Apple to increase screen size for next generation iPhone

Apple plans to use a larger screen on its next-generation iPhone and has begun to place orders for the new displays from suppliers in South Korea and Japan, according to sources.

The new iPhone screens will measure four inches from corner to corner, one source said. That would represent a roughly 30% increase in viewing area, assuming Apple kept other dimensions proportional. Apple has used a 3.5-inch screen since introducing the iPhone in 2007.

Early production of the screens has begun at three suppliers: Korea’s LG Display Co Ltd, Sharp Corp and Japan Display, a Japanese government-brokered merger combining the screen production of three companies.