14 DAY TRIAL // There’s almost zero chance of Apple shipping a larger iPhone this year. That’s the message sent out by CEO Tim Cook during yesterday’s quarterly earnings call when asked about his company’s stance on larger screens.
Tim Cook told investors, “My view continues to be that iPhone 5 has the best display in the industry,” which pretty much says it all for 2013. A rough translation to layman tongue would read “no 5-inch iPhone this year.”
But Cook wished to elaborate. He added, “We always strive to create the very best display. Some customers value large screen size.”
“Others value other factors such as resolution, color quality, white balance, reflectivity, power consumption, compatibility of apps, and portability.”
Hinting at devices like the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II (which boasts a considerably larger 5.5-inch display), Cook said, “Our competitors have made some significant tradeoffs in many of these areas to ship a larger display.”
He then dropped the bombshell, “We would not ship a larger display iPhone while these tradeoffs exist.”
One key takeaway from Cook’s comments during yesterday’s earnings call is that Apple has nothing against the phablet as long as the battery holds up and the portability remains high.
Apple currently doesn’t have plans to produce an all-new chassis to make this device, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t in the books for 2014.
The company is expected to ship its iPhone 5S with an identical form factor (to the iPhone 5) this year. Some reports say its launch is already delayed because of issues with certain components.
And while Apple might never cross the 5-inch border – after all, that’s why they sell an iPad mini – a 4.5-inch iPhone 6 doesn’t sound too far-fetched.
Some pundits say the company can’t afford another S upgrade this year, and that it should proceed with introducing an all-new iPhone instead.