With every new iPhone, we know to expect a faster processor and faster GPU. However, a weird report coming out of Germany says that Apple isn’t just testing new CPUs and GPUs for the next generation of iPhone… they are also testing some truly bizarro resolutions that could indicate that Apple will radically redesign the iPhone in 2012 to be even higher resolution and with an entirely new aspect ratio.
German Mac blog Macerkopf is reporting (Google translation) that two sources independently tell them Apple is internally testing a number of configurations for new iOS devices internally, in both quad-core and dual-core CPU varieties.
What’s weirder, though, are the resolutions of the devices Apple is reportedly testing. One is the standard Retina Display, a 960 x 640 resolution affair. But here’s where it gets interesting: Macerkopf says that Apple is also testing a 1280 x 720 (or 720p) device (that display would be similar to the LG Nitro HD‘s display), as well as an utterly bizarre 1440 x 800 device.
Why are these resolutions so notable? Well, they are totally different aspect ratios than the current iPhone, which has a 3:2 aspect ratio. The 720p display has an aspect ratio of 16:9, but the 1440 x 800 device is just odd. In fact, it’s so odd, that it makes me wonder if it’s not just a typo: maybe they meant 1440 x 900, which is, again, an HD standard 16:9 widescreen resolution. Makes a lot more sense.
Right now, there’s only a single report from a site with a spotty track record on making Apple predictions, so take this all with a grain of salt, especially given how loathe Apple is to fragment iOS between different aspect ratios (they’ve only done it once, with the iPad). But if — big if! — Macerkopf is right, we could see a new iPhone next year boasting a higher density display and a totally new aspect ratio in 2012. Between that, the iPad 3 and the possibility of a proper iTV, 2012 is looking like it might be a hell of a year.
