Sam Oliver
A new report claims Apple is planning to increase the resolution of a future iPhone model to 1.5 million pixels — double that of the pixel count on the current iPhone 5.
The details come from a report by Chinese-language Weiphone (via Unwired View), which claims that the next-generation Retina display will be featured on Apple's next-generation handset, whether it be known as the "iPhone 5S" or "iPhone 6." The report claimed that the next iPhone will continue to have the same 4-inch display as the iPhone 5.
In addition, the report claimed that the iPhone 5 will have an even thinner bezel than its current design, suggesting Apple will borrow design elements from its popular iPad mini. Finally, it was claimed that Apple's next iPhone will begin shipping in September.
The current iPhone 5 has a pixel count of nearly 730,000 thanks to its screen resolution of 1,136 by 640 pixels. That works out to 326 pixels per inch on the 4-inch display.
Apple introduced the "Retina display" branding for its screens with the launch of the iPhone 4 in 2010. That handset featured a 3.5-inch display with a resolution of 960 by 640 pixels, double that of its predecessors.
At the time, Apple's Retina display was a market leading feature for the iPhone. But since then, devices like the HTC One, with a 468-pixel-per-inch display, have hit the market.
The HTC One crams a 1080p-resolution screen, the equivalent of a full-fledged high-resolution television, into a 4.7-inch space. That's more than 2 million pixels, putting it at a density substantially higher than Apple's iPhone 5.
Charles Martin
Christine McKee
Oliver Haslam
William Gallagher
158 Comments
That sounds like Apple is getting into the specs game, which would be silly. I'd rather they improved battery life and/or capacity, and used elsewhere the cost savings associated with keeping the retina display as is. (They could even use it to cut prices a bit....)
Seems like a silly thing to do, so probably is not true. They spent so much time explaining that this was the highest that was needed by the human eye.
Why?
That equals an very strange resolution of about 1632 by 919 pixels. And about [B]468 ppi[/B] ! I think they could rather go straight to full HD or some nicer resolution like 1600 by 900. But if this happen or not, most people will not tell the difference, unless Apple will improve the display in other areas as well.
Wouldn't they have to quadruple the pixel count? And to what end? Why would this even be worth doing?