4.6" screen for the iPhone 5?

EndlessMac said:

That would probably be the best solution. It would keep close to the current size while enlarging the screen to 4". If they made the screen edge to edge on the sides then they would only have to enlarge the iPhone a small fraction to get 4" if they wanted to keep the same screen ratio.

There is a lot of dead space around the iPhone screen. If Apple's engineers could do what you said then I think it would satisfy both sides. It would still be close to the current size but with a bigger screen.

Click to expand...

That "dead space" is necessary for gripping the iPhone and not accidentally touching the screen. I'm glad it's there.

I wouldn't mind a slightly larger screen and phone, but not too much more. I have an iPad for when I really need more screen real estate.

lifeisabeach said:

Here's an article that goes into great detail on how Apple could go about upping the iPhone to a 4" screen… it greatly expands on what I was referencing earlier. If a larger iPhone is going to happen, I'd put money on this.
The 4 inch iPhone 5 | The Verge Forums

Click to expand...

Interesting article. Although if Apple increased the screen up to the edges on the sides I don't think it will increase the overall body too much if Apple kept the aspect ratio the same. This will also allow for a slightly bigger battery for LTE and it will also allow app developers to only need to increase their resolution to keep the current retina display resolution without changing anything else. It doesn't have to be exactly 4 inches but somewhere close to that is a good size screen.

This problem only needs to be solved once because any size much bigger than 4 inches is starting to become too big. Once Apple goes to approximately 4 inches, I don't think they will ever need to change the screen size again. I'm curious to see how Apple's engineers will solve this problem.

MYmacROX said:

That "dead space" is necessary for gripping the iPhone and not accidentally touching the screen. I'm glad it's there.

I wouldn't mind a slightly larger screen and phone, but not too much more. I have an iPad for when I really need more screen real estate.

Click to expand...

I guess it depends on how you hold your iPhone. I always hold my iPhone with my fingers touching the sides and never wrap it around to touch the screen so it's not a problem for me.

IMO the iPad fills a different need. It's too big to put in my pocket so it's not as convenient as my iPhone as a go-everywhere-with-me-mobile-device. My iPhone is my most used mobile device so I would like some more screen space to make it more enjoyable to use as my main portable device.

lifeisabeach said:

Here's an article that goes into great detail on how Apple could go about upping the iPhone to a 4" screen… it greatly expands on what I was referencing earlier. If a larger iPhone is going to happen, I'd put money on this.
The 4 inch iPhone 5 | The Verge Forums

Click to expand...

I would like to add that only making it longer/taller isn't exactly what I want when it comes to increasing screen size. I would also like more width too. In other words, I like the iPhone to proportionally get a bigger screen. Doing so would allow for bigger fonts on websites rather than just being able to see more of the top and bottom.

I would prefer if Apple kept the current aspect ratio but made the screen go right up to the edge on the sides so that they wouldn't have to increase the overall size of the iPhone too much. I personally don't have a problem with a size increase so it's not a concern for me if Apple enlarged the overall iPhone size. I'm thinking about other people who have complained about any size increases.

EndlessMac said:

Interesting article. Although if Apple increased the screen up to the edges on the sides I don't think it will increase the overall body too much if Apple kept the aspect ratio the same. This will also allow for a slightly bigger battery for LTE and it will also allow app developers to only need to increase their resolution to keep the current retina display resolution without changing anything else. It doesn't have to be exactly 4 inches but somewhere close to that is a good size screen.

Click to expand...

That doesn't make sense. If they "simply" took the screen to fill the edges, then the device wouldn't be any bigger at all, which would leave no extra room for a bigger battery.

EDIT: Oh wait… you did allow for lengthening it to keep the aspect ratio the same. Well anywho… they simply aren't going to do that. There are shortcomings in taking a screen intended for touch input to go completely edge-to-edge, and Apple is not going to overlook those for your sake. If it was such an obvious thing to do, then why isn't it being done now? I know Samesung is supposedly rolling one out, but to date… not a single device, TV, or computer screen does it now that I am aware of, and there's even LESS reason to do it on a touch-based device.

lifeisabeach said:

There are shortcomings in taking a screen intended for touch input to go completely edge-to-edge, and Apple is not going to overlook those for your sake. If it was such an obvious thing to do, then why isn't it being done now?

Click to expand...

I'm not saying it's as easy as I make it sound. All I'm saying is that I think it's the ideal solution if it were possible. It's a goal that Apple can think about achieving. Just because it's not possible now doesn't mean someone won't find a solution to the problem in the future.

EndlessMac said:

I'm not saying it's as easy as I make it sound. All I'm saying is that I think it's the ideal solution if it were possible. It's a goal that Apple can think about achieving. Just because it's not possible now doesn't mean someone won't find a solution to the problem in the future.

Click to expand...

There has to be an area on the outside where the finger won't overlap onto the screen and register as a touch input. At the minimum. They could get around that now by taking the external antenna and making it extend out past the screen a bit more, but then the device would, by necessity, be wider and you'd effectively have an air bezel where there is a black glass one now. It's not going to happen. Ever. Well maybe when they develop an AI that can reliably detect the difference between a deliberate touch to interact with the screen and a touch that is incidental to holding the device. Maybe the AI will read our minds to know what we meant to do.