For years Apple has spoken adamantly about the research that has gone into their iPhone screen size. When Apple first announced their first generation of the iPhone in 2007, they started off to wild success. This essentially allowed them to define their own space. iPhone’s introduced a new kind of device, different from the average cell phone: the smart phone.

This early breakthrough success has allowed Apple to define the smart phone space over the past five years. So if Apple claims that their three and a half inch display is ideal for smart phones, few could argue with them since the iPhone was the gold standard in smart phone technology. With ever maturing mobile device technology, an increasingly crowded device market and rapidly growing competition from Asian manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics, Apple has now begun to question its devotion to the smaller iPhone screen size.

It has been rumored that the next version of the popular iPhone smart phone may have a new screen design. The new screen may be a full half-inch larger diagonally than the current three and a half inch size, bringing it to a full four inches. Development of the new phones, the next generation beyond the current iPhone 4S, is reportedly in production now and planned for release sometime before the end of the year.

Development of the new iPhone smart phone is reportedly under way by a few Asian manufacturing companies. South Korea’s LG Display Co and Japan’s Sharp Corp are both reportedly teamed up with Apple for the development of their new iPhone, as well as Japan Display Inc., a newly formed company with tight ties to the Japanese government.

The major reason Apple is rethinking the design decisions concerning its tried and true three and a half inch display is due to increased competition with Samsung Electronics Co. Samsung Electronics, a South Korean company, has made some design changes in its most popular smart phone’s latest release, including a larger display. Samsung’s latest display is at just under five inches diagonally, which makes it the largest smart phone display in the market right now.

Apple’s concerns about Samsung’s growing competition have been most prominently displayed this year in its high profile litigation battle over tablet design. Apple claims that Samsung’s tablet design is based off the iPad design. A judge just recently ruled in favor of Apple against Samsung.

Similar to the smart phone market, Apple’s iPad device was very successful upon release and created a new niche market within the mobile computing world — tablet PCs. When the iPad was released, the initial success again allowed Apple to set the standard for a new mobile device market. Apple has again been adamant about its design decisions around its tablet PC. Despite several complaints and calls to redesign its large display that is just short of ten inches diagonally, Apple has claimed that screen sizes any smaller than its iPad’s 9.7 inches make it difficult for the user to view. Also, Apple claims the digital keyboard is harder to use at smaller screen sizes on tablet PCs.

Similar to the smart phone market, the tablet market is becoming increasingly crowded and completion among new tablet manufacturers and especially Samsung is seeing more and more designs and screen sizes. The tablet market has evolved and matured fairly quickly since the initial release of the iPad, and this may be causing Apple to rethink its tablet screen design. Rumors have indicated that Apple has been experimenting with several different screen sizes for its new tablet PC. Experts agree, however, that whichever design it ultimately goes with, Apple is still in the market position with both tablets and smart phones to set the agenda.

Author Bio: The post is authorized by Jason Phillips. His articles are well written and most of the times related to mobile phones and iPhones, especially iPhone 4s screen protectors. He keeps himself updated about the recent mobile phones in the market and loves to give their reviews.