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Apple’s next big iPhone display experiment could be its biggest yet

The company may be testing a 6.96-inch panel for a future flagship, although one leaker’s post is currently the only source for the exact measurement

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iPhone 17 Pro Max
iPhone 17 Pro Max Unsplash

Apple may be testing a 6.96-inch display for a future iPhone, bringing its largest handset within a whisker of the 7-inch mark.

Leaker Digital Chat Station claims the experimental panel retains the same aspect ratio as Apple’s current Pro Max display. The post mentions the iPhone 20 Pro Max as a possible destination, but doesn’t connect the screen to a finished device. Apple could be exploring the size without putting it anywhere near a production line.

How big is the display jump

The rumored panel would move Apple closer to the 7-inch threshold while preserving the familiar shape of its largest iPhone.

Keeping the same aspect ratio means the screen would grow both taller and wider. The phone itself wouldn’t necessarily expand by the same amount, since thinner borders could accommodate some of the difference. The leak doesn’t provide enough design details to know either way.

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Buyers would gain more room for videos and games, but the Pro Max is already a considerable slab. Even a modest increase could make Apple’s largest phone less comfortable to hold and harder to squeeze into a pocket.

How it fits Apple’s 2027 plans

Bloomberg previously reported that Apple is developing two 20th-anniversary iPhones for 2027. Digital Chat Station has also claimed that Samsung is developing a shallow quad-curved, polarizer-free display for Apple.

Those reports give Apple plenty of reason to experiment with a more ambitious screen. They don’t connect the 6.96-inch panel to either anniversary device, but 2027 would be an obvious year for the company to push beyond another routine display upgrade.

What the leak doesn’t tell us

A panel under evaluation isn’t a finished iPhone. Apple could change its dimensions, move the display to another model or abandon the idea before production.

The exact measurement also comes from one leaker and hasn’t been independently confirmed. Apple may be exploring its first nearly 7-inch iPhone display, but the device surrounding it remains a much bigger question. The next thing to watch is whether another source connects this panel to a specific 2027 model.

Paulo Vargas
Paulo Vargas is an English major turned reporter turned technical writer, with a career that has always circled back to…
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