iPhone 6 specifications debated: screen resolution increase

By Chris Burns/June 24, 2014 1:40 pm EST

Back during Apple's financial second quarter 2013 earnings call, Tim Cook said something about a larger iPhone display size that should hold true through the release of the iPhone 6. Cook said "our competitors have made some significant tradeoffs in many of these areas to ship a larger display. We would not ship a larger display iPhone while these tradeoffs exist." It may be time to leap forward for the next iPhone.

The iPhone 4/4s release included a 3.5-inch, 960 x 640 pixel display. The larger iPhone 5/5s included a 4-inch, 1136 x 640 pixel display. The iPhone 4/4s display density is 330PPI (pixels per inch), while the iPhone 5/5s display is 326PPI.

It's been suggested that a larger, 4.7-inch display for an iPhone 6 will have a 1334 x 750 pixel display, making it roll with a screen density equal to that of the iPhone 5 at 326PPI. KGI Securities Ming-Chi Kuo also delivered a prediction that a 5.5-inch iPhone 6 could work with 1920 x 1080 pixels, ringing up 401PPI in the process.

iPhone display sizes3.5-inch, 960 x 640 pixels, 330PPI

4-inch, 1136 x 640 pixels, 326PPI

4.7-inch, 1334 x 750 pixels, 326PPI

5.5-inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels, 401PPI

Seem likely to you? Another strong theory comes from MacRumors forum member pgiguere1, who suggests that a 3x display resolution transition – 1.5 times Retina – would be smooth enough for Apple to consider. Smoother, that is, than the transition from original iOS graphics to those of the "Retina" generation, also identified by the "2x" changeover – pixel doubling.

This 3x change would have the iPhone 6 keeping the same 16:9 aspect ratio of the iPhone 5/5s, this time pushing 1704 x 960 pixels. This resolution on a 4.7-inch display would result in a 416PPI display density, while the same amount of pixels on a 5.5-inch display would result in 365PPI.

We must assume that the display density for the next iPhone will ramp upward. Apple requires that the display on a new iPhone stay the same quality as previous models or turn out a whole new, better set of qualities for it to be OKed for release. Come late summer or fall, we must assume the iPhone 6 will be better than ever.

Images VIA: Ruliweb