苹果会推出5英寸大屏iPhone吗

    苹果（Apple）究竟是否将推出大屏iPhone机型？答案只有苹果公司的人知道。但各方苹果观察家们仍乐此不疲的猜测着大屏iPhone的销量将如何，外观将是什么样？

    原因何在？三星（Samsung）4.8英寸屏的盖世S3机型是2012年第三季度最畅销的智能手机。据巴克莱银行（Barclays）预测，从现在到2018年，显示屏大于等于5英寸的手机的发货量将增长近9倍，达到2.28亿部。这类手机在亚太地区大受欢迎，而在美国则才刚刚兴起。

    眼下， iMore网站深入剖析了苹果着手开发大屏幕iPhone机型的前景——假如苹果有此意向的话。文中，作者勒内•里奇梳理了苹果可能正在试验的几种规格。问题在于，哪怕iPhone的形状稍有变动，也会对世界各地的应用开发者造成巨大影响。

    举例来说，假如将iPhone的屏幕拉伸：

    iPhone 5的屏幕为4英寸，分辨率为1136x640。它的像素密度与iPhone 4和iPhone 4S一样，都是326ppi（每英寸像素数——译注）。假如将屏幕拉伸到接近5英寸会如何？有趣的是，它的像素密度将下降到264ppi，恰好与Retina屏幕的iPad一样。这也是苹果现在已经在使用的密度，就如同迷你版iPad，它的像素密度也是苹果公司已经使用过的，和原版iPhone、iPhone3G以及iPhone 3GS的像素密度一样，都是163 ppi。

    真是不可思议。不过，值得注意的是，苹果在增大iPhone的屏幕方面一直走得较慢。毕竟，五年过去了，苹果公司只是将iPhone屏幕的尺寸从3.5英寸提高到4英寸。苹果首席设计师乔纳森•伊夫在公司一则宣传性视频中解释道：“通过将iPhone的屏幕拉长，但宽度保持不变，用户可以在屏幕上看到更多内容，同时仍然仅需一只手就能轻松掌握iPhone。”

    译者：项航

    Is a larger iPhone coming or not? Nobody outside Cupertino really knows. But that hasn't stopped all manner of Apple watchers from speculating how many might be sold or what they could look like.

    Why? Samsung's 4.8-inch Galaxy S3 was the bestselling smartphone during third quarter 2012. Barclays estimates shipments of gadgets with displays 5-inches or larger will grow by nearly nine times to 228 million between now and 2018. These devices are wildly popular in Asia-Pacific region but are just starting to make waves in the U.S.

    Now website iMore has an incredibly in-depth look at how Apple (AAPL) might go about creating a larger iPhone—if it wanted to. In this post, author Rene Ritchie puzzles out the various sizes Apple may be experimenting with. Trouble is, even minor changes to the iPhone's form factor could have mega-repercussions for app developers everywhere.

    Take, for example, simply stretching the screen:

    At 4 inches, the 1136x640 iPhone 5 has the same pixel density as the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, or 326ppi. What happens if you stretch that out close to 5-inches? Interestingly, it goes to 264ppi. That's the pixel density of the Retina iPad. It's a density Apple already manufacturers, much like the shrunken iPad mini display was also a density Apple already manufactured, the 163 ppi of the original iPhone, iPhone 3G, and iPhone 3GS.

    Impressive. Still, it is worth noting. Apple has been slow to increase the iPhone's screen size. After all, it took the company five years to go up in size marginally, from 3.5-inches to 4-inches. Design chief Jonathan Ive explained why in a promotional Apple video, saying "By making the screen taller, but not wider, you can see more of your content, but still comfortably use it with one hand."