[Good Job Bob]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...sia_Technology

Apple Inc., AAPL -0.91% which is expected to launch its next-generation iPhone later this year, has ordered screens from its Asian suppliers that are bigger than the ones used in iPhones since they debuted in 2007, people familiar with the situation said. Production is set to begin next month for the screens, which measure at least 4 inches diagonally compared with 3.5 inches on the iPhone 4S, the latest phone from Apple, the people said. ...

Too slow, giga.

[itsgreen]

But Jobs always said that 3.5" is the perfect size...

[JokerOfSpades]

BWAHAHA

No, but seriously, 3.5 inches is too small. You guys will get used to it, Apple fans.

[UnluckyKate]

But Jobs always said that 3.5" is the perfect size...

The market said otherwise

[Good Job Bob]

But Jobs always said that 3.5" is the perfect size...

I don't think Jobs or anyone else who worked at Apple ever said this, could be wrong though.

[SmokyDave]

Goddamnit. I'm 100% convinced they'll never top the iPhone 4 design and this news just cements that fact.

[daviyoung]

Good move.

[macuser1of5]

plz no more than 4. do not want giant phone.

[ThoseDeafMutes]

I don't think Jobs or anyone else who worked at Apple ever said this, could be wrong though.

I have no idea what the "official" stance on it is, but I've heard it parroted by fanboys before. Stuff like "Anything larger than 3.5" is too big for your thumb to reach!"

[LCfiner]

But Jobs always said that 3.5" is the perfect size...

citation needed

The market said otherwise

what metric are you using?


I wonder if Apple does go ahead and increase screen size, if they'll be doing it so they can fit in a bigger battery or house larger LTE chips? that seems to be one of the reasons that new Android phones all have these massive screens.

[AgentWhiskers]

Always one step ahead of the competition.

[Acheteedo]

I wouldn't have thought that a larger screen would be better, but having seen my friend's Galaxy Note... do want.

[SmokyDave]

I have no idea what the "official" stance on it is, but I've heard it parroted by fanboys before. Stuff like "Anything larger than 3.5" is too big for your thumb to reach!"

Preferring a smaller form-factor immediately makes one a 'fanboy'?

So, does preferring a larger screen make one a 'sheep'?

I'm still waiting on my phone wars handbook, y'see.

[smurfx]

keep increasing size and then release the nano iphone that is the same size as the current one and keep the cycle going.

[JordanKZ]

I wonder if Apple does go ahead and increase screen size, if they'll be doing it so they can fit in a bigger battery or house larger LTE chips? that seems to be one of the reasons that new Android phones all have these massive screens.

.... Wah? Not quite. Older Android phones did need larger motherboards because LTE chips were seperate. At the moment, the only SoC that has an LTE 'modem' built into is the Snapdragon S4, which clearly will not power the next generation iPhone. I think it's pretty clear that the next iPhone will use another Samsung Exynos chip, which at the moment doesn't have an inbuilt LTE chip, although it probably will by the time Apple give Samsung enough money.

Not only that, but there's no where else for the iPhone to really go in terms of design. They have to make it bigger to fit more pixels on that display because any more at 3.5" is basically a waste of time.

[Cheebo]

The market said otherwise

No? The #1 top selling smart phone is iPhone 4s, #2 is iPhone 4. #3 is iPhone 3GS. The top 3 selling phones are all 3.5 inches.

[neojubei]

Cool. Cannot wait to get my hands on the iphone 5.

[Crunched]

Preferring a smaller form-factor immediately makes one a 'fanboy'? So, does preferring a larger screen make one a 'sheep'? I'm still waiting on my phone wars handbook, y'see.

I don't think it's the preference, but the patently wrong statement that would designate one a fanboy.

[Cipherr]

IN BEFORE SM-

Goddamnit. I'm 100% convinced they'll never top the iPhone 4 design and this news just cements that fact.

Welcome to the bigass screen club bruh :D

I wouldn't have thought that a larger screen would be better, but having seen my friend's Galaxy Note... do want.

