
Apple is said to be exploring the possibilities of a larger iPhone display and an iPad with a 13-inch screen, according to a new report. The apparent behind-the-scenes research was revealed on Monday by The Wall Street Journal, which indicated that such devices have been tested with Asian suppliers. Although a specific screen size for a new iPhone model was given, it was reported that the company did build and test a prototype iPad with a screen-sized “slightly less than 13 inches diagonally.”
For those of you who are on top of all the speculation, you already know there have been many reports in recent months of Apple planning to build an iPhone with a bigger display. Rumors have suggested that the larger display would be roughly around 5-inches diagonally and may be released as soon as next year. It’s believed that Apple is exploring such a device in response to the success of rival smartphones such as Samsung’s Galaxy Note series.
Apple has already increased the size of the iPhone display from 3.5 inches to 4 inches with the launch of the iPhone 5 in 2012. The company boasted that by making the new screen taller but not wider, it can still be used with one hand. Even coming in at 4 inches, Apple’s iPhone 5 remains one of the smaller smartphone displays on the market.
Although rumors of a so-called “iPhone Plus” aren’t new, word of a larger iPad has been less common. On the other hand, while smartphone sizes have trended towards becoming larger, tablets have trended toward becoming smaller, as seen by the success of Apple’s 7.9-inch iPad mini. Furthermore, John Gruber of Daring Fireball has mentioned in the past that he expects Apple to release an iOS-based notebook “eventually” – speculation which seems to align with Apple’s interest in a 13-inch touchscreen panel. Gruber however does not expect Apple to ever release a touchscreen MacBook.
We’ll have to see how which of the rumors turn out to be true and which turn out to remain afloat after more concrete information is revealed.
Source: Daring Fireball, The Wall Street Journal
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