As the planned Apple announcement nears, several rumors have suggested a variety of resolution settings for the larger iPhone 6 set for release. One of them suggests that the 5.5-inch device will ship a 2208 x 1242 display at a Retina resolution set at "3x." Another suggests that the current iOS 8 beta will also make displaying 3x images possible.
Developer Steven Troughton-Smith has modified the company's iOS Simulator settings to gain a resolution of 736 x 414 pixels (1472 x 828 at 2x or 2208 x 1242 at 3x) which is the rumored screen resolution of the upcoming 5.5-inch iPhone 6. He discovered that the apps gained more usability features when viewed on a larger screen size that is set in landscape mode.
Until now, all iPhones made use of the portrait mode when running apps. With the iPhone 6's larger screen, it is now possible to optimize the user's app experience by running an app on a landscape mode.
Similar to iPads that can run apps on both landscape and portrait modes, the iPhone 6's simulator at landscape mode can achieve an enhanced display of information. One example is the dual-pane view on several apps such as the Calendar app, the Phone app, and the Game Center.
The Calendar app placed on a dual-pane view displays the entire month, which is similar to what happens in an iPad. The Phone app displays separate sections for contacts and various data for a single contact that the user chooses to view.
While the landscape-viewing feature of the apps is possible in the above-mentioned 2208 x 1242 resolution found in the larger iPhone 6, it is not possible at the resolution of 1472 x 828, which is rumored to be the resolution of the 4.7 inch iPhone 6. Troughton-Smith adds that the landscape view uses modal view controllers as opposed to the iPad-style popovers.
Apart from the larger display, the larger version of the iPhone 6 is also equipped with a slew of exclusive features. These include options for larger storage capacity, a faster processor, optical image stabilization and more.
The 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch versions of iPhone 6 from Apple are scheduled to be unveiled at the company's much-anticipated media event on Tuesday, Sept. 9. Along with the new iPhone devices, Apple is also expected to release the iWatch, which is billed as a "wearable that one has never seen before."
It remains to be seen whether Apple could set the trend for landscape viewing on smartphones. Perhaps in the future, smart watches would also be built with a landscape viewing mode.
