Pocket Gamer Court: Is a bigger iPhone display a good idea?

Apple is believed to be planning a larger, longer 4-inch display for its next iPhone. But, is that really what gamers want?

Also, will it make things unnecessarily hard for iOS game developers? And will stretching the aspect ratio ruin the general iPhone experience?

We put these questions to the good people of the Pocket Gamer readership to discuss, argue, and generally get all hot and bothered about. Now, it's time for Judge Jon to bring down his gavel on the whole affair.

All rise!

"It's very needed," PG reader NotSpam says. He reckons that the modern smartphone is far more about visual use than traditional vocal use, and "for heavy users, e.g. [those into] video, video games, and web media, it's going to improve the user experience a lot."

He also cites exhibit A in the evidence locker - FIFA 13, which will be able to use the extra space to show off more of the pitch.

@Swallowfire agrees, pointing to Android's current top dogs by way of comparison. "Looking at an iPhone compared to my 4.7-inch HTC One X... just makes it look like a toy in comparison."

He believes that only those with teeny-tiny hands have an issue with using such large phones one-handed. And that such ones are doomed to live unhappy lives either way.

Okay, maybe I added that last bit. I do have an irrational fear of small people, though, with their undersized hats and size 4 shoes. It's a judge thing.

Not everyone's in favour of a bigger iPhone screen, mind. "I honestly think that it's not needed, and is going to result in the loss of standardisation of Apple's iDevice line," Lonely Tylenol says.

He's referring, of course, to the fact that all iPhone and iPod touch games have been made with a 3:2 aspect ratio in mind. Compromises will need to be made with the switch to 16:9.

He's also concerned about the effect on controls: "Am I going to have a half-inch of dead screen on either end of my phone, or am I going to have a game with controls that don't work right at all because they were designed to fit a different scale?"

I'll ask the questions, sonny. But, your point is noted.

Excelcius can see the benefits of a bigger iPhone screen, but is dead against the proposed shift to a 16:9 aspect ratio. "Its going to actually make the display seem smaller because the extra length is going to make the width appear pinched."

As a developer himself, he would prefer a larger display with the same aspect ratio so that existing assets can be easily upscaled.

Apparently leaked components from China suggest a 16:9 4-inch display for the forthcoming iPhone 5

Curtisrshideler has small fingers, but I'm trying not to let it bother me. Especially as he otherwise seems like a thoroughly agreeable chap. "My fingers are small and so are my pockets... so I haven't had a problem with the current iPhone. BUT, I am excited for 16:9. So maybe it's worth buying jeans with bigger pockets!"

Stephen Seagal doesn't have small fingers. They're big and tough from years of working as a chef on a military ship, stabbing people with joss sticks and slicking back his hair. He's predictably Zen about the whole iPhone 5 screen issue, too.

"I think on the whole people will like it, it's needed, and it was going to happen eventually," Seagal says.

"I wouldn't worry about the size increase either - half an inch more isn't much, and the wealth of Android 4-inch phones already available show that you can still keep it relatively compact (which is a huge iPhone selling point)."

"The only downside," he warns, "is the prospect of fewer Universal apps."

Interesting. Very interesting. You've all made very good points, even those with small fingers. Now it's time for Judge Jon to make like judges Judy and Reinhold and get this matter decided.

In my view, a larger iPhone screen is both inevitable and necessary. The smartphone scene has moved on and people expect bigger displays for video and gaming content, as well as for web browsing on the go.

The aspect ratio shift is a trickier matter altogether. It would definitely be an extra complication that app developers probably don't need right now, but in the long run it should pay off with cross-platform development set to increase. Android isn't going away, iOS fans, no matter how much you might wish it would.

So, while it may be a slightly painful transition, we rule that a 4-inch 16:9 iPhone 5 display is a good idea. Like whipping off a plaster, the quicker Apple can get it done, the better.

Court is adjourned.