iPhone 5 Rumors Heating Up, Point to 4-inch Screen, HD Camera

The iPhone 5 rumor mill is in full swing as we inch closer to the device's release, which some have pegged for September or October. One of the persistent rumors is that the iPhone 5 will finally sport a bigger size screen, though it won't rival some of the larger smartphones and hybrids on the market, like the incredibly large Galaxy Note from Samsung. Instead, the iPhone 5 is likely to tout a 4-inch display.

The folks over at Apple Insider obtained a research note from KGI analyst Mingchi Kuo, and according to Kuo, Apple is most definitely switching from a 3.5-inch 4:3 display to a 4-inch 16:9 screen. It will be an IPS screen, and it will measure precisely 4.08 inches, Kuo says, with an 1,136x640 resolution and 500 nit brightness.


If Apple switches to a 4.08-inch display with a 1,136x640 resolution, existing apps would work just fine, albeit with black bars on either side.

Why not go even larger? After all, the jump from 3.5 inches to 4.08 inches, while noticeable, isn't overly dramatic. But the reason why Apple apparently decided against a 4.3-inch or 4.5-inch screen is that such devices are, in Apple's opinion, difficult to operate with one hand. There's also the concern of backwards compatibility with existing iPhone apps and battery life to take into consideration.

Since the horizontal resolution of the display would be the same, Kuo says app compatibility is one thing Apple can check off its list. Existing apps would simply make use of letterboxing with black bars on either side