Is iOS 7 Laying the Path Towards a Larger iPhone?

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During the WWDC Keynote Monday, Apple pulled the curtain off of their redesign of iOS. I have my thoughts on certain aspects of the design, such as iconography, but will use this post to speculate on some observations I made while watching the iOS 7 demos.

The operating system has seen a radical change, and one of the most prominent aspects of the design is the use of layered sheets for things like Notification Center, Spotlight, Control Center, and the updated Share Sheets. Apple states that "Technology should never get in the way of humanity.", however while watching the videos I noticed that with these new overlays it almost seems that the current iPhone seems a little small for this new design.

My wife who loves to watch the keynotes with me actually said out loud, about the same time I had the thought, "It almost seems that the phone needs to be bigger now." I couldn't agree more; I think that Apple may be setting itself up to introduce another device size into the iOS world. Certainly this isn't the first post to proclaim that, but watching the Keynote and seeing iOS 7 in action I thought it looked like it was designed to be on a device that has more screen real estate to afford to it.

I love the size and weight of the iPhone 5, and have often wondered how cumbersome a wider phone might be. Even though I laugh at the oversized Samsung phones out there; I think I wouldn't mind seeing a bigger iPhone introduced this fall. I don't mind that is, as long as I don't see people walking around with iPad Mini sized devices strapped to the side of their faces talking on them.

Apple Rumor Mill: 128 GB iPad Updated→

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via 9to5Mac:*

We’ve gotten word from sources that Apple is preparing to release (in some fashion) a single, additional iPad model. This would be a new SKU for the current fourth-generation iPad with Retina display line. At this point, we do not have pricing information, so it is definitely difficult to pinpoint exactly what this new iPad model is.

Here is what we do know:

  • It is a fourth-generation iPad, not a new design.
  • It comes in both the current black and white color options.
  • It comes in both WiFi-only and WiFi + Cellular versions.
  • It is a more premium SKU that will join the current line of 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB fourth-generation iPads.
  • 10-pack deals (in both colors) for educational institutions will be offered.

This would be a nice edition to the iPad family. If this does happen I am not sure how they would price a 128 GB model. They certainly could price it at $799 for the Wi-Fi iPad and $929 for the WiFi + Cellular iPad. They only thing that I see being an issue, is if they do price them that high they may have trouble selling them. They would be smarter to shift the current pricing downward and insert the 128GB model at the current 64GB pricing.

Ever since the iPod came out I personally have had the dilemma of, well I could get this iPod nano (or mini) for this price, but for another $50 I could buy the full size iPod and get so much more storage. I feel that if they were to introduce a 128GB iPad and take their pricing tier higher than it is, people are really going to make that choice to go to a MacBook Air rather than an iPad. Even at the $799 price of the Wi-Fi only I believe people would be willing to spend the extra $200 to get the Air and be able to do so much more with it. In Apple's opinion I am sure it doesn't matter, because whether you buy an iPad or an Air you have purchased an Apple product so it is a win for them either way.

Update:

9to5 has update their article with pricing for the new devices and as I guessed at what the prices might be they are reporting $799 for Wi-Fi only and $929 for Wi-Fi + Cellular...

We’ve received pricing information for this new iPad model. The pricing is in line with a higher storage capacity, coming in at around $799 for the WiFi-only model and $929 for the Cellular-compatible model in the United States. So, new capacity sounds even more likely.

This is all speculation, so we will see what happens.

Update 2: 

Well the rumor hit monday, and Apple issued a press release that confirms that it is true. As far as my thoughts on the pricing for a 128 GB iPad, the rumored price is what the actual price. $799 for Wi-Fi and $929 Wi-Fi + Cellular. So with that I will state that I was wrong. 

*This is the first rumor that I am posting to this site, so I will take the time to insert a disclaimer. I am not going to put up rumors and tell you that I have inside information and you should believe this to be true. I will link to various rumors here and there and let you know my opinion on that rumor.