Larger iPhone Screen Could Make App Developers Cringe

by Doug Smith on May 22, 2012

There are always rumors leading up to a a new iPhone and this years most talked about rumor will be the screen size. Apple has been determined to keep the viewing area of their iPhone locked at 3.5 inches. Incredibly small by todays standards that see Android and Windows Phone devices with screen sizes of 4.8 inches. Yet the iPhone has maintained this size screen largely because of the high quality retina screen that is a 960 x 640 resolution. At the heart of the small screen mandate has always been Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple, but with his passing and market pressure, it appears certain that we will finally have more screen real estate form the Cupertino Crew. In fact, it is said that Steve Jobs himself was part of the larger screen design team. Whether that is true or not, it is more than likely that we could see a 3.95 inch screen with 1136 x 640 resolution. This increase in pixels would allow Apple another row of icons to the home screen. But where device owners would marvel at the the opportunity to pack more icons of their favorite apps on the home screen without swiping, it is the App developers who are likely going to be feeling the sting of extra work for little or no chance of return. It is already said that iOS App success is a “lottery” where 60% or more don’t even break even. So in the war on having more Apps than Android and Windows Phone, could Steve Jobs known that the larger screen would hack off developer and have their best interests in mind? I’m thinking no on that but regardless, where the consumer would win with a larger screen device in my opinion, it looks like 60% or more of Apple App developers could be cringing at the idea.