iOS 6 supports taller displays, maybe even 9-pin connectors

The rumor mill is overflowing with talk of a bigger screen on the next iPhone, a screen with a wider aspect ratio. There's also a lot of chatter about a new connector, potentially with fewer pins. An important question was often overlooked though - does iOS actually support these things?

9to5Mac dug into the iOS Simulator and nudged the resolution to 640 x 1136, the rumored resolution of the iPhone 5 (which, if the screen is 4" as rumored, will keep the pixel density close to the current values and move to a 16:9 aspect ratio).

The Simulator for iOS 6 adjusted by display five rows of icons on the screen, instead of the usual four rows. This is a new feature too, as iOS 5.1 displays only four rows at the same resolution (it just adds blank bars).

Here's how (simulated) iOS 6 and iOS 5.1 handle the 640 x 1136 resolution

It's even more telling that the iOS 6 Simulator doesn't handle other resolutions that well, adopting an iPad-like layout, instead of an iPhone one. This would suggest that the 640 x 1136 is treated specially - to accommodate the new iPhone perhaps? It's a shame they didn't try any apps to see how they handle the scaling.

Another interesting thing found while digging in the iOS 6 innards is a "9Pin". The reference is just a constant in a list of supported features, but it's easy to see how this might be about a 9-pin dock connector (instead of the current 30-pin connector). However, rumors usually point to a less drastic reduction in pin count - 19 pins.

Of course, both of these things can mean something completely different, be part of a prototype that never leaves Apple's labs or even just a misdirect. The only way to know for sure is to wait for the official Apple announcement, which will supposedly take place on September 12.

Source 1 • Source 2