Adam Satariano and Jun Yang reporting for Bloomberg
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, has placed orders from suppliers in Asia for screens that are bigger than the 3.5- inch size now on the smartphone, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had worked closely on the redesigned phone before his death in October, one person said.
Steve Jobs is known for giving his view about something and then retracting it by releasing the same kind of product he had criticized months before. And this might very well happen with the new iPhone: Steve Jobs was famously quoted saying that there is a certain limit where the screens on mobile devices are comfortable to use and anywhere bigger than that "optimal" screen size would be uncomfortable. But with the market now pointing towards a bigger screen adaptation, Apple might very well release one. However, I've got a question in mind. If Apple really does release a 4 inch iPhone, there is a huge chance that we'll start to see fragmentation on the iOS platform. Now, instead of having to develop for four screen resolution and sizes (the iPhone 3/3GS, iPhone 4/4S, iPad 1/2 and iPad 3's retina screen), developers now have to develop for 5 different screen resolution and sizes, including the new 4 inch iPhone. Oh, what about every time Apple releases a new software update? The developers will have to optimize their apps for the new software. And truth to be told, some lazy developers just aren't going to. It's too much work. So with that, we'll start to see some apps working on an iOS device but not with others. This could very well be the first signs of fragmentation on the famously unfragmented iOS.
Michael Andrew