A rumored 5.7-inch Apple device would take on the 5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy Note.

(Credit: CNET)

Apple is exploring iPhones as large as 5.7 inches, as it feels the heat from large-screen rivals, according to Reuters.

The company is considering the introduction of “at least two bigger iPhones next year,” the report said.

One could sport a 4.7-inch screen and the other a 5.7-incher, Reuters said, citing sources in the Asia supply chain.

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“Suppliers have been approached with plans for the larger screens,” the report claimed, adding that the move is “still under discussion.”

The motive appears to be a growing need to respond to large-screen smartphones from rival Samsung — its Galaxy S4 sports a 5-inch screen — as well as phone-tablet hybrids, aka phablets, which boast even larger screens.

Indeed, if Apple offered a 5.7-inch device that would fall into phablet territory. Samsung’s Galaxy Note II, for example, has a 5.5… [Read more]