There have now been enough rumors and apparent leaks that there’s little room for doubt that Apple plans an iPhone with an 6.1-inch screen for this fall. Artists have been busy turning the unconfirmed details into images.
The latest compares this upcoming model with the iPhone X. The two look similar, except for the larger display on the 2018 iPhone.
When the next-generation phone come out, there will likely be some differences not reflected in this image, which was created by Jonas Dähnert.
Most notably, the iPhone X has an OLED screen, but the 6.1-inch model is expected to have a traditional LCD. The difference isn’t visible in all lightning conditions, but every pixel in an OLED display glows so there’s no need for a backlight. This makes them look better than LCDs in bright conditions, especially outdoors.
2018 iPhone needs a ‘chin’
And OLEDs have another advantage: they can be bent when they are being produced. Not many people realize this, but the iPhone X’s screen folds under at the bottom. Every screen has to connect to a display controller, which is why so many phones have a larger bezel at the bottom — sometime called the “chin.” Apple folded the iPhone X’s screen so the controller can be underneath.
That’s not possible with an LCD, as they can’t be bent in this way. So the 6.1-inch iPhone might have a chin and not the slim bezel shown in Dähnert’s image.
The release of this device is apparently close enough that the Asian supply chain has detailed specifications on the design. A mockup supposedly created from them shows that the LCD version will have wider screen bezels all the way around than the other 2018 iPhone models. This is apparently to mask the chin.
Photo: Jonas Dähnert
Other 6.1-inch iPhone details
Last year saw the debut of the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X, skipping a number. Dähnert is among the people who think this LCD-based phone will be dubbed the iPhone 9.
Apple is phasing out the Home button, and numerous reports indicate that all this year’s iOS devices will use Face ID instead. That’s reflected in Dähnert’s images.
The leaked specifications mentioned earlier indicate that this device will be is 5.9 x 3.0 x 0.3 inches (150.9 x 75.7 x 8.5 mm). They also indicate that the 6.1-inch iPhone won’t have the dual camera lenses in the iPhone X.
Using an LCD and a single-lens camera are cost-cutting measures. Respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts the iPhone 9 will cost somewhere between $600 and $700.
It’s rumored to be announced and released in September.
