Apple is currently offering two form factors for its iPhone: Both the standard model and the Pro version of the smartphone come with 6.1 and 6.7 inches. According to rumors so far, nothing will change with the iPhone 15 in autumn, but with the iPhone 16, which is planned for 2024, it probably will. Now there is new information that Apple is planning two new form factors for the iPhone, both of which should ensure that the screen is even larger. The rumors come from both the US and China.
Bigger sensor, bigger camera?
So far it has been unclear why Apple is increasing the screen diagonal by 0.2 inches – to 6.3 and 6.7 inches respectively. According to information on the Chinese short message service Weibo have the planned changes to do with new camera modules that Apple wants to install. The leaker, who allegedly has inside information from Apple’s supply chain, says Apple needs more space for things like the planned periscope camera in the “iPhone 16 Ultra” (or “iPhone 16 Pro Max”). Confusingly, however, there have also been rumors that the – unchanged – iPhone 15 Pro Max should already have such a telephoto lens.
Alternatively, Apple could use the enlarged form factor to make more room for the battery, or just increase the overall size of the camera sensors – so they’ll capture more light. After all, a little more screen space is also a selling point for a new generation of the iPhone – in addition, the new model is then easier to distinguish from its predecessor.
Counter with Samsung
Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman, who has good contacts to Cupertino, had previously claimed that Apple would on the iPhone 16 increase the form factor by “a few tenths of an inch diagonally”. Both would be the largest screens that Apple has ever installed in an iPhone. Gurman believes this could make Apple “more competitive” with high-end Android devices like Samsung’s. There, however, they are increasingly relying on foldable smartphones, of which Apple does not yet have any in the pipeline. Observers expect that it will not appear for several years – possibly 2025 – possibly marketed as an iPad.
Last month, the well-known display expert Ross Young from Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) announced that he had heard the 6.3 or 6.9-inch rumor. The standard models of the iPhone 16, on the other hand, should remain at 6.1 and 6.7 inches.
(bsc)