Last week, KGI Securities’ analyst Ming-Chi Kuo came forth with the first possible screen resolution for a 4.7-inch ‘iPhone 6’, predicting that it will be a 1334 x 750 Retina display with a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch. Amidst the analyst’s speculations, the folks over at MacRumors have summed up how Apple can adopt a 4.7″ display as predicted by Kuo, while preserving the same pixel density (326 ppi) as the iPhone 5s.
When Apple moved from 3.5″ to 4″ screens in the iPhone 5, they simply added vertical resolution, which allowed existing apps to run in a letterboxed format with black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. Apple also began encouraging developers to use AutoLayout in designing their apps, well before the 4″ iPhone came out. Those who aren’t aware, using Auto Layout, users can create a dynamic and versatile interface that responds appropriately to changes in screen size, device orientation, and localization.
“If Apple were to adopt a 1334×750 4.7” display as predicted by Kuo, it would preserve the same pixel density (326 ppi) as the iPhone 5s. That means that all existing user interface elements, such as icons, would be the same size but would allow for more screen space.
Our designer found that using the exact same icons and spacing them out to fill the screen, 1334×750 pixels allows Apple to fit exactly one extra row of icons onto the iPhone home screen. This mockup (shown above) shows the relative size of the 4.7″ iPhone screen and how much extra room there would be using the exact same icons as on the current iPhone.”
It seems that this resolution choice may be able to provide Apple and developers a decent upgrade path for a larger ‘iPhone 6’.
