NFN: iPhone 5 May Have Larger Screen, Suppliers Say

Apple suppliers in Taiwan are reporting that Apple's iPhone 5 will have a screen about a half-inch bigger than the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4. With a four-inch screen, the iPhone 5 might bridge the gap between the iPhone and Apple's 9.7-inch iPad. iPhone rivals Samsung and Motorola have larger screens for games and videos.

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Apple's iPhone lineup may soon look a lot like its iPod lineup, with sizes to fit your taste. Last week came news of a cheaper, smaller iPhone that some are calling the iPhone nano, and as the refresh rumor mill shifts into high gear, there's speculation that his summer's fifth-generation iPhone will give consumers an extra half-inch of display.

Taiwan-based DigiTimes, which bases its reports on leaks from "upstream component suppliers," said the iPhone will have a four-inch touchscreen, which would be the first bump-up in real estate since the iPhone's 2007 debut.

Mini-iPad?

The report suggested that by increasing the screen size, Apple would bridge the gap between its iPad tablet and the iPhone.

"The component suppliers noted that the production lines for Apple's next-generation iPhone have begun testing, and Apple is interested in expanding the screen size to four inches to support the tablet PC market, as the vendor only has a 9.7-inch iPad in the market," DigiTimes said, adding that Dell has reclassified its five-inch Streak as a super smartphone rather than a tablet.

A four-inch display would distinguish the newcomer from the current iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, which have 3.5-inch displays even as manufacturers like Samsung and Motorola have introduced larger screens on devices like the EVO and Droid X. The more generous displays make it easier to play games or watch videos.

Bloomberg News last week said Apple was readying a one-third smaller iPhone to better compete with cheaper phones that are popular in Europe and Asia.

Apple hasn't commented on any of this, as the company is typically silent on products until their launch date.

Gartner Research wireless analyst Ken Dulaney said a bigger screen would allow more opportunity for the iPhone to evolve, as opposed to trying to improve the resolution again as Apple did with the Retina display in the iPhone 4. The Retina display, so named because it supposedly replicates the maximum resolution of the human eye, is four times sharper than the iPhone 3GS, 960x640 pixels, or 326 pixels per inch, with an 800-to-one contrast ratio.

Control Zone?

"No one knows for sure" what size the screen will be, Dulaney said. "But it would be logical to move to a four-inch screen because they have said with the Retina screen that it is the highest resolution that the eye can see. So more resolution wouldn't make sense. Four inches is a common size; 3.7 is OK, too."

More screen space could also give the iPhone a dedicated touchscreen control area.

"So instead of the physical button at the bottom, they could put it in part of the screen at the bottom and it could change based on the context of the application," Dulaney suggested.