Apple Reportedly Testing iPad and iPhones With Bigger Screens
July 22, 2013 — -- Some of Apple's future iPhones and iPads might give you more screen real estate, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
The Cupertino-based company has recently been testing an iPhone screen larger than 4 inches and an iPad screen slightly smaller than 13 inches with its Asia suppliers. The current iPhone 5 has a 4-inch screen and the iPad has a 9.7-inch display.
But before you start holding out for these bigger devices, it's important to remember that Apple has long tested different designs that never make it to market. Just take a look at all these iPhone prototype designs.
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However, this isn't the first time there has been speculation about a bigger iPhone in the last few months. In June Reuters reported that Apple was looking at iPhones with 4.7-inch and 5.7-inch displays.
Apple declined to comment on the reports when reached by ABC News, however, CEO Tim Cook addressed the question of larger screened phones earlier this summer while speaking at the All Things D conference.
When asked about a range of iPhones, Cook said it's something that the company hasn't done, but "that doesn't shut off the future."
Cook also said the iPhone doesn't have a larger screen right now for a few reasons. "A large screen today comes with a lot of tradeoffs," he said. "People do look at the size, but they also look at things like if the photos show the proper color, the white balance, reflectivity, battery life, brightness, the longevity of the display." He also added that Apple only expands product lines, as it did with the different iPads, when there is a need to.
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"On the phone, that's the question. Are we now at a point to serve enough people that we need to do that?" Cook asked.
Samsung, Apple's fiercest competitor in the smartphone space, has released phones and tablets in what seems like every size. Its Galaxy Note 2 has a 5.5-inch screen and comes with a stylus.
Apple is expected to release the next version of the iPhone -- the iPhone 5S -- later this year, which is said to have minimal aesthetic tweaks but some internal changes. The iOS 7 software for the new phone, however, will be drastically overhauled. The operating system, which Apple previewed in June, has a host of new features, including multitasking options and a command center.
