A new report indicates that Apple's testing of a larger iPhone 6 display has included a 1704x960 resolution screen. The current iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c have 4-inch 1136x640 displays, and the larger iPhone 6 at this rumored resolution would both have an even-sharper screen and make updating of apps an easier task. As is typical of Apple, the 1704x960 resolution was chosen quite deliberately. 9to5Mac:
568 tripled is 1704 and 320 tripled is 960, and sources indicate that Apple is testing a 1704 x 960 resolution display for the iPhone 6. Tripling the iPhone 5′s base resolution would mean that the iPhone 6′s screen will retain the same 16:9 aspect ratio as the iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, and iPhone 5c.
Aside from maintaining the 16:9 aspect ratio introduced to the iPhone line two years ago and increasing the size of the display to meet the demands of modern users who are looking at a 4-inch iPhone compared to flagship Android phones with screens at 5 inches or larger, the 1704x960 resolution actually increases the pixel density and is a tripling of the pixel-width of the original iPhone. The introduction of the iPhone 4 saw the first Retina display, which made for a super-crisp panel. Bumping up the size of an iPhone while not scaling up the resolution would make for an iPhone with a screen that falls out of the "retina" category.
The 3x resolution also ensures that apps will continue to function as designed on the larger display. There will be issues, of course, with scaling apps up by 50%. Old pre-Retina (1x) iPhone apps will be okay, if blocky. Retina (2x) iPhone apps will be blurry, with some pixels falling off the the grid and getting aliased. New 3x apps will be fine, meaning developers will be under the gun to get new assets made and updated. Apps that are updated for this resolution would also be able to take advantage of the additional space.
It's worth noting that this report is of a screen size and resolution that Apple has been testing, and is not necessarily what we will see on the iPhone 6. Apple tests just about any logical technology and variation you can imagine. It's possible and possibly the most pragmatic solution to an tough problem, yes, but not a guarantee.
Would you be happy with 3x and 1704x960, or would you prefer Apple jump to 1920x1080 or even 4x and 2272x1280?
Source: 9to5Mac
