      Sounds like you need to some Google Glass!

    2. Zolko Silver badge

      Re: for those of us of an age with changeing eyesight

      It's not only the reading bit that's difficult on small screens, but also the typing part : it's soooooooo much easier to type on a 5 incher !!! I don't have the same finger-size as a lady or a kid, FFS.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Weren't we told that the 4 inch display of the current phones was the perfect size? which of course followed on from no one supposedly ever wanting a bigger display than on the earlier iphones. Hmm.

    1. chr0m4t1c

      The current screen is supposed to be the perfect size for using with one hand, which it probably is for a surprising large number of people.

      The earlier screen was pretty much the industry standard size when it launched.

      Now that the balance is - or has - tipped from dumb phones to smart phones, most people don't use their handset with only one hand for a lot of operations, they've become accustomed to using both.

      That opens the door for larger screens, but they may want to tweek OS an application style guides to allow some things still to be done one-handed.

      Whatever eventually arrives, we'll still have the usual internet flame wars and click-bait news stories to keep us all going.

  9. Timmay

    When are we going to get all-display phones similar to in that picture? I know it's just a display, but give me that as a phone!

  10. JDX Gold badge

    "Apple has been roundly spanked for sticking to smaller displays in its iPhones"

    Only by people who simply see A has X, B doesn't have X and count that as a down-mark, irregardless of what X is and if it is useful...

    1. A K Stiles
      Headmaster

      Re: "Apple has been roundly spanked for sticking to smaller displays in its iPhones"

      Please - irrespective or regardless. (the 'ir' is effectively a negating prefix, so if it existed, 'irregardless' would be a double negative and therefore mean 'with regards to')

      Yes, I know it's pedantic and petty, but pretty please?

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The Joy of Android

    "But if they do, may we humbly suggest that they keep a 4-incher in the line for those of us who use our phone as a phone more than we use it as a mobile home entertainment center?"

    With Android, you can pick what size phone you want. With Apple, the almighty Steve Jobs err Tim Cook tells you what size is appropriate and you must thank him for the privilege.

  12. Graham 25

    Four icons or five ?

    I don't spend any time looking at all these alleged images of lager iPhones, but all those I have seen, seem to show the same layout of icons as the iPhone 5.

    If the screen were bigger, surely folks would increase the icon count per page ?

  13. Scubadynamo

    Surely a bigger screen would use more power so being able to fit a bigger battery is like necessity rather than an advantage?

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