Will the iPhone 6 have a bigger screen? Rumors earlier this week hinted at a 4.7 inch or even 5.7 inch screen (although that last measurement is probably a stretch, literally). Now GottaBeMobile’s Josh Smith looks at two things in iOS 7 Beta that he believes could hint at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) laying the framework for an iPhone 6 with a larger screen.
Drawing iPhone 6 Conclusions From iOS 7 And Bigger Phones
Keep in mind that both of these two things he notes are entirely speculative. Apple might simply be trying to make iOS easier to use without having any idea of a larger screen in mind any time soon. Smith said he drew conclusions from playing with iOS 7 Beta and then switching back and forth with the Galaxy S4, which has a 5-inch display, and the HTC One, which has a 4.7-inch display.
Larger iPhone 6 Moves Away From Using Corners
First, Smith notes that iOS 7 Beta is much easier to operate using one hand. He notes that there’s no longer a slide-on lock bar. Users can slide anywhere on the screen to unlock it. Swiping down takes users to the notification screen, while swiping up takes them to the control panel. To simply unlock the phone, users just swipe over.
He says the camera button is still way over in the corner, which would be a reach on a bigger screen. However, iOS 7 Beta is also easier to operate with a single hand in other areas, like the messages and settings. Safari can be operated by simply swiping back to go back to the previous site.
According to Smith, this is all important because on a larger phone, it’s more difficult to reach the corners of the device. He said Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) gave this as one of the reasons it limited the iPhone 5 to 4 inches when it upgraded the device.
iPhone 6 With Better Landscape Support
The other big thing Smith noticed with iOS 7 Beta is that it has better landscape support, which he says is essential when using a device with a bigger screen. There is now more information visible on the screen at one time, and he says Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) brought features into landscape mode that haven’t been there before).
For example, he says multitask support was over in the corner on the previous iOS 7 model, but now it’s easier to reach. In addition he says apps, settings and messages all work better in landscape mode than they did before. According to Smith, the control center even looks like it was designed to be used more in landscape mode than portrait mode.
He says he spends much more time on devices with larger screens in landscape mode than he does in portrait mode, so he believes that Apple may be moving toward an iPhone 6 with a bigger screen simply because it’s making landscape mode more user-friendly.
