“Earlier today, we posted the first image of the back plate for the next-generation iPhone, and now we have received several more images that are very high-resolution,” Mark Gurman reports for 9to5Mac. “These new shots showcase a comparison between the black and white versions of the next-generation iPhone back. The black and white coloring is, of course, a trim, and a large portion of the back – as you can see – is made out of metal. We are unsure at this point what purpose this metal serves (or if it is just a stylistic addition), but the metal is definitely present in all of our photos of the device’s back.”

“From a production standpoint, it appears that the metal antenna band is molded into the metal backplates. We assume this is Apple’s way of creating a unibody enclosure for mobile devices. Apple introduced unibody notebooks in late 2008, and the purpose of the unibody is to allow Apple to produce thinner and lighter, yet stronger, devices,” Gurman reports. “Now that most of the phone’s external elements are one piece, Apple is likely able to squeeze more into the iPhone internally. Apple needs all the space they can get with their plans of producing LTE smartphones with proper battery life.”

iPhone (2012) metal back photo

More info and photos in the full article here.