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iPhone 6, AMOLED tablets cited in 2014 display forecast

DisplaySearch projects that larger, higher-density displays are headed for Apple's next iPhone in 2014. And AMOLED displays may become more widespread in the tablet market.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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Brooke Crothers
The iPhone 5s: the 4-inch 1,136-by-640 display on the 5S could be expanded to a 4.7-inch 1,600-by-900 display, according to a DisplaySearch forecast.
The iPhone 5s: the 4-inch 1,136x640 display on the 5S could be expanded to a 4.7-inch 1,600x900 display, according to a DisplaySearch forecast. Apple

DisplaySearch has released a forecast covering new display tech in 2014, which includes speculation about screens that may arrive on the iPhone 6, iWatch, large iPad, and Android tablets.

The researcher sees at least two iPhone 6 possibilities as upgrades from the iPhone 5S' 4-inch 1,136x640-pixel resolution (see chart below).

At the high end would be a 5.5-inch 1,920x1,080 display based on LTPS (low-temperature polysilicon) LCD -- the same technology used in the 5S.

If accurate, that means Apple would get closer to the resolution on the Samsung Galaxy S4 -- which is a 5-inch, 1,920x1,080 display. That's where any similarities would end, though. The S4 uses Samsung's radically different Super AMOLED tech.

And speaking of AMOLED, that could land on Apple's rumored iWatch, according to DisplaySearch. The flexible AMOLED display would be a first for Apple.

AMOLED could also begin to appear increasingly on tablet displays, where it's been conspicuously absent.

Specifically, DisplaySearch sees a possible 8.4-inch and 10.5-inch AMOLED displays (the latter has been rumored to appear on a Google Nexus series tablet).

DisplaySearch also reiterated that a future "new iPad" would use a 12.9-inch 2,732x2,048 display -- that would basically be the same pixel density as the iPad Air.

Of course, at this point in time the above are merely projections. "Not all of the panels listed here will go into mass production, as panel maker strategies can change," wrote David Hsieh, in his blog posted on Monday.

This follows earlier projections posted back in October by DisplaySearch.

DisplaySearch's guesswork on which displays will land on new iPhones. Apple would stick with LTPS (low-temperature polysilicon) for the iPhone but move to AMOLED for the iWatch. Note that the 5S has a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch, aka, PPI.
DisplaySearch's guesswork on which displays will land on new iPhones. Apple ould stick with LTPS (low-temperature polysilicon) for the iPhone but move to AMOLED for the iWatch. Note that the 5S has a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch, aka, PPI. DisplaySearch
Other projections include some of the first AMOLED tablet displays and a 12.9-inch display on a 'new iPad.'
Other projections include some of the first AMOLED tablet displays and a 12.9-inch display on a 'new iPad.' DisplaySearch

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