Amid rumors that Apple may unleash a smaller, cheaper version of the iPhone comes word that the next flagship iPhone might take a page from the Android playbook—by adding a larger, four-inch display.
The claim comes from Taiwanese rumor site DigiTimes, which says it got the scoop from unnamed "upstream component suppliers."
DigiTimes is also reporting that the new iPhone will replace the A4 system-on-a-chip that powers the iPhone 4 with a new, souped-up A5 processor—a claims that lines up with previous next-gen iPhone rumors.
The DigiTimes story followed on the heels of an earlier post from another (reportedly reliable) Taiwanese tech site, which claims that Apple is testing three prototype iPhone 5 handsets: one with a slide-out keypad, another with beefed-up internals but no real design changes, and a third prototype that had yet to be identified.
So … could that third prototype be the four-inch iPhone? Impossible to say; Apple, as usual, isn't saying a word.
What's certain, however, is that we've been deluged with iPhone rumors in that past several days, with first Bloomberg and then the Wall Street Journal reporting that Apple has a smaller, cheaper iPhone in the works, followed by another claim from Cult of Mac that the bargain iPhone would come with minimal built-in storage, relying instead on a new-and-improved version of the cloud-based MobileMe.
Personally, I'm still skeptical about the smaller, cloud-reliant iPhone ... and I'm skeptical about the four-inch iPhone rumors, too. But as for the idea of an iPhone with a four-inch display, I'm all for it.
Indeed, some of the best smartphones of last year (and early this year, for that matter) have come with eye-popping, four-inch or larger displays, with the 4.3-inch HTC Evo 4G and Motorola Droid X leading the way.
While the Evo 4G and the Droid X were both a bit too big for my taste (and my pockets), Samsung's Galaxy S handsets (for me, anyway) hit the sweet spot with bigger—and gorgeous—four-inch displays that added a minimum of bulk.
One of the newest kids on the Android block is the dual-core Moto Atrix 4G (pictured here, next to my iPhone 4), which packs a four-inch display into a shell that's actually slightly smaller (if a bit thicker) than the iPhone 4's. The secret: a smaller front bezel.
I don't have any moles in Cupertino to tell us whether the latest iPhone rumors are real, but I do know this: when it comes to four-inch smartphone displays, Apple would be well advised to follow Android's lead.
Update: As requested, here's another comparison shot, this time with my iPhone 4 sans bumper—and yes, the bumper-less iPhone is actually a tad smaller than the Atrix:
And here's another view:
That doesn't alter my original point, which is that a four-inch screen doesn't necessarily lead to a massive phone; still, I clearly should have compared the Atrix to the "naked" iPhone 4 in the first place. My bad.
Related:
Apple to expand iPhone screen size to 4-inches [DigiTimes]
— Ben Patterson is a technology blogger for Yahoo! News.
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