What a Tall 'iPhone 5' with 4-Inch Display Looks Like

Earlier this month, iLounge reported that Apple is indeed looking to move to a 4-inch display in the next-generation iPhone by increasing the height of the screen while keeping the width consistent. With the report including a number of other specifics including measurements for the new device, we commissioned Ciccarese Design to produce some higher quality mockups of what such a device might look like.

iphone 4in 4s ciccarese
Rendered mockup of taller iPhone with 4-inch display (left) and iPhone 4S (right)
Click for larger

As had been proposed in earlier speculation, a taller display could allow Apple to add one more row of icons to the iPhone's home screen, moving to five rows per page plus the row of pinned icons in the dock at the bottom of the screen.

Increasing the diagonal measurement of the iPhone display from 3.5 inches to 4 inches while maintaining the same width as the current display adds approximately 11 mm (0.45 inch) to the height of the display. With iLounge's report indicating that the new iPhone's body will measure in at approximately 125 mm, which is 10 mm taller than the iPhone 4S, the spacing for the components above and below the display would remain roughly the same.

iphone 4in front back ciccarese
Rendered mockup of taller iPhone with 4-inch display
Click for larger

The mockup also shows a smaller dock connector as has been rumored by several sources, as well as a flat metal panel in the central portion of the rear shell of the iPhone, in line with iLounge's claims.

Ciccarese Design has also provided us with an interactive 3D model of this mockup, accessible via WebGL-enabled browsers. On OS X, Safari users can turn on WebGL by first navigating to Preferences -> Advanced -> Show Develop menu in menu bar and then choosing the "Enable WebGL" option from the Develop menu that appears.

It should be noted that iLounge's claims have been directly contradicted by a recent report from iMore, which claims that Apple has yet to settle on a final form factor for the next-generation iPhone but that there appears to be no change to the aspect ratio of the display and that there will be no metal panel on the rear of the device. Both iLounge and iMore have offered accurate information in the past, and thus it remains to be seen which source is closer to the mark on this round of rumors.

Related Forum: iPhone

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Top Rated Comments

mrBallistic Avatar
168 months ago
prob not...

just imagine the headache of moving from a 4:3 screen to 16:9 for all of the app developers out there. at least retina was just a 2x issue...
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Born Again Avatar
168 months ago
Yuck

I don't need a taller screen I need an overall LARGER SCREEN Apple!
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
basesloaded190 Avatar
168 months ago
No thank you.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Canaan Avatar
168 months ago
I don't think it looks quite right being that tall. I personally hope they take another route.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nikefn2 Avatar
168 months ago
I may be in the minority but I really don't care about a bigger screen, PERSONALLY. I'm more of a software guy so I'm really concerned with the aspects of iOS 6 and how great that will/should be. Don't get me wrong, a bigger screen would not hurt but it's not at the top of my list.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CrystalPepsi Avatar
168 months ago
Won't happen. The ratio will be the same. These mockups are nice and all, but there is no way they are going to make exiting apps ugly/shoehorned.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)