FollowApple is reported to be testing various iPhone versions with screen dimension ranging from 4.8 inch to 6 inch. The Cupertino company has already been rumored to be developing a big screen smartphone and the latest report on this which appeared in the Wall Street Journal further corroborates the same. This if true will put Apple in direct competition with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 along with a few others such as the HTC One Max, or the Xperia Z1 from Sony.
Samsung has been the lone player in the segment with its Galaxy Note series of big screen smartphones or phablets. Incidentally, it was Dell who had started the trend of big screen smartphones back in 2010 when it had launched the Streak though the device has since vanished from the big scene. Samsung is credited to have revived the segment notwithstanding the failure of the Dell Streak. However, after having represented the segment alone, it now has some competition to deal with.
Apart from the HTC One Max slated for a launch sometime soon as well as the Xperia Z1 which has already reached markets, there also are rumors of Nokia being in the process of developing a phablet version that will be part of its Lumia series. ZTE and Huawei too have big screen smartphones in the lineup with screen size up to 6 inch.
However, Apple in not expected to launch any big screen smartphone during the upcoming September 10 event. Instead, its going to be just the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C that will be launched, with both sporting a 4 inch display. Apple’s Steve Jobs had stated 3.5 inch to be best size for smartphones. Now if Apple indeed comes with a device with a 6 inch display, it would mark the second instance of the company deviating from Job’s views. The company had earlier launched the iPad Mini sporting a 7.9 inch display even though Job had ridiculed tablets with 7 inch displays.
Meanwhile, there seems little consensus on the screen size that would make the perfect phablet. So whle we have the Note at one end with a 5.7 inch display, there is also the Xperia Z1 which currently is the biggest phablet out there, with a display measuring 6.4 inches. Let’s see what size Apple ultimately settles for when it launches the iPhone phablet version. Wonder if it will be named iPhab.