Galaxy Note isnt a "larger screen" thats an IMAX in your pocket. Its comically big. Definitely a niche thing. 4" though? That can be done comfortably at todays resolutions. They dont have to sacrifice anything. In fact the screen can be better in nearly every measurable way. I think most folks will love it. Just you wait.

Dave won't though, he very very clearly is sincere when he says he doesn't want a larger screen. He really doesn't, lol.

[ThoseDeafMutes]

Preferring a smaller form-factor immediately makes one a 'fanboy'?

No, being a fanboy makes you a fanboy. What I'm saying is that I've seen such people make ludicrous claims like that.

[Foliorum Viridum]

3.5 always seemed too small for me.

[AgentWhiskers]

Cool. Cannot wait to get my hands on the iphone 5.

You mean the new iPhone.

[SmokyDave]

I don't think it's the preference, but the patently wrong statement that would designate one a fanboy.

Perhaps they have small thumbs?

Won't someone think of the short-thumbed people?!

Welcome to the bigass screen club bruh :D

Eh, I'll stick with the 4S for the time being and hope that the larger screen of the new phone doesn't impact the form too much. There's a thin bezel they can drop on the current design so that should soak up some of the increase.

I think they'll make it thinner too and that would be a mistake to my mind.

[operon]

And who said size doesn't matter

[macuser1of5]

You mean the new iPhone.

it will be ... resolutionary.

[dkeane]

As long as the overall form factor doesn't get much larger I'd like a bigger screen. Can't wait to see the new design.

[Chinner]

WELL THEN CELL PHONES I THINK MY CELLPHONE IS BETTER THAN YOUR CELLPHONE WHAT YOUR CELLPHONE IS ONLY 4 INCHES MY CELLPHONE IS 4.75 INCHES WHAT ABOUT THOSE CELL PHONES CELL PHONES CELL PHONES

[numble]

I'd like a better Facetime camera.

[ThoseDeafMutes]

Perhaps they have small thumbs? Won't someone think of the short-thumbed people?!

Even if they did, it's clearly untrue for average people. Certainly, the blanket statement that "human thumbs can't reach that far" is irreconcilably moronic. I have no idea where that meme originated from.

[LCfiner]

No, being a fanboy makes you a fanboy. What I'm saying is that I've seen such people make ludicrous claims like that.

I don't see what makes it ludicrous. When I hold an iPhone in my right hand, my thumb just reaches the far upper left edge of the screen. With a 4" or 4.5" screen, that move would become progressively more awkward.

Might not be a big deal for Android that has that system back button in the lower left, but iOS is built around the upper left zone for navigating backwards. A bigger screen makes it harder to tap that zone.

[Cipherr]

Id love to see them do a 60FPS capable video recording too. Go ahead and be the first to do it so everyone else stops dragging their feet on that shit.

[GhostTrick]

BWAHAHA No, but seriously, 3.5 inches is too small. You guys will get used to it, Apple fans.

I jumped from an iPhone 4 to a Galaxy Nexus. First time the Nexus was too huge... But now I find it perfect. iPhone screen seems so tiny now.

[Crunched]

Even if they did, it's clearly untrue for average people. Certainly, the blanket statement that "human thumbs can't reach that far" is irreconcilably moronic. I have no idea where that meme originated from.

The best part is how easy it is to disprove.

Step 1: Look at your hand.

[AgentWhiskers]

it will be ... resolutionary.

"Introducing the new iPhone. Bigger, faster, lighter. It's pixelutionary."

[SmokyDave]

Even if they did, it's clearly untrue for average people. Certainly, the blanket statement that "human thumbs can't reach that far" is irreconcilably moronic. I have no idea where that meme originated from.

I have no idea. I really can't see it being a genuine issue until you get to something like the Galaxy Note and I assume that's designed with that fact in mind (I've held one but not used one so I'm not sure).

The best part is how easy it is to disprove. Step 1: Look at your hand.

