14 DAY TRIAL // Expected to launch with a 4-inch Retina display this fall, the iPhone 5 may require all existing App Store titles to be updated with scaled-up graphics. Not a problem, according to the sea of developers attending last week’s WWDC 2012 in San Francisco, California.
Surveyed by Piper Jaffray’s prominent financial analyst, Gene Munster, 100 developers coding for iOS, Android, and even Research in Motion's BlackBerry platform, said they didn’t see a big problem in having to redesign their applications to fit a potentially larger screen when the next iPhone comes out.
They were asked to rate on a scale from 1 one to 10 how difficult it might be for them to modify their applications, with Munster also hinting at a potential iPad mini.
Their answer? Just 3.4 out of 10, indicating that Apple doesn’t have a problem on its hands, at least as far as third-party developers are concerned.
"Given the relative ease expected by developers for utilizing potential new iOS screen sizes, we believe the introduction of new screen sizes would not affect the success or availability of the apps on iOS," Munster said.
55 percent of the subjects develop for both Apple's iOS and Google’s Android operating system. 14 percent code Windows Phone software, and just 9 percent have an affinity for Research in Motion's BlackBerry OS.
"We believe that Apple's loyal developer base will continue to develop cutting edge apps for iOS that will draw in new customers, helping to fuel continued growth in iOS device sales," Munster said.
Multiple hardware leaks in the past few months are painting a consistent picture regarding the form-factor of the next Apple iPhone. Most leaks indicate that Apple is not altering the design radically.
The phone will supposedly be longer, to accommodate the larger screen, and the chassis is expected to be a unibody construction, rather than a case made up of multiple parts with joints and screws.