iPhone 5 will have much bigger 4.6-inch screen and will be launched this summer

According to reliable sources in Korea, iPhone 5 will have a much bigger 4.6-inch screen and will launch this summer.

The leak, reported in the Maeil Business Newspaper in Korea, would make the new iPhone the same size as its cult Android rival the Galaxy S2.

Korean sources are often reliable indicators of the likely form – and date – for upcoming devices, as Korean plants supply screens and processors for many hi-tech companies, including Apple.

Apple has decided on the bigger 4.6-inch display for its next iPhone and started placing orders to its suppliers, the Maeil Business Newspaper said, quoting an unnamed industry source.

Its major display suppliers LG Display and Samsung Electronics Co. declined to comment.

Sales of the iPhone, first introduced in 2007 with the touch screen template now adopted by its rivals, account for around half Apple’s total sales.

Samsung, which is also the biggest challenger to Apple in smartphones, uses 4.6-inch OLED display for its flagship Galaxy S II smartphone, introduced in April last year.

The high-definition “Retina” display – containing several times as many pixels within the same area – is used in the latest iPad released earlier this month.

The latest iPhone 4S was introduced in October 2011.