Several Android manufacturers have shown that the benefit of having a large-screened device is the ability to offer unique user interfaces that aren’t possible with smaller hardware. For example, Samsung’s Multi-Window app lets you run two apps at once on its large products. Now that Apple is purportedly getting ready to launch a phablet-sized iPhone, it’s said that the Cupertino firm is planning to take advantage of that big screen as well.
Developer Steven Troughton-Smith has discovered that the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 may be able to run apps with an iPad-like user interface when in landscape mode. Troughton-Smith got the iOS Simulator to display at 736x414, aka 1472x828 at 2X or 2208x1242 at 3x. After doing so, several Apple apps displayed two panes next to each other in landscape mode, like the left side of Contacts showing a list of names while the right side displayed detailed contact info for a particular person.
While the iPhone 6 won’t be the first time that we’ve seen Apple increase the size of its smartphone, it could be the first time that we see real, significant benefits from that change. When the iPhone’s screen grew from 3.5 to 4 inches, users mostly just got an extra row of icons and more screen real estate in apps. If this 5.5-inch iPhone leak holds true, though, the iPhablet could be an interesting option for folks that really want a big screen device.
Would you be interested in the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 if today’s leak about unique landscape apps holds true?
Via 9to5Mac