When it comes to the iPhone it feels like hopeful Apple fans have adopted a “if not this one, maybe the next one” mentality. When one of their hot new devices, like the iPad or the iPhone, fails to feature a new piece of tech that many assumed it would, the countdown begins for the next Apple unveiling, where they surely will deliver on that promise.
That scenario played out just recently with the iPad 3 – Apple didn’t put their incredibly stunning retina display in the iPad 2, but they did for its 3rd iteration – and it appears that the same could be happening for the iPhone 5.
Back before we knew that the iPhone 5 was actually going to be an iPhone 4S, there were a ton of rumors circulating that suggested the new device would feature a substantially larger screen. There was evidence that Apple had contacted manufacturers and requested larger screen designs, and even some clever graphic designers gave us concept art that showed what that iPhone could look like.
Well, we’re back again with another larger iPhone screen rumor, this one suggesting Apple has already placed an order with its suppliers for a 4.6-inch display. Just to put that into some perspective, the current iPhone 4S sports a 3.5-inch retina display.
There’s been no confirmation from Apple as to whether this rumor is true and, frankly, we don’t expect there to be one. Apple has a longstanding track record of only revealing details about their forthcoming products at specially designated events like the WWDC, and nowhere else.
Still, as we near the middle of the year – when Apple typically gears up for another iPhone unveiling – I wouldn’t be surprised if a ton more iPhone 5 rumors start appearing, including some that claim the phone will be completely different from its current iteration. But only when Apple shows it on that big stage, will we know for sure.
Would you like the iPhone 5 to feature a larger display? What other features do you think Apple should be exploring for this next generation?
Source: Reuters
Electronic Arts Engineer Blasts the Wii U 
Kevin Conroy WILL Return For ‘Batman: Arkham Origins’ 
PlayStation 4 Slogan Revealed; Next-Gen Xbox Name Possibly Confirmed 
‘Batman: Arkham Origins’ Official Story Trailer: Deadshot, Explosions, Easter Eggs, & More! 
Loading ...
Honestly, even as a huge Android fan, I would be willing to check out an iPhone with a larger screen. I just can’t bring myself to go down to something smaller after my Thunderbolt and then my Galaxy Nexus.
@Brian
Just get the Samsung Galaxy Note. Already has a bigger screen (5.3″) even if this rumor is true, and because it isn’t an Apple, will be capable of a ton more than this new iPhone likely will be capable of…
So they are fionally gonna take hints from the rest of the smartphone industry. took long enough….
@Red
Nah, still not as big as the Galaxy Note. And it’ll still not allow you to expand its memory with Micro-SD cards, still will force you to install that crappy itunes software, still will not allow you to fully customize all of your notifications, still will limit the quality of your custom r1ng t0nes (for some reason that word sets off that terrible wordpress software this website uses to filter spam from the comments…) to 128kbps, still will not allow you to replace the battery, etc. etc.
Basically, it’ll be all of the typical Apple limitations with a bigger screen. Yippidy doo da…
Thats true, I had 2 iphones, 3GS and 4, both crap. I got the Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, after the Infuse of course, but I will not ever go back to Apple. They make expensive cheaply made phones, ipods, and ipads.
@Mickey
Well, I wouldn’t call them cheaply made. The quality of the materials are usually fairly good, but sometimes it’s their design choices that boggles my mind (like making the back of a phone, the part that receives the most abuse, out of glass…). Or how they can have a phone called the “4G” that doesn’t support 4G networks… *shrugs*
But I guess if you’re talking strictly about the actual manufacturing costs and not about physical quality, then yes, they do have quite a large profit margin… Especially for devices that lack features that everyone else has…
And what boggles my mind even more, is that their “iPod” is mainly for listening to music. Yet they put such a crappy headphone amplifier in those things, the sound quality is terrible… Why, in a device that’s main goal is one thing and one thing only, would they put a component in it that limits that one capability??? And if you actually think iPods put out good sound quality, then one of these following have to be true:
1. You’ve never tried other devices like Creative Zen, iRiver, Cowon, or even Sony’s mp3 player (and I’m not at all a Sony supporter as their quality has been going down in the past 10 years in my opinion…).
