Analyst: Apple likely to launch iPhone with 4.5-inch to 5-inch display next year

Ming-Chi Kuo, analyst at KGI Securities, who has a good track record when it comes to predicting Apple product plans, based on his contacts with supply chain sources, is back with a new research report.

Kuo predicts that Apple will launch an iPhone with larger display in 2014.

This comes hot on the heels of the report from Wall Street Journal, which claimed that Apple was testing an iPhone with a whopping 6-inch screen.

Kuo predicts that Apple will launch an iPhone with a 4.5-5-inch screen. He doesn’t expect Apple to launch an iPhone with a screen which is bigger than 5-inch because of the company’s ”unwavering principle of one hand use.”

Last year, Apple had increased the size of the screen in iPhone 5 from 3.5-inch to 4-inch. But Apple explained that it did not increase the width of the display “so everything you've always done with one hand - typing on the keyboard, for instance - you can still do with one hand.”

But with growing popularity of Android smartphones like Samsung Galaxy S4, which features a 4.99-inch screen and phablets like Samsung Galaxy Note that feature a 5.7-inch screen, there has been pressure on Apple to launch an iPhone with a bigger screen.

The report also notes that Apple plans to switch to GF2 touch technology for iPads in 2014, which will allow the iPads to be thinner and lighter than the previous generation models. Kuo expects Apple to launch iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 by the end of the year, with mass production ramping up in Q4.

Over the last few years, many readers have told us that they’ve switched to Android because they wanted a smartphone with a larger screen, so Apple certainly needs to do something soon to address that requirement. As for the ideal screen size for the bigger iPhone, I think a 4.7-inch iPhone would be perfect.

I expect Apple to continue offering an iPhone with the taller 4-inch screen even if it launches an iPhone with a 4.5-5-inch screen so users have an option to choose the one they want based on their preference.

Do you want an iPhone with a bigger screen? Or you prefer the screen size of the iPhone 5?

[Via AppleInsider]