At a point, it is true. I can't go diagonal to diagonal on a Note and I have big hands. Thing is, I can't imagine that ever being an issue in normal usage.

[JordanKZ]

Id love to see them do a 60FPS capable video recording too. Go ahead and be the first to do it so everyone else stops dragging their feet on that shit.

1080p/60 would require an insane processor and a shit load of storage. I just don't think that's going to happen until we get 128gb of flash storage on devices.

[Phonomezer]

Samsung redeemed.

[LCfiner]

Even if they did, it's clearly untrue for average people. Certainly, the blanket statement that "human thumbs can't reach that far" is irreconcilably moronic. I have no idea where that meme originated from.

I never interpreted those images as saying "the human thumb can't reach that far", as if it were an impossibility for the thumb to ever reach that corner under any circumstance.

It's about how easy it is to reach the entire surface of the phone with your thumb without having to reposition your hand.

[macuser1of5]

"Introducing the new iPhone. Bigger, faster, lighter. It's pixelutionary."

the world's first best-selling 4" smartphone.

because you KNOW they will say it :p

[Utako]

Ever since I tried the Evo 4G (4.3") in 2010, I realized how terribly constricted the iPhone's touchscreen is, and that this would be the future. Surfing the web was a whole new bag of cats on that guy.

No? The #1 top selling smart phone is iPhone 4s, #2 is iPhone 4. #3 is iPhone 3GS. The top 3 selling phones are all 3.5 inches.

A lot of people buy iPhones because they're iPhones. They could be 1". They could be 7". It doesn't matter.

Look at which non-iPhones are selling well.

[Bomber Bob]

but I don't honestly want a bigger phone :(

[Sentry]

I can see them going to 4" while retaining the width of the current iPhone, perhaps even in the same i4/S form factor (steel edges). I don't see them going past 4.3", though.

It'll be interesting to see how this will all effect iOS and apps in general. Could be a disaster...

[mugurumakensei]

I never interpreted those images as saying "the human thumb can't reach that far", as if it were an impossibility for the thumb to ever reach that corner under any circumstance. It's about how easy it is to reach the entire surface of the phone with your thumb without having to reposition your hand.

I never have to reposition my hand on my phone, and it's screen size is over 4 inches. I also have smaller hands. Just seems absurd unless your hands are disproportionately smaller than your body would suggest.

[DonMigs85]

Didn't they like 3.5" because the average thumb could reach anywhere on the screen held in one hand?

[capslock]

Yeah 3.5 inches was fine when the iPhone came out, but that was before our phones became our primary daytime computer, with rich apps and games. Also, no one anticipated we would be watching as many high-def videos or surfing the web nearly as much as we do now. I've had a 3GS and now own an iPhone 4 and I find the size very cramped, and a strain on my eyes when reading regular websites.

[itxaka]

3.5 is the perfect size for normal hands.

4.0 is an awesome screen for reading and interneting.

me -> confused. Why would god give us this hands if they weren't mean for 3.5 screens? You can't explain that.

[ThoseDeafMutes]

I never interpreted those images as saying "the human thumb can't reach that far", as if it were an impossibility for the thumb to ever reach that corner under any circumstance. It's about how easy it is to reach the entire surface of the phone with your thumb without having to reposition your hand.

The way it was first told to me wasn't even about diagonals, it was a guy trying to say that you couldn't reach the other side of the phone with your thumb (as in, the side directly opposite where your hand was resting on it). Everybody present just kind of looked at him with their jaw hanging out at how absurd the statement was.

I must know some unusually stupid people.

but I don't honestly want a bigger phone :(

Don't upgrade?

[xbhaskarx]

3.5 always seemed too small for me.

Same here. I have big hands, though. The original Xbox controller was the perfect size for me.

[AgentWhiskers]

the world's first best-selling 4" smartphone. because you KNOW they will say it :p

Won't make it wrong!

[Vormund]

I have a 4S but I have to admit the Galaxy S2 is a good size.