iPhone 5 Rumored to Feature Larger Screen

Now that the new iPad is on store shelves across the country, attention is inevitably turning to the next Apple product waiting in the wings: the so-called iPhone 5.

Long a target of rampant speculation, despite a near-total lack of verifiable details, that next-generation device has been tagged iPhone 5 by pundits and media. Whether Apple picks that as the official name remains to be seen, although the company€™s refusal to name the new iPad something like €œiPad HD€ or €œiPad 3€ makes it a bit more unlikely that the next iPhone will come with any sort of moniker whatsoever.

Amid that speculation comes a March 21 report from Reuters that the next iPhone will feature a 4.6-inch €œRetina Display€ and will launch in the second quarter of 2012. The news service drew that information from South Korean media, specifically the Maeil Business Newspaper, itself quoting an unnamed €œindustry source.€

Across the Web, various tech luminaries voiced skepticism at the prospect of an iPhone screen that large. €œNo one seems to be pointing out that if it€™s true, this new iPhone would need way more pixels than the current 960 x 640 iPhone display,€ John Gruber wrote on his blog Daring Fireball. €œThat means every app in the App Store would need to be redesigned/resized.€

Meanwhile, tech blog Gizmodo is arguing a total lack of need for Apple to resize something that€™s met with praise from customers and many reviewers. €œThere€™s just something optimal about 3.5 inches,€ blogger Sam Biddle argued in a March 22 posting. €œWe know it, and Apple knows it. For a company with such a monastic dedication to consistency, this isn€™t a factor the company is likely to start screwing with.€

That being said, this isn€™t the first time that rumors of a bigger screen have leaked onto the Internet. In January, Apple-centric blog 9to5Mac reported that the €œiPhone 5€ would feature a larger display and redesigned casing. That report cited a €œreliable source at Foxconn in China,€ referring to the factory where iPhones are made.

Over the summer of 2011, analysts and pundits seemed certain the company would release an iPhone 5 with a radically altered design and powerful new hardware. In October, however, Apple executives unveiled the iPhone 4S, whose exterior seemed virtually identical to that of the iPhone 4. Despite that similarity, a collection of new features€”including Siri, a voice-activated €œdigital personal assistant€€”quickly helped the new smartphone become a bestseller.

Other rumors have suggested the next iPhone will support 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) connectivity, something that seems more likely now that Apple€™s released an iPad with 4G support.

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