????蘋果（Apple）究竟是否將推出大屏iPhone機型？答案只有蘋果公司的人知道。但各方蘋果觀察家們?nèi)詷反瞬黄５牟聹y著大屏iPhone的銷量將如何，外觀將是什么樣？

????原因何在？三星（Samsung）4.8英寸屏的蓋世S3機型是2012年第三季度最暢銷的智能手機。據(jù)巴克萊銀行（Barclays）預測，從現(xiàn)在到2018年，顯示屏大于等于5英寸的手機的發(fā)貨量將增長近9倍，達到2.28億部。這類手機在亞太地區(qū)大受歡迎，而在美國則才剛剛興起。

????眼下， iMore網(wǎng)站深入剖析了蘋果著手開發(fā)大屏幕iPhone機型的前景——假如蘋果有此意向的話。文中，作者勒內(nèi)?里奇梳理了蘋果可能正在試驗的幾種規(guī)格。問題在于，哪怕iPhone的形狀稍有變動，也會對世界各地的應用開發(fā)者造成巨大影響。

????舉例來說，假如將iPhone的屏幕拉伸：

????iPhone 5的屏幕為4英寸，分辨率為1136x640。它的像素密度與iPhone 4和iPhone 4S一樣，都是326ppi（每英寸像素數(shù)——譯注）。假如將屏幕拉伸到接近5英寸會如何？有趣的是，它的像素密度將下降到264ppi，恰好與Retina屏幕的iPad一樣。這也是蘋果現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)在使用的密度，就如同迷你版iPad，它的像素密度也是蘋果公司已經(jīng)使用過的，和原版iPhone、iPhone3G以及iPhone 3GS的像素密度一樣，都是163 ppi。

????真是不可思議。不過，值得注意的是，蘋果在增大iPhone的屏幕方面一直走得較慢。畢竟，五年過去了，蘋果公司只是將iPhone屏幕的尺寸從3.5英寸提高到4英寸。蘋果首席設計師喬納森?伊夫在公司一則宣傳性視頻中解釋道：“通過將iPhone的屏幕拉長，但寬度保持不變，用戶可以在屏幕上看到更多內(nèi)容，同時仍然僅需一只手就能輕松掌握iPhone?！?/p>

????譯者：項航

????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."