Apple might try to squeeze a substantially larger screen into one of its most popular handsets.
The tech giant is working on a new “iPhone X Plus” that would come with a 6.5-inch screen, Japanese Apple-tracking site Macotakara is reporting, citing people who claim to have knowledge of Apple’s plans. The display would be an inch larger than the 5.5-inch screen inside the iPhone 8 Plus, but by taking on the iPhone X’s design, should be able to take up the same footprint as the earlier model, according to the report.
When Apple released the iPhone X last year alongside the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, the company was quick to note that the iPhone X came with a 5.8-inch screen, but the phone itself was nearly the same size as the iPhone 8 with its 4.7-inch display. Now looking ahead, Apple is rumored to be planning three new iPhones this year, including a follow-up to the iPhone X with a 5.8-inch display. Another iPhone with a 6.1-inch screen could sit alongside the 6.5-inch iPhone Macotakara and others have tipped.
The 6.1-inch iPhone would be the outlier in the group, according to reports. Apple is apparently planning to use OLED screen technology in the iPhone X follow-up and the 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus. The 6.1-inch iPhone, which could be known as the iPhone 9, could ship with an LCD screen, similar to last year’s iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. It would also be the cheapest of the three.
Get Data Sheet, Coins2Day’s technology newsletter
Apple is able to squeeze a larger screen in a device the same size as the iPhone 8 Plus because of the design changes it brought to the iPhone X. Instead of chunky bezels at the top and bottom of the screen, the iPhone X has slim bezels all around and nixes the front-facing home button. That allows Apple to bundle a larger screen in the same area without sacrificing too much size.
Still, a 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus wouldn’t be tiny. The iPhone 8 Plus is 6.3 inches tall and 3.1 inches wide. The iPhone X, in comparison, is 5.5 inches tall and 2.7 inches wide.
But before we get too far afield, it’s important to note that while Macotakara’s sources have been somewhat reliable in the past, any new iPhone launch is still months away. And in that time, Apple can decide to make changes or scrap plans entirely before it moves forward. So, while a larger iPhone X might indeed be in the works, there’s also a chance it’ll hit the rocks before it’s ever released.