“Last month, we saw a leak of the design specification which claimed to be for the iPhone 5,” Arnold Kim reports for MacRumors.
“Chinese case manufacturers seem to be betting on that design as they’ve already started producing cases based on that design document,” Kim reports. “We’d even requested and received some early renders based on the case designs.”
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Kim reports, “Given how predictive the case designs have been in the past, we commissioned CiccareseDesign to create high quality renderings made as closely as possible to the original leaked case designs.”
More info and images in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Andrew W.” for the heads up.]
I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing…
I think this is a great thing…the reason: screen real-estate will make it easier for READING and for VIEWING WEB PAGES!!!!!!!!!
I hope this is it!!!!
I’ll bet those are uncannily close, maybe too close to Apple comfort.
The renderings are too asymmetric.
My opinion…those look horrible, but I am only one man.
well I’m only one man as well, but I have the strength and aesthetic acumen of six small Taiwanese hemaphrodites and I say…pretty cool looking!–like a tiny little iPad.
…remember when we first heard the term “iPad” and how it made you think of a feminine hygiene product? what happened to that? Oh wait, there it is over there in the corner with that stack of Nokia handsets.
+1
I’m not sure i’d 100% agree with all you said…. 😉
But I also like the design.
Too Funny!
It the protracted elongation holds true, it should make for a great landscape view in videos and photos.
I just don’t believe it. Unless Apple have managed to develop some radical new materials technology, how have they managed to bypass the antenna issues caused by having a one-piece alloy back like the very first iPhone, which made Apple go to plastic for the 3G/3Gs, which had it’s own fragility issues. The current version is by far the best compromise for aesthetics, robustness and antenna efficiency. Making it that thin is also going to seriously compromise battery performance too, because the space available has been seriously reduced, and those rounded edges waste lots of space. I think what’s going on is confusion with the new Touch.
I could be wrong, but I sincerely hope not, because this would be a retrograde move, and Apple don’t do retrograde. If I am wrong, then I’m glad I’m not due an upgrade until June next year, so I’ll skip a generation.
“Apple doesn’t do retrograde”?! WhatTheTubesock!!!! does the term FCP X ring a bell?…………..no?………well then how ’bout Quasimodo?……………no?
What–no external antenna around the sides? How come?
/s
Antenna is an optional plug-in device. Of course you will need to buy 30-pin adapter.
wow.. scary thought!
The rendering might be very close. I think it looks sweet. It has the rounded edges and flat back that is very similar to the ipad2. More screen real estate, lighter, and thinner, are very apple like qualities.
The rendering looks a lot like the predictions that many of us made a long time ago. If you maintain the aspect ratio of the iPhone 4 display and stretch it diagonally from 3.5″ to 4″, it should just fit within the current dimensions of the iPhone 4, as shown. The pixel count won’t change, so the resolution will drop to ~276ppi or so, if I recall the math correctly.
I would love an iPod touch like this…
Apple will NOT increase the screen size without adding resolution.
Sure they would. They wouldn’t be difference wouldn’t be that significant and would keep Apple from having to introduce yet another size requirement for resources.
Yeah, cuz they’ve been in the habit of making things bigger for no good reason for years now. I don’t see them increasing the form factor just to compete on specs.
Plus, if the screen size difference isn’t that significant (though a 14% diagonal increase is) why even bother increasing it to begin with?
The DPI difference isn’t very significant, but the screen size would be. “No good reason” says you, but I think most people see the value of a larger iPhone. I’m not sure they would increase the size this time, but if they did, they wouldn’t increase the resolution as it would be a headache for developers.
I like it even without the metal.
Me thinks that Apple will continue to use the external antenna because it works and works like the MacBook Air as a support structure as well as efficient antenna design. Therefore, the overall design may appear like the illustrations but I am betting it will also incorporate the external antenna.
The edge to edge screen looks really slick.
I’m not sure this is it, but I like it.
I welcome the increase in screen size.
Uncomfortable to hold. Design fail.
Because you’ve held one. Okay.
Right?
…and with that jadies and lentlemen I hereby proclaim any use of the word “fail” as used in the above post, from this point on in perpetuity—-DOUCHEY!
I like the look of what’s rendered. It will be my first iPhone, and I’m looking forward to it. . . . I may even wait in line for one.
That’s the Samsung Galaxy R!
http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/10/samsung-galaxy-r-officially-announced-for-europe-and-asia-nobod/
Agreed. Those phone cases are accurate alright, just not for an Apple phone.
The top and bottom areas (beyond the screen surface) need to be equal in size. Those are the “handles” for the user when holding the iPhone horizontally. Every iPhone model has had vertical and horizontal symmetry for its overall shape and screen location.
Placement of other smaller details, such as cameras, buttons, and speakers are not symmetrical, obviously, but the overall look and feel of iPhone is “balanced” from left to right and top to bottom. I think that is an internal Apple “rule” for iPhone design that will continue.
good point.
Remember though these are renditions.
the Chinese could have easily copied down the specs wrong. the home button looks a bit big, but the rest looks good. shrink the home button a tad and like you said, balance the placement of the screen… and it’s good.
They were producing cases for the “iPhone mini” too. Apple intentionally “leaks” false information. These “renditions” are not any more valid than others we have already seen, or the speculation that iPhone 5 will look pretty much like iPhone 4, but with an A5 instead of an A4.
Nope
I like the new design. Back to the much superior iphone 3 styling. Why they ever thought that a glass square back was a good idea is beyond me. Good riddance iphone 4…
I like the iPhone 4….
I have a screen protector on the back as well as the front.
the iPhone 3 style was good, but the curved back was kinda odd.
This looks more in line with the iPad design, which also works.
I skipped both 3 phones, didn’t like the shape or the plastic. I love the 4, it feels like the phone equivalent of a Leica.
This design? When I see it in the flesh …
I don’t care. actually, what I mean is Apple. I don’t care whatever they do.
So, eloquently put.
Furthermore, then why on Earth would you waste the precious little time you have alive on this site…posting a worthless comment even?!
Troll.
my one thought on thinking this isn’t right is the power button. When has apple used anything but round? That detail alone is enough to make me think this isn’t a Jonny Ives product. Just my 2 cents…
Could the button become a swipable gesture area?
I thought the same thing.
You know the rumors that Apple was going to do away with the home “button” what if the home button was no longer a physical button anymore… but still there. heat/touch etc.
Why would they do that, though? Surely the only reason to get rid off the home button would be to either make the screen bigger or the phone smaller. I doubt they’d replace the home button with… a different type of home button.
These cases and design look more like an evolution of the iPod Touch and not the iPhone. A bigger screen and flatter backside profile combined with the new processor for gaming.
For the next iPhone I’m betting on a mild refresh using the same iPhone 4 form factor with updated (Processor, camera, dual band chip) internals and better battery life.
Just my $0.01.
What about Apple’s licensing of Liquidmetal technology about 2 years back? Anybody know if liquid metal is radio wave opaque or transparent? We know it’s stronger and lighter and more resistant to deformation and scratching….
On a scale of 1 to ugly, this design rates: Uglier than a Cun’s Nunt.
On the other hand, besides four fingers and a thumb, if you grip the large screen and are triggering the touch screen, this could be a new feature that Apple patented a year or so ago where the sides of the device would be responsive to touch. With a bit of slick programming, these touch areas would be ignored except when needed.
Why would Apple move the mute switch?
Soft button? One less thing to break.
I see button creep. Only a matter of decades before this starts looking like a blackberry.
Yeah, having the exact same number of buttons as every other version is definitely button creep.