RUMOR: Apple’s iPhone 5 panel size to be under 4-in.; feature metal back, not glass

According to sources from touchscreen display suppliers, Apple’s iPhone 5’s display size will be less than 4-inches, despite rumors about the Apple device featuring a 4.2-inch panel, DigiTimes reports.

“iPhone 5 will adopt a 3.5- to 3.7-inch panel with a design to allow the bezel of the panel to become thinner and make the screen look larger,” Yenting Chen and Joseph Tsai report for DigiTimes.

In addition, the iPhone’s back design is expected to be a metal chassis instead of the current reinforced glass back.

Read more in the full article here.
 

49 Comments

  1. This time around, Apple’s been VERY good with misdirection. The information they’ve been flooding the rumor sites with mean that no one wil REALLY know until it’s released.

  2. It will be the 3.5-inch “Retina Display” that was introduced in 2010 for the great iPhone 4. Apple is not going to change the display specs after just one generation.

    Making the rest of the iPhone “tighter” around that same display is a good move. I hope that part is true.

    1. The U.S. is smart to keep its measurement system that has evolved over hundreds of years to be useful for real world measurement applications. The metric system was devised by a bunch of intellectuals, who never had to actually measure anything out in the real world.

        1. -1

          The number divides evenly by 2, 3, 4, and 6. The number 10 divides evenly by 2 and 5. Have you ever tried to build anything using the metric system? The decimal based measuring system is completely arbitrary and impractical.

        2. >Have you ever tried to build anything using the metric system?

          It’s just WORLDWIDE, by EVERYONE who builds anything. Every day, every second. EVERY engineer uses them. Well except the one from the NASA who destroyed a satellite by using the imperial system.

          Metric units ALWAYS devide by 10. Just one number, not 5 or 6 different one where you have to remember which one to use, without having to use a calculator when using large numbers.

          1234 km = 1234000 m. See? It’s that dead simple. No calculator or hard thinking required. Just add three 0 at the and (=multiply by 1000). The numbers themselves don’t change a bit.

        3. Amen. And speaking as someone who has used tools everyday for decades, ken’s statement makes no sense. I’m afraid ken has never picked up a tape measure or electrician’s wooden ruler. All my measurements have been in the “real world”! And they’re accurate! Many moons ago when I was in school the metric system was struggling to take hold in the US. It should be up and running by now. It’s common sense to go metric. Ken ; you are clueless.

        4. You got it. The Imperial system is truly ridiculous. I have been doing construction and remodeling projects and equipment repair for 40 years. I own hundreds of metric and “inch”
          tools. Quick: what is 11/16ths times 2? What about 16mm times 2? What are the four wrench sizes larger than 1/2 inch? And larger than 13mm? The only reason it is difficult to build in the metric system is because materials such as wood are supplied in Imperial sizes — or, worse yet, nominal sizes, wherein a “2 by 4” is 1.5 by 3.5 inches. Nothing short of absurd.

        5. Mmmm…
          I came up with the answers as I read your “reply”
          twice 11/16’s is 22/16’s or 11/8ths, whichever way you want to do it (half of 11/16’s is 11/32’s BTW)
          The wrench sizes is arbitrary depending on what set you have (some are gradated to 1/64″)
          Your lack of knowledge about lumber sizing is appalling (for someone who presents such a strong condemnations)

        6. LOL. What I said is absolutely true… The metric system was “invented,” as an intellectual exercise, not through practical use. Then it was forced on populations (who were just fine measuring things as they had been for centuries) by governments. Thankfully, in the U.S., the people who actually need to measure things in the real world had more say on the matter and resisted such change for the sake of change.

          (Another intellectual exercise was in language. A fake language called “Esperanto” was invented to replace natural languages that evolved over centuries. That exercised failed to take hold, probably because lazy politicians did not want to be inconvenienced and learn something new themselves.)

          The base unit for distance, “meter,” was originally meant to be a clean intellectually satisfying fraction of a dimension of the Earth. That’s why the distance (on surface of Earth) from pole to pole is very close to 20,000 km. Thankfully, a meter is close to a yard, so it is useful. But every other unit is a 10th of or 10x that base unit, and in every day use, they are arbitrary and not as useful. An inch is what it is because that length was deemed useful through use, not because it happens to be 1/100th of a meter, which is a centimeter (and a tad too small). 12 inches is a foot, because that length was deemed useful through use. 12 is also a number that can be divided evenly by 2, 3, and 4 (and 6), which is a useful thing. 10 can be divided evenly only by 2 (and 5); not as useful. And decimeter (one tenth of a meter) is hardly ever used as a unit of measure, mostly useless.