2. You are no where close to being an audiophile and cannot tell the sound quality difference between a Creative Zen and a $10 mp3 player you picked up from Wal-Mart.
3. You’re in denial and will think the iPod is the best mp3 player no matter what the facts say.
That’s about it, can’t think of any possibility of anything else being the case…
Ive only had 2 ipod also, nano and itouch 2nd Gen, both were ok. I say cheaply made, cuz the power button and home button both wore out on my iPhone 4, and the 3GS was so damn glitchy. Also the ATT version of the 4S is 4G compadible. My boss has one and it says 4G on it.
About the iPhone 4S having 4G, oops, my mistake then, guess that was only the non-S version of the iPhone 4 that didn’t have 4G…
@Ken J: I’m going to have to disagree about the iPod…
Over my 16 years on this planet, I’ve used MANY, MANY different MP3 players (countless numbers of manufacturers and models really)…
And the “5th Generation” iPod Nano has been the winner so far. It delivers superior quality music and video. It’s capable of multitasking and the battery life isn’t bad at all.
I only really have two criticisms about the device: it should have had an anti-glare screen, and there should have been a “bookmark option” when you’re listening to long audio-books.
It’s a tough little thing as well… it’s fell over two meters on concrete, it’s been in contact with water (never underwater though), it’s been in extreme cold and extreme heat and it still works perfectly well.
I have a friend who owns one of the new iPod Classic’s, and according to him, his is just as tough – and I’ve listened to the music on his Classic, and it’s just as good as my Nano.
That said, I have heard a few negative things about the new 6G iPod nano (the little touch screen thing that you can wear on your wrist) – but while there’s still breath (and there’s still a lot of breath) in my iPod Nano, I won’t be switching to anything else.
@The Avenger
Sixteen?? You’re making me feel old, stop it, lol. Well, you’re kind of ignoring my point. I’m talking about SOUND QUALITY. Not what “neat” features you think it has. When they review mp3 players every year, the tests include loading all of the devices with an audio file made just for the testing that tests the full audio range. Then they plug a tester into the headphone jack and they play the file. The tester will compare the output to what they know the testing file should sound like. And the end result basically tells you the actual sound quality of the device, how accurately it replicates the sounds. And CONSISTENTLY the Apple devices rate well below all of the other major mp3 player brands.
And like I’ve said, from what you’ve said, you haven’t tried any other kind of mp3 device, so you really have no real comparison to go by. I’ve tried many iPods and I’ve also owned a Creative Zen. Let me tell you, it’s night and day, well, at least to me. If you listen to one, then the other, you’ll know. The Creative Zen sounds a whole lot better than the iPods I’ve tried. But from the reviews I’ve read about sound quality, apparently so does the Sony, iRiver, and Cowon mp3 players…
And trust me, all of those features you mentioned, a lot of other mp3 players have those and many more… Most notable being the ability to expand the memory with SD cards. So when your music collection fills up your device, you would need to buy a whole new iPod while with the other devices you would just spend $20 and get a SD card and keep on listening…
@Ken: Looks like you didn’t really read my post that well
In response to my comment you said: “Well, you’re kind of ignoring my point. I’m talking about SOUND QUALITY. Not what “neat” features you think it has.”
And I said: “the “5th Generation” iPod Nano has been the winner so far. It delivers superior quality music and video.” — which, in short, mean that IMO it has good sound quality, among other things.
Then you said: “And like I’ve said, from what you’ve said, you haven’t tried any other kind of mp3 device, so you really have no real comparison to go by.”
And I clearly said: “I’ve used MANY, MANY different MP3 players (countless numbers of manufacturers and models really)…”
Frankly, I don’t give a damn about the tests that were done with a specially designed audio track. The music I listen to sounds much better on my iPod than any of the other devices I’ve used… that’s just my opinion, and I wanted to share it.
