Apple’s iOS 14 Beta Hints That A Smaller iPhone 12 Design Is In The Works
Image via nikkimeel / Shutterstock.com
Apple has potentially reinforced reports that it will release an iPhone 12 smaller than the 5.8-inch iPhones X, XS, and 11. It will most likely measure at 5.4 inches, backing multiple rumors from past months.
The tech giant alluded to this feature with the release of the third beta of iOS 14, which indicates the preparation to accommodate a tinier screen size.
It is not explicitly stated, but compelling investigative work from 9to5Mac carries enough weight to indicate that this is in the works. The dedicated Apple news site deduced this from an update in the ‘Display Zoom’ accessibility tool, which lets you magnify text, buttons, and icons throughout your iPhone’s interface.
For context, Apple operates Display Zoom pretty efficiently. Rather than recreate a second screen option, it merely transfers the interface of a smaller model with the same aspect ratio into a larger iPhone. So, with the accessibility function switched on, a 19:5:9 iPhone 11 Pro Max with a 6.5-inch display screen will sport the interface designed for a 5.8-inch iPhone with a 19:5:9 aspect ratio, whereas a 16:9 5.5-inch version will be fixed with a similar 4.7-inch display.
Before, the 5.8-inch iPhone X, iPhone XS and iPhone 11 never had this feature, but they are suddenly supporting Display Zoom in beta three.
iOS 14’s introduction of Display Zoom in them additionally hints that they’ll soon be able to lower their 1125 x 2436 resolution to showcase the interface of a smaller model with a 960 x 2076 resolution. Upon simulating this interface, the publication discovered that this speculative iPhone screen indeed measures at 5.4 inches.
The new resolution also supports a 425ppi display, as opposed to 326ppi in the cheaper LCD iPhone XR and iPhone 11, potentially validating reports that the mid-tier 2020 model will upgrade to an OLED display.
If these changes materialize, the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 stands to be Apple’s smallest bezel-free smartphone as well as the first mid-tier iPhone to adopt the superior OLED display.
Aside from a 5.4-inch iPhone 12, Apple is believed to be debuting a 6.1-inch size for the same model. Newly-acquired dummy units also suggest that there’ll be a 6.1-inch Pro model and a 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max, the latter being anticipated to be Apple’s largest iPhone ever.
The cheaper iPhone 12 handsets will likely feature two rear cameras, while the Pro models will possibly adopt a triple rear lens setup with a LiDAR scanner for enhanced AR visualizations. All four smartphones should also support 5G.
You can view the simulation of the 5.4-inch iPhone, as well as preview the 5.4-inch interface design fired up on a larger screen through the ‘Display Zoom’ accessibility setting, via the 9to5Mac article.
iOS 14 beta gives us a glimpse of the system interface on the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 https://t.co/gy6pE3SAvf by @filipeesposito
— 9to5Mac.com (@9to5mac) July 22, 2020
[via Forbes, cover image via nikkimeel / Shutterstock.com]
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