It’s no secret that Apple is preparing to release three iPhones next month, and that they will run iOS 12 right out of the box. The largest of them – dubbed iPhone X Plus in the rumor mill – will get a cool old feature that the iPhone X lacked, according to the latest iOS 12 beta. Apple introduced the iPad-like landscape mode features in iOS 8 with the iPhone 6 Plus. The company has since kept the feature exclusive to the Plus models.
iPhone X Plus owners will find the landscape mode pretty useful
Last year, Apple fans were disappointed to see that landscape layout wasn’t available on the iPhone X. Technically, the iPhone X’s 5.8-inch OLED display was larger than iPhone 8 Plus’s 5.5-inch, but the anniversary edition arrived without the landscape features. After digging into the latest iOS 12 beta software, folks at Brazilian site iHelpBR discovered that the 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus would get the landscape mode features. Apple seeded the fifth developer beta of iOS 12 on Monday.
The publication added that the 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus would have a display resolution of 2688 x 1242 with 458ppi. By comparison, the current iPhone X has a resolution of 2436 x 1125. Folks at iHelpBR forced the iOS Simulator tool to run at 2688 x 1242 resolution with a pixel density of 458ppi. They found that it caused native apps such as Contacts, Calendar, and Messages to adapt from portrait mode to a broader landscape layout.
It means Apple will allow iPhone X Plus owners to take full advantage of the larger display. However, it’s unclear whether the landscape features will also be available for the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone and 5.8-inch iPhone X2. Multiple leaks have confirmed that all three models will look almost identical to last year’s iPhone X. The LCD model is said to lack the dual camera, OLED panel, and 3D Touch functionality.
The iPad-like landscape layout offers up more information in native apps when you change the orientation from portrait to landscape.
Other features discovered in iOS 12 beta 5
The newest iOS 12 developer beta also reveals many other features coming with the new iPhones. It contains images of a new AirPods case with a status LED indicator to show you its battery status without opening the case. The beta also includes references to “dual sim device,” “second SIM status,” and “second SIM tray status.” It means at least one of the upcoming iPhones will offer dual-SIM support. However, the dual-SIM model might not be sold in the US due to resistance from wireless carriers.
The iOS 12 will also finally allow the HomePod smart speaker to make and receive phone calls. Currently, users have to make the call on their iPhone and then transfer it to the smart speaker. Not so convenient. The HomePod will also be able to add reminders, create notes, and send and read messages when connected to the same WiFi network as the user’s iPhone. Also, the Battery Health feature will come out of beta mode with the iOS 12.
These are the dummy units of the iPhone X Plus and LCD iPhone
Reliable mobile leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer shared a hands-on video showing dummy units of the next-gen iPhone X Plus and LCD iPhone. The video comes from smartphone deals comparison site TigerMobiles, and shows dummy units almost identical to what we saw a few days ago. Even though these are just dummy units, they give us a fair idea of what the upcoming models would look like.
Unsurprisingly, the new phones will look like iPhone X with a bezel-less design and Face ID technology. However, bezels on the LCD iPhone would be slightly thicker than its OLED siblings. The dummy units in the video are both white in color, but TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts the iPhone X Plus will come in Black, White, and Gold colors. The LCD iPhone is said to be available in a variety of vibrant colors such as orange, gray, white, blue, and yellow.
The dummy units are based on schematics obtained from Apple’s Asian supply chain. Apple is expected to unveil the three new iPhones next month. The iPhone X2 and iPhone X Plus will likely go on sale in September itself, but the LCD iPhone could be delayed by a month, predicts Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty. She has learned from supply chain sources that the LCD iPhone entered mass production a month later than expected due to issues with the “LED backlight leakage.”
Apple announced its fiscal third-quarter results on Tuesday. The company sold 41.3 million iPhones, 3.7 million Macs, and 11.6 million iPads during the April-June quarter. Tim Cook said the Apple Watch sales also jumped “in the mid-40 percentage range.” Overall, the company posted $53.3 billion in revenues and $11.5 billion in profits. For the current quarter, it projects revenues of $60 billion to $62 billion.