          A nautical mile is what it is because that distance was deemed useful through use (in navigation). A kilometer is just arbitrarily 1000 meters. Is it any wonder that nautical mile is still used as the INTERNATIONAL standard for navigation and aviation, not km… Why? Because it is more useful.

          When cooking, I’d rather follow a recipe that measures things in teaspoons, tablespoons, and cups, NOT milliliters. Is it any wonder that in countries that use metric, there are kitchen measurement “scoops” that just happen to be about the size of a teaspoon, tablespoon, and cup. Why? Because they are more useful.

          One area where metric measurements are more useful is in realm of the VERY small, precisely because it based on 10 (there is another unit of measure that is one-tenth), and you want to measure things to many decimal places of accuracy (instead of using factions).

      1. Tea-party moron without a grab of facts or reality. The metric system is based on the decimal system invented in China and India THOUSANDS of years ago. Imperial measurements fo NOT make sense. It’s chaos. Just bullshit. The NASA lost a valuable satellite due to the idiocy of the imperial measurement units. AND : the metric units are rooted in the measurable nature and scientific facts, not some redneck who declared some random distance as a feet ’cause his foot had that (random) length. Or an inch cause his thumb had that length. Or a yard ’cause he was able to make a step that length. Doesn’t make sense and makes it impossible to directly compare measurements. The US is STUPID beyond grasp to keep that lunatic system.

        Intellectuals > rednecks so called real world.

    2. Too EXPENSIVE. Every mile (in some cases every 1/2 mile) is marked on our interstate highway system. And thats just one aspect. Never mind all the products and measurement devices in use. Never gonna happen.

      1. You don’t have to go out and switch every road sign on day 1. Replace them through attrition in combination with a long term plan. Use SI units for new construction.

        A journey of a thousand miles (~1609.3 km) begins with a single step. The problem is, no one wants to take that first step.

        1. LOL…. You have seen US drivers? They put roundabouts in our little town and I see people on weekly basis trying to go the wrong way. I can’t wait to see some roads with mph and others with kph or km and miles signs. It would be great!

        2. If people can’t use a roundabout, it’s out of laziness more than stupidity. And for the record, I love roundabouts. The only thing I dont love is anticipating other drivers not having a clue of how to use them.

          To be fair, you cant single out a roundabout. People have a hard time understanding basic driving concepts that have been around for decades, like, the left lane is the fast lane, and accelerate when using an on-ramp, dont slow down. And people clearly dont pay attention to signs anyway.

          There should be regular PSAs on television throughout the US educating drivers on things they were never taught to begin with.

        3. If they do institute “Driver’s Ed” PSA’s, I hope they include PSA’s to debunk the custom to avoid using one’s headlights until it is absolutely dark or the habit of neglecting to use turn signals until after slowing down and the turning maneuver has already commenced.
          Do the drivers think they are extending the lifespan of their battery?

    3. We have the imperial measurement system. England, india, Japan, etc. drive on the left side of the road. Nepal’s flag has that funky, two stacked triangle shape. Russia uses the Cyrillic
      Alphabet. Hebrew and Arabic are written from right to left.

      Get over your “our way is thr right way” mentality and celebrate true diversity.

      1. That comparison doesn’t make any sense. There is SCIENTIFIC REASONS why the metric system is better, it’s not a cultural question!

        How can you defend a system on which the 100 degree temperature was determined by the body temperature of a sick person, instead of the water boiling point?

    4. From an engineering standpoint, SI units rule! BTU/ft2 is a lousy set of units, for example.

      In many ways, the U.S. has adopted SI – there has been a proliferation of metric fasteners in automobiles and other hardware, many store goods have units expressed in grams, milligrams, liters, etc.

      Unfortunately, we continue to use legacy imperial measurements in too many areas. The switch supposedly started 40 years ago, but few people were listening and fewer people seem to care.

  3. @kingmel,
    Some of us DO care, and want to keep the Imperial measures. It makes a LOT more sense for non-engineers, and there are a lot more of us than there are of you.
    😉

    1. Imperial Units make NEVER sense. You are used to them, but they do NOT make sense.
      1 mile = 1760 yards = 5280 feet = 63260 Inches. Does that make sense? No.
      1 barrel = 42 gallons = 168 quarts = 336 pints = 5376 Fluid Ounces. Does that make any sense? No.

      1km = 1000 m
      1 m = 100 cm
      1 cm = 10 mm

      Does that make sense? Yes, it does. Very much. And it’s easier. In PARTICULAR for non-engineers.

    2. Imperial ONLY makes sense MAYBE for short length measurements. I can sort of buy the “divide by 2, 4 6, 8, 12” excuse for construction.

      But 3ft -> yard, ?? yards to a mile, 16 ounces to a pound, ?? FLUID ounces to a gallon, etc–tell me how that makes sense in today’s world? Especially in a country where the general public thinks math is too hard and students don’t see the value in learning it?

