Apple is following the Android "big is beautiful" trend with the next batch of iDevice launches the Wall Street Journal reports-- supplier officials claim the company is testing larger iPhone and iPad displays.

According to unnamed sources Apple already tested out a smartphone display "larger than 4-inches" and asked for tablet screen designs "measuring slightly less than 13-inches."

The WSJ sources also say Apple will release a new iPad featuring a lighter and thinner display integrating touch sensors with a thin film instead of the glass found in current iPads, and a less expensive iPhone with nonmetal, multi-colour casing.

For the record, the iPhone 5 features a 4-inch display, while the iPad and iPad mini are 9.7-inch and 7.9-inch.

Bigger iDevice rumours are not exactly new-- Korean news site ET News reported on a 12.9-inch iPad back in May 2013 before a Reuters report saying Apple is "looking at" iPhones with 4.7-inch and 5.7-inch display on June.

If such stories are the case, it seems Apple is set to follow the Samsung "all things to all people strategy" with different devices for various customer needs. Samsung produces a bewildering range of devices-- hardly a week passes without news of a new Samsung smartphone or tablet-- explaining how it leads the smartphone market and is taking over at least some iPad tablet share.

The current crop of Android flagships from the likes of Samsung, LG, Google and Sony clocks at around 4.7-inch in size, even if Samsung and LG also offer "mini" versions of more popular oversized devices.

"In the long run, we will see touch screens in all sizes as the future vision of the technology industry is to offer the same user experience across all screens," IDC tells the WSJ. "The key is to bring down the cost and introduce compelling applications for large-screen devices."

Go Apple Tests Larger Screens for iPhones, iPads (WSJ.com)

Go Apple iPad Maxi to be Released Next Year (ETNews)

Go Apple Looking at Bigger iPhone Screens, Multple Colours (Reuters)