Report: iPhone 5 to sport screen under 4″, metal back

Here’s one iPhone 5 rumor that we hope ends up being bunk: Apple may be keeping the iPhone 5’s screen size somewhere under 4-inches, putting it well below most high-end Android phones, reports the Taiwanese news site Digitimes.

Panel supplier sources tell the site that Apple is looking towards a 3.5- to 3.7-inch screen size for the iPhone 5. The device’s bezel may be thinner, which should serve to make the screen look bigger. Additionally, the sources say Apple is dropping the rear glass design from the iPhone 4 in exchange for a metal back.

Meanwhile, in Android land, phones with screen sizes above 4-inches have become the norm. Many are now sporting 4.3-inch screens, and it looks like we’ll be seeing plenty more 4.5-inch phones throughout the next year. I’ve been hoping that Apple would at least reach 4-inches with the iPhone 5, because the iPhone’s standard 3.5-inch screen is beginning to feel a bit long in the tooth (even with the iPhone 4’s high-res Retina Display).

A multitude of previous rumors seemed to solidify that the iPhone 4 would feature a 4-inch screen, so I’m hoping that this latest report is somehow mistaken. The suppliers could, for example, be referring to Apple’s rumored budget iPhone 4 redesign, which has been rumored to receive a metal back to make it cheaper to produce.

In other iPhone 5 news from over the weekend, it looks like Sprint is doing a terrible job of denying that it’s getting the device by suggesting employees offer “no comment” on iPhone 5 inquiries.

iPhone 5 mockup via MacRumors