Next Apple iPhone To Have a 4 Inch Display?

dkd903 writes "According to reports from Macotakara, Hitachi Displays Ltd and Sony Mobile Display Corporation has started shipping the screens for the iPad 3 and a 4-inch LCD screen for an unnamed iOS device. It would be fairly safe to assume that the 4-inch display will be for the next iPhone – the iPhone 5."

Comments

Here We Go....

[RobinEggs]

Can we just agree that Apple hardware articles are flamebait by default, especially the ones about the mere possibility of new Apple hardware, and stop frickin posting them?

Re:Here We Go....

[ThorGod]

Can we just agree that Apple hardware articles are flamebait by default, especially the ones about the mere possibility of new Apple hardware, and stop frickin posting them?

Plenty of the more popular things posted on this site are polarizing. Look at some of the things that aren't polarizing, how many comments they get, and contrast with the number of comments here. I'd argue it'd be irrational to not run stories that *always* get a large number of comments.

I love the theoretical physics posts, for instance, but they usually average 30-50 comments. This Apple post, though, might run 100 comments (or more) and it's just on screen size!

Re:Here We Go....

[PopeRatzo]

Can we just agree that a huge number of articles on Slashdot, period, are flamebait by default?

Your "flamebait" is my "topical", "interesting" and "discussion-worthy".

It is a sad world-view that sees any topic that engenders a lot of comments, even argument as necessarily "flamebait".

Re:Here We Go....

[artor3]

That's the sort of attitude that leads to news stations reporting meaningless scandals and outright fabrications, instead of real news. It's like offering a recovering alcoholic a beer. On some level they may want it, but it's bad for them and you'd be an ass to do so.

If you just want to rack up a bunch of comments, make Slashdot into a 24/7 "discussion" board for global warming and religion. That might rake in the advertising dollars in the short term, but the site would suck.

I kinda hope not.

[DWMorse]

I kinda hope it doesn't. It might have advantages, having a screen the size of a toaster. The only problem is having a screen the size of a toaster.

I like a phone I can use with one hand easily. This whole post was typed with my right hand only, on my iPhone 4.

Re:I kinda hope not.

[jon3k]

I can easily type with one hand on a 4" screen (even 4.3"). Have you tried a 4" phone? Did you consider that 3.5" might not be the right size for every person?

Re:I kinda hope not.

[mug funky]

that's interesting because there's a bit of truth in it.

it could be argued that Apple can't refine it's interfaces beyond a certain point because users adapt to Apple while Apple adapts to it's users.

perhaps we need competing products so Apple can watch people's complaints about their competitor's interfaces in order to get some fresh ideas for their own, because feedback about their own devices would be tainted by sycophant users who say "doubleplusgood" to everything they buy.

Re:I kinda hope not.

[DWMorse]

Not true at all. If Apple makes a screen that makes their device unusable to me, I will a.) not buy it and b.) move to another device that IS usable. Why do you start out presuming that most people inconvenience themselves by using Apple products? Let the market speak for itself. If I find the device unwieldy, I'll skip it and buy one that isn't. Presuming I even need to replace this sucker anytime soon.

apparently iphone 4S doesn't bring in enough hits

[Anonymous Coward]

God, we've been talking about the iphone 5 every week for over a year now. I know blogs are desperate for page views, but this is getting old.

Re:Won't sell.

[Tyrannosaur]

except... if the next one is 4", then that would make the "current iScreen" 4", so they'll be happy. Don't you know how Apple works?

Didnt' this get released last month?

[rjejr]

Didnt' we just spend the last 6 months saying the iPhone 5 was going to have this screen? Or at least the iPhone 5 was definetly going to be released in October? Isn't this all getting to be a bit too much Apple speculation? At least the Apple iTV is a whole new project so maybe we can just speculate on that for a few months.

Seriously?!

[whisper_jeff]

I'm a massive Apple fanboi and proud to admit it but, seriously, we're already posting articles about the iPhone 5? Really? It's literally a year away and we're already discussing it? Give it a damn rest!

Not to mention the rumour is that the screen is for a _NEW_ iOS device. If you're going to rumour-monger, at least get the rumours right...

Garbage like that is what gives good Apple fanbois like me a bad name...

Re:It would be dumb to replace the smaller one

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't understand why so many people here think a 4" screen is gigantic. Remember that screen size is measured on the diagonal. The current iPhone has a 3.5" screen; a 4" screen would be 14% bigger. Look at an iPhone 4 and you'll see that the display doesn't even take up the whole surface of the device (the bezel on the iPhone is in fact much larger than most other smartphones). Increasing it to 4" could just mean that the display takes up more of the front-face of the device: you wouldn't even have to make it bigger than the current iPhone. Besides, there are lots of Android phones with screens of 4" or more. They are not absurdly big, and plenty of people carry them around in their pockets.

The headline should really read: "Rumour that next-gen iPhone may have incrementally larger display, similar to competing devices already doing well on the market". Not exactly a big deal, here.

So the daily Jobs bowel movement posts keep comin'

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought we were done with those, but,
  every rumor,
  every idiosyncracy,
  every non-newsworthy, trivial, bieberite thing about it,
is a front page /. post.

The integrity of the process (yeah, I know, have I read /. lately) is in jeopardy. Please stop, before Netcraft gets involved.

Re:So the daily Jobs bowel movement posts keep com

[symbolset]

There's a submit story link on every page. Want better content? Click it.

I don't think so.

[Amiralul]

Relevant link.

Re:Won't sell.

[bonch]

Android supporters constantly claim that these kinds of people exist, yet they are never seen. Are they some kind of bogeyman invented to have something to mock? Real Apple fans are even bitchier than Android fans when it comes to criticizing Apple, as any visit to an Apple forum will prove. It seems Android has become a rallying point for two kinds of users--budget buyers not interested in phone quality and cross-armed, spec-obsessed techies who hate things that are popular.

I have tiny hands, seriously small.

[AbRASiON]

and I still switched to Android partially because of the availablility of 4.3" screens, they are SO much better.

Yes yes I know pixel resolution blah, however they are still quite competent screens. Infact I'll go as far as to say, the reason people think the iphone 4 screen is so good (it is) is heightened due to the 3G and 3GS being so bad.
No seriously, plug the specs in to a calculator, the 3G/S screen is AWFUL.

I have 800x480 on my 4.3" screen and yes the iphone looks better at fine stuff but mine still looks fantastic and it's big, nice and big. If I was a public transport user, this is actually an acceptable size to catch simpsons or southpark etc on in the morning on my phone.

While I'm at it,........ the iphone has only ONE button, all the other buttons MUST be drawn on the damn screen. Options, back, etc - all on the main screen. You might be used to it but I've trained myself off it now, I think the one button philosophy is an utter joke. 4 buttons is not unmanagable in the slightest. This frees up even MORE real estate - and it's consistent (hello apple!) because I can find my options (menu) button in the same location /EVERY/ time.

Best technical decision I've made in years. Iphone 3 -> 3GS -> 4 -> 4.3" Android phone, never, ever going back. â(TM)¥