Notable apps yet to take advantage of larger iPhone 5 screen
Apple is touting iPhone 5’s larger display, but many of the most popular apps for the smartphone have yet to adjust to the 4-inch screen.
The new screen is about half an inch longer diagonally than that of its five predecessors, a fact that the Cupertino tech giant has been promoting in commercials showcasing the phone.
But while the expanded screen is a big improvement, a good number of popular apps have not been updated to work with the larger display, giving the apps a shortened look.
So instead of filling out the iPhone 5’s 4-inch screen, the apps display the same size they do on the iPhone 4S. That means the iPhone 5 shows them in the middle of its screen with two black bars above and below the app.
What apps are these? Let’s break it down.
Netflix
This app more than needs an update. You can watch your shows and movies just fine, but Netflix teases you because you can’t full-screen your video to fit the full four inches.
Pandora
Screen size really doesn’t matter with Pandora since it’s about music, but it’s surprising that such a popular app was not updated on day one.
Instagram is one of the most popular social networks on the iPhone, so it’s alarming that the app has not been updated. It’s pictures will still be square-sized, but you could probably see more pictures at once if it was re-sized for the new display. Perhaps the lack of update might have to do with Facebook now owning the app, which takes us to...
The big blue social network has updated its app to fit the 4-inch screen, but you can’t use the app horizontally in landscape mode. You’re stuck using portrait. Also, none of the other Facebook apps — Instagram, Camera, Messengers and Pages Manager — have been updated. Those apps all show black bars.
Joining Facebook is Google, which also has not updated any of its apps. Chrome, Translate, Voice, Google+ — name a Google app and it hasn’t been updated. This is especially inexcusable for the YouTube app.
FourSquare
The popular check-in social network is also shamefully on this list.
DropBox
The app that makes it so easy to transfer files from any device you use has yet to make the jump to the 4-inch display.
Popular games
Along with video apps, the lack of 4-inch screen support is most painful with games, and there are many that have not updated. Among them are Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja and Flight Control.
***
There are a lot of popular apps that have been updated, including Instapaper, Shazam and Yelp, but hopefully, more apps will adapt to the 4-inch screen sooner than later.
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