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Screens compared: iPhone 5 sized up against the competition

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So, the new iPhone 5 is official and is the first iPhone to break away from the 3.5″ screen size and the 3:2 aspect ratio. As expected, the new Apple smartphone has a 4″ screen with a 16:9 aspect. Where does that put it in terms of size?

Lets break out the old calculator and see how much more screen real estate you’re getting. The new screen bigger than the older models, but not by as much as the diagonal difference suggests, due to the change in the aspect ratio. The resolution has also been bumped up to accommodate the new screen, so the pixel density remains unchanged.

Here’s a table that compares the various display specs, across some of the hottest devices currently on the market. We’ve used the iPhone 4S surface area as a base for the second row.

 
Apple iPhone 4S
Apple iPhone 5
Samsung Galaxy S III
Nokia Lumia 920
Diagonal
3.5″
4″
4.8″
4.5″
Surface area
100%
121%
174%
158%
Pixel density
326ppi
326ppi
306ppi
332ppi
Aspect ratio
3:2
16:9
16:9
15:9

So, the increase in screen size isn’t all that huge, especially now that we’re living in an age when 4.8″ is considered smartphone size.

When the iPhone 4 was announced, it was the best hardware money can buy – the screen size was okay, pixel density was groundbreaking. Now, the iPhone 5 is quite a bit behind in terms of screen size compared to other flagships and the Retina pixel density has been matched.

But specs only matter when the customer needs them so the real question is if you are happy with the new screen specs. Also now that the rumors of the iPhone mini turned out to be unfounded (for a fifth year in a row), does anyone still want that?

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