Spotted on Daring Fireball this morning, a link to a Bloomberg piece:
Apple Inc. is developing new iPhone designs including bigger screens with curved glass and enhanced sensors that can detect different levels of pressure, said a person familiar with the plans.
Two models planned for release in the second half of next year would feature larger displays with glass that curves downward at the edges, said the person, declining to be identified because the details aren’t public. Sensors that can distinguish heavy or light touches on the screen may be incorporated into subsequent models, the person said.
With screens of 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches, the two new models would be Apple’s largest iPhones, the person said, and would approach in size the 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 3 that Samsung Electronics Co. debuted in September.…
Mr Gruber opines:
I don’t understand the bit about “glass that curves downward at the edges”. Downward how? Sounds like they’re saying the display would be convex, and I can’t imagine why that would be desirable. (I don’t see the point of concave displays either.) And it also seems rather curious that Apple would introduce two new displays sizes at the same time. Apple has only introduced one new iPhone display size since 2007, but they’re going to introduce two at the same time next year? That smells fishy to me.
And whither the 4-inch display? I would like to see any report of next-generation iPhones with larger displays explain Apple’s plans for the existing 4-inch size. Would it be relegated only to the second-tier C-class model? Or would they continue to produce top-tier models at that size as well? A person familiar with Apple’s plans should be able to explain this.
Update: Another thing I’d like to know about future iOS device displays sporting new physical dimensions – the pixel counts. Will they be like the iPad Air and Mini (same pixel count, different pixels-per-inch resolution)? Or will they introduce new pixel dimensions? Again, any person familiar with Apple’s plans should be able to answer that.
Be sure to check out the various gems from the “Bloomberg iPhone Claim Chowder File”!