    3. BTW, the Brits used to have non-decimal pound-pence-shilling currency, but saw the light and switched to a decimal-based pound long after the US (wisely) started to use decimal-based dollars. So why hold on to your colonial past for measurements? 😛

  4. Here in Latinamerica (about some 30 countries, with 700 million people) we have been using the metric system since the colonial age, and are very happy with it. The Metric measurments system is set in round numbers. Easy non-confusing numerical system. Whilst the Imperial System its a nightmare to follow… 32″ to the foot, with 3 feet within a Yard, which in turn measures the ackward number of 91 centimeters, a mile with 1.608 meters… to make things short: a numeric nightmare.

    However, I agree with the guy that celebrates diversity. And by the way… stop thinking the US is an island and outside of its borders everything is a bleak grey zone. Its an egocentric way of thinking which diminishes the rest of the world.

    Cheers.

    1. Yes Alberto, the metric system is the obvious choice for most of the world but that’s not why it should be our choice. It’s because the metric system is the logical choice. It’s because the metric system is the easiest to use. But your celebration of diversity is misguided in this topic. It has nothing to do with the measurement system. Your attempt to introduce your liberal agenda into a technical topic is funny. And Albero, we as Americans actually don’t need you lecturing us on how to view the world. As you have noticed the USA has done quite nicely without financial or military support from “Latinamerica” for the last couple of centuries! I haven’t noticed a coup occurring every few years here in this “island
      ” of America. Last time I checked Alberto we have millions of your countrymen in our “island” and most are illegal aliens draining our economy. Just travel here to the Los Angeles area and see for yourself! So please don’t preach diversity to people living in the most diverse and generous country in the world. Stay on topic Alberto.

      1. Most Latin Americans are illegals who drain? Which that statement is true for MANY illegals who come to this country including Eastern Europeans, Russians, Persians, Armenians (which you are probably to dumb to point out), and yes – Mexico, Central America, etc., don’t attack him because of his name or where he lives by that ignorant trash statement.
        Freaking Redneck trailer park Joe Dirt lover.

        1. Hey dumb ass! He did the disrespecting. Read his post. Yeah, show me how many illegal aliens are from Europe. Maybe millions from Canada too? Right? Attack him because of his name? Where? I simply pointed out, without the venom you use, that Americans are doing quite nicely without his criticism. Read my post. Redneck? So you can see me? What color am I? Wow, you are a dope.

  5. To be honest I think when you get to a 4″ screen it just becomes too large. Phones stop fitting in lots of pockets, it becomes harder to hold, it’s just not something I like. I’d much rather it stay the same, or very slightly larger, size with the ‘padding’ becoming smaller.

  6. If we would just convert from our base-10 system to base-7, our calendar would become ever so much more intuitive!

    Or from base-10 to base 365.25. That would make our lives so much easier!

  7. I just love it! Tea Party bashing here now? Lame! The tea party is about common sense reform, fiscal responsibility and keeping government out of our lives! Left wing elitists want to push God under the rug and collect taxpayer checks to subsidize the pot, alcohol and cigarettes. Sad! Anyhow, I’m hoping for a bigger screen. Small screen is hard on the eyes!

    1. Really? The rest of the world (you know, those chaps pissed of at you for electing a retarded oil addict and blowing up the global economy for 8 years) sees the Tea Party as a bunch of extremist morons who try to deceive the working class into thinking it’s okay to the rich people to get even richer while they hope for something to trickle down…

    2. 1. The tea-party is a bunch of lunatic morons. Full stop. Period. No exception. No excuse.

      2. There is no “god”. Nothing to puhs under the rug.
      Get over that fairytale. It’s an invention to control and extort the masses. Nothing else.

      3. The tea-party mental home inhabitans have NOTHING to do with common sense, they are right-wing christian extremists and the equivalent to the Taliban. Seriously. Should Bachmann or any other of her dipshit colleagues become president…. mighty flying spaghetti monster help us all. The world will be screwed (even more wars and nuclear weapons at the disposals of brain dead people) and dark ages of ignorance, intolerance and social injustice will begin. Whoever follows that scarecrow Bachmann or Perry must have lost their logic mind or never had one. And never had a heart.

  8. TO GET BACK ON TOPIC…
    this whole metal back thing just sounds bogus. As above, the iPhone 1 had a metal back, which totally compromised the cell performance, so unless Apple has discovered a way to make a metal totally transparent to radio transmissions then this isn’t going to fly. Perhaps Liquid Metal is transparent, and they’re using that, but I really doubt it, especially after the ‘antennagate’ fiasco, which some people are STILL whining about. There’s nothing wrong with the 4’s form factor; it feels good and solid in the hand, and the glass is tough enough unless you’re really clumsy or stupid.

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