@The Avenger
Um… I read your post fine, I read where you said that, but BASED ONE WHAT? Is “good quality” an arbitrary standard? Or have you actually compared it to the sound of other devices? Or is there just some arbitrary standard where once it’s crossed you consider it “good quality?” I’m just curious as to how you come to these conclusions. But I guess if you’re just saying that it’s “good enough” for you and you don’t care that these other ones are better, then there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Like I’ve said, not everyone is an audiophile…
Sooo….soon the Iphone will be the size of an Ipad, and the Ipad will be the size of a laptop……..hmmmm buy a laptop?
Oh, so maybe they might finally have a bigger screen but is still smaller than something that’s already out? (Galaxy Note)
Good job Apple, what next, you’ll have 4G speeds like the rest of us? Wow, awesome… Maybe one day you’ll allow users to expand the built-in memory with cheap universal flash media like micro SD cards like every other device can already do? Or maybe one day you will allow us to change the battery like every other device already allows? Man, Apple are such innovators…
I honestly think they should kill the iphone off, Android is so much better.
@Mickey
Nah, competition is a good thing. Once Android has nothing to compete with, it’ll stop improving. Trust me, if a company sees that they have no reason to improve, they will not invest the money to do so just for the sake of improving. That’s actually part of the reason why Apple takes so long before they actually add a feature here and there that everyone else already had, because they know that as long as the Apple logo is on it, people will pay big bucks for it, so their incentive to be on the leading edge is pretty low…
Besides, with the iPhones gone, most of those users would be completely clueless as to how to use an Android device, with all of it’s options and flexibility and all. They’re used to having something that only does things one way so they don’t have to make any choices or know how to set it up, lol.
Wow, really? I could really care less. i mean even if this WAS true, it took them all this time to do it? Wow. And plus, Android has had screens this big waaaaayyyy before iPhone did. and i agree to the above comment ^ i would laugh if iPhone’s got 4G because we have 4G LTE already! HAHAHAHAHAHA.
I think the next iPhone does need a larger screen. My iPhone 4S feels like its screen is too small compared to my friends’ Nexus’.
But whatever size they do end up choosing will be the standard for a few years going forward – keeps it simple and consistent for devs and accessory manufacturers.
@Rob
Actually, that’s the opposite of what accessory manufacturers want. They want phones to change every year so they can sell new products to the same customers over and over…
Well, an extra inch goes a long way (wink, wink, nudge nudge
).
I’ve never owned an iPhone (in South-Africa, up until the end of 2011, iPhones were imported from the US – which made them very expensive – about the equivalent of $100 for an iPhone 4), and I’ve always wanted an iPhone – but now that they’re cheaper (and I can actually afford one), I’m not so keen on it anymore…
I mean, the iPhone is truly remarkable, but like Ken J has pointed out, it does have quite a bit of (very impractical) flaws.
Even with a larger screen, I don’t now if I’m gonna make the leap. I think I should get an iPad at some point, but as far as my choice of cellphone goes, I think the best thing is to stay away from Apple… for the next few years anyway – until they realize what they’re doing wrong.
Does anyone have any good recommendations for a smart phone? (And please don’t suggest Blackberry… anything but Blackberry
)
Just buy any one of the million Android devices out there. From your “anything but Blackberry” comment I figure you’re on the “ooh, big touchscreen cool” bandwagon, so if you don’t want iPhone, then buy an Android. Windows Phones are not “cool” either so I figure you’re not going to want one of those either. Give the Galaxy S II a look, that’s “trending” right now. You’ll probably like it.
Ah, I see you still enjoy labeling people and drawing your own conclusions about them – nice to know
Never mind, I’ll get some advice and referals somewhere else…
I don’t need to do any such thing. Here are the facts. The smartphones out there now that have any kind of support in terms of apps and otherwise are: iPhone, Android based devices, Blackberry, and Windows Phone.
You excluded iPhone and Blackberry, that only leaves Android and Windows Phone. Out of the two, Android definitely has the app support advantage since it’s the “cool” thing now. So therefore, you should get an Android. Is that really such a hard conclusion to come to based on the limitations you’ve already set? Does it really require “labeling” to state the obvious???