On the WSJ’s ‘iPhones to Come Out With Bigger Screens’ Story

Yesterday’s top tech story was this report from Lorraine Luk, Eva Dou, and Daisuke Wakabayashi in the WSJ (paywall, alas):

Facing competition from rivals offering smartphones with bigger screens, Apple Inc. is planning larger displays on a pair of iPhones due for release this year, people familiar with the situation said.

The people said Apple plans an iPhone model with a screen larger than 4½ inches measured diagonally, and a second version with a display bigger than 5 inches. Until now, Apple’s largest phone has been the 4-inch display on the iPhone 5.

The phones, expected in the second half, won’t include a curved display, a feature recently introduced by rivals including Samsung Electronics Co., the people said. They cautioned that Apple’s plans weren’t final and that the company could change course.

Emphasis added. Translation: These are just rumors and none of this may come to pass.

The smaller of the two models is further along in development, and is being prepared for mass production, the people said. The larger-screen version is still in preliminary development, they said.

There’s so much more I could write about this, but for now, I’ll simply point out that any device “still in preliminary development” has no chance of coming out this year. The Journal’s reporters should know this. And as, always, I ask: what are the pixel dimensions of these bigger screens?

Both new models are expected to feature metal casings similar to what is used on the current iPhone 5S, with Apple expected to scrap the plastic exterior used in the iPhone 5C, these people said.

So the 5C won’t stick around for another year, moving down into the free-with-contract slot now occupied by the iPhone 4S?

★ Friday, 24 January 2014