A 4-inch, or near, screen for the iPhone 5 is all but confirmed. Leaked devices and hardware components suggest that Apple is heading for a larger form factor, and a modified screen resolution in the fourth beta of iOS 6 reveals a home screen with 5 rows of icons.

9to5Mac changed the resolution of the iPhone Simulator, effectively a virtual iPhone included in Apple's developer tools. The Apple-dedicated website ran the Simulator at a resolution of 1136x640 with iOS 5.1 and the beta of iOS 6, seeing noticeably different results. While iOS 5.1 stretched the 4 rows of icons horizontally, iOS 6 used 5 rows. The aforementioned resolution is the only resolution creating the 5 rows of icons in the beta. Different resolutions scale to an "iPad-like" layout, with larger gaps separating the icons.

Apple's use of the 1136x640 resolution is not guaranteed; it could simply be a feature Apple is testing. Still, this is an interesting development and probably the first real indication of how iOS - and the iPhone 5 - could look.

Sources speaking to 9to5Mac said that Apple is testing taller iPhones. 9to5Mac previously reported the resolution would be used in a 3.99-inch display, with the horizontal length of current iPhones maintained. It also means the form factor should, in theory, remain similar. Leaked models of the apparent iPhone 5 reveal a refined form factor: a device awfully similar to the iPhone 4/4S. However, the tech website's source reiterated that this could also be just testing.

Segments of fans still expect Apple to revamp iOS, having used the grid-based icon layout since its debut in 2007. It did not unveil a revamp at WWDC 2012 in June. Many users hope that Apple will not simply add a fifth row of icons to accommodate an increased screen size.

iOS 6 could launch September 19 if the predicted iPhone 5 release date is accurate.