We are still several months away from the iPhone 5 launch, but we are still getting the occasional rumor about the next Apple smartphone. We just got a particularly juicy one, courtesy ofReuters.
The international news agency quoted an unnamed industry source, who revealed in front of the South Korean Maeil Business newspaper that the next iPhone will be packing a huge 4.6" display. What's even more surprising, Apple will reportedly be unveiling it in Q2, merely 9 months after the 4S was announced.
Unfortunately, exciting as this rumor might all be, we seriously doubt its credibility. You see, switching from a 3.5" to a 4.6" display is as drastic a change as you can imagine and such drastic changes risk alienating some customers. And when you have a user base as large and loyal as the one Apple has, that's the last thing you would want to do.
Also, the Holiday quarter release worked out quite well for the iPhone 4S, which scored record sales, despite not getting as great reception from the media as its predecessor. We don't see how Apple would want to cut its product life short by unveiling its successor in Q2.
So while we'd love to see an iPhone with a larger screen and as soon as possible, we don't think any of this is happening. And 4.6" might be stretching it anyway, so we are not really sure you should feel bad about it.
ORIGINAL REPORT
(Reuters) - Apple Inc's new iPhone will have a sharper and bigger 4.6-inch "retina" display and is set to be launched around the second quarter, a South Korean media reported on Thursday.
Sales of the iPhone, first introduced in 2007 with the touch screen template now adopted by its rivals, account for around half Apple's total sales.
Apple has decided on the bigger 4.6-inch display for its next iPhone and started placing orders to its suppliers, the Maeil Business Newspaper said, quoting an unnamed industry source.
Its major display suppliers LG Display and Samsung Electronics Co declined to comment.
Samsung, which is also the biggest challenger to Apple in smartphones, uses 4.6-inch OLED display for its flagship Galaxy S II smartphone, introduced in April last year.
The high-definition "retina" display--containing several times as many pixels within the same area-- is used in the latest iPad released earlier this month.
The latest iPhone 4S was introduced in October last year.
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