Roger Fingas
The 6.5-inch OLED iPhone expected this fall should support landscape orientation in select native apps, implying that Apple does indeed intend to treat it as a "Plus" version of a 5.8-inch counterpart.
Relying on the latest betas of iOS 12 and Xcode, iHelpBR used the latter's iOS Simulator to force iOS to run at 2688x1242 — the 6.5-inch phone's rumored resolution — and found that native apps like Mail, Calendar, and Contacts switch from portrait to landscape.
Apple's current 5.8-inch phone, the iPhone X, uses a 2436x1125 display and doesn't support landscape interfaces, despite having a bigger screen than the iPhone 8 Plus.
Still uncertain is what the company plans to do with its cheaper 6.1-inch LCD iPhone. It will presumably keep landscape mode off the phone in order to steer people towards more expensive hardware — while the 6.1-inch model may start around $600-700, the 5.8-inch one could hit $800-900, and the 6.5-inch unit $999.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
12 Comments
I don’t understand why the X doesn’t have landscape mode. :/
You need the right combination of factors to maximise profits, and Apple nails it every time. It's a web.
iPhone X does support landscape mode in some apps. iMessage, calculator, calendar, mail, photos, notes, contacts, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, files and I’m sure others support landscape mode at at least some level. Just need the home pages to support it too.
It shouldn't be up to Apple to decide if we want landscape mode. It should be a user preference.