But how will those new phones look in the real world? When Apple introduced the iPhone 5 series, its larger screen measured 4 inches. Previously, iPhones had come with 3.5-inch screens. While the new phone was bigger, it wasn't that much bigger. It's still pretty difficult to tell what model someone is using unless you put two iPhones side by side.
Samsung, on the other hand, has led the way when it comes to giant-size "phablet" phones, with the Galaxy and Note series. They're visibly larger than iPhones. You can see them from across the street.
This chart shows how Apple might close that gap. We've put an average human hand in there for scale. The big takeaway here: A 5.5-inch iPhone 6 would be larger than the current Samsung Galaxy 5S - and it would visibly eclipse the iPhone 5 series. The smaller/larger 4.7-inch version would be a teensy bit larger than the iPhone 5, 5S, and 5C, but it would definitely dwarf the iPhone 4 series even when viewed from across a room.