Detailed Photo and Video Comparison of iPhone 4S and 'iPhone 5' Front Panels

[Aidyn's X]

I thought he was wearing them as to not damage the screen and then he starts scratching the hell out of it with his keys... So I am left wondering why the finger condoms to begin with?

Related to the actual thread: "The New iPhone"
Like the design (excited to see the finished product)

[Jimrod]

Originally Posted by *Calypso*

I'm getting used to the 16:9 screen ratio. The problem is that - compared to the Galaxy S3 and the HTC One X which also come with 16:9 - the iPhone is way too tall, because Apple somehow felt like keeping both a rather large home button and a top bezel that has the same height as the bottom one. In other words, while the 16:9 screen is not that bad by itself, not significantly reducing the top and bottom bezel make the iPhone look more like a longPhone. I am both surprised and shocked this design seems to have been approved by Jonathan Ive. On the other hand, the 11" MBA is similar design fail due to the 16:9 screen.

It's that reason I don't agree that this leak is the next iPhone, a prototype maybe but the ratio's, layout etc all very unlike Jony Ive designs. Apple love golden ratios and this stretched look just doesn't sit right and that's before you look at details of camera placement in glass bands on rear etc.

[ng-design]

I love Apple as much as the next fanboy, and I do plan on buying the new phone. But I had to laugh when I saw that we're measuring the holes of the casing now.

Really? It's come down to that? This isn't a new foreign species that we have to document every millimeter of. It's a larger phone, larger screen, and you get one more row for icons on the home screen. That's the news in a nutshell.

Having said that, I'm not sure why people keep complaining that Apple needs to do something "different" with the design of the phone. Why mess with perfection? The phone is thin and elegant with no wasted space. It only takes up the amount of material that is necessary to house the components, and nothing more. That's how it should be. There is no fancy beveling or textures like on other phones. No excessively rounded edges.

A smartphone should focus on the content on screen and the exterior should fade into the background. Apple has mastered that. So I don't know what else people expect. Shooting rainbows and unicorns?

[itsmemuffins]

Originally Posted by bad03xtreme

I just can't believe they didn't go for something like this...

Now this is a screen size that I think is a perfect solution, not too big not too small, even just a hair smaller like 4.3" would be alright but not this stretched out garbage were getting.

Image

That's why htc is a distant memory and the 4S is the best sellington phone.

[jonnysods]

Imagine if this whole thing was a controlled intense leak by Tim. Somehow I doubt it, but man it would be fun if it was.

[porky]

Originally Posted by eklof

How many different ways are there to do a rectangular design. The current design is more than sufficient. Now it seems there will be some other material choices. These constant "change for the sake of change" is ridiculous.

I used the Samsung Galaxy III from a friend, i like the design and screen a lot. It's also very thin. Except for the plastic back. But i stay with iOS.

[Rapscallion]

Who cares what the iPhone is called, if you like it buy it and use it.

[Torrijos]

I find it funny that people feel the design of an object should always be renewed every couple of year for no good reason whatsoever...

What if nobody has found a better design (the criteria being better for the user)?
If the perfect design ever comes up people should be OK with a bump in specs.
Design should be driven by usage not the other way around.


I mainly came to say the guy on the video FAILS at using a micrometer (particularly when taking the screen size measures).

[Zunjine]

Originally Posted by *Calypso*

I'm getting used to the 16:9 screen ratio. The problem is that - compared to the Galaxy S3 and the HTC One X which also come with 16:9 - the iPhone is way too tall, because Apple somehow felt like keeping both a rather large home button and a top bezel that has the same height as the bottom one. In other words, while the 16:9 screen is not that bad by itself, not significantly reducing the top and bottom bezel make the iPhone look more like a longPhone. I am both surprised and shocked this design seems to have been approved by Jonathan Ive. On the other hand, the 11" MBA is similar design fail due to the 16:9 screen.

I really don't get this view. I mean, don't you want to be able to use your phone with one hand? Don't you like being able to put your phone into your jeans pocket without feeling like there's a massive plate in your leg? I think "too small" is a very subjective idea. I like having a phone that's small and inconspicuous and, thanks to the great UI design in so many apps, still lets me do all the stuff I need to do.

On the question of the top and bottom bezel, I've seen mock ups where these are reduced and they look awful. The phone has no balance to it. Also, think of how you hold you phone. Pick up your iPhone, if you have one, and hold it in landscape mode up in front of your face, as if you were taking a video or playing a game with tilt controls. The bezel at either end of the screen allows you to do this without covering the screen with your thumbs or activating any buttons with accidental touches. It makes for a nice, secure grip. Take away these areas and maybe you can make the phone a centimetre shorter (you'd still need some space for the home button, speaker, camera and so on) but you'd lose both the aesthetic balance these areas give the phone and you'd lose that nice, comfy holding position in landscape mode.

Good design often appears strange at first - this is what happened with the 4 - but the quality shines through once you've used the item in question and it keeps feeling and looking great long after the flashier designs have started to look old fashioned.

[nfl46]

Originally Posted by itsmemuffins

That's why htc is a distant memory and the 4S is the best sellington phone.

Definitely not the case. If the iPhone had a large screen like that, it would still sell. Don't make it seem like just because the HTC screen is larger, thats why its not selling as well as the 4S.

But regardless, I'll take a 4" iPhone over a 3.5" iPhone. About time Apple comes to the 4" ballpark, even though every one else is moving towards 5".

[doelcm82]

Originally Posted by MsQueen

There was never an iPhone 5. Just like it went from 3G to 3GS then 4, it will go from 4 to 4S, then 5. It's not gonna skip 5, and go right to 6. And I highly doubt Apple will name this coming iPhone "the New iPhone."

Not the "New iPhone", but the new "iPhone". "New" will not be part of its name, any more than it is part of the name of the new iPad.

People will make fun of the name, thinking mistakenly that "New" is part of the name, but we'll make fun of those people for not being able to see that the "N" is not capitalized.

The box will say, simply,

iPhone

[macwoof]

ok... maybe Apple will sell the iFinger condoms to help prevent fingerprints & smudges on the new iPhone. well, this is one of the more interesting rumor sites I've seen....

[jmpnop]

Originally Posted by Torrijos

I find it funny that people feel the design of an object should always be renewed every couple of year for no good reason whatsoever...

What if nobody has found a better design (the criteria being better for the user)?
If the perfect design ever comes up people should be OK with a bump in specs.

They have the same design for 3 years now. They can definitely improve, if they don't it only means they're lazy

[Dinø]

So, it's only 17% bigger, not the 30% claimed by many others.

[MacFather]

Who wants taller 16:9 screens ?

[Defender2010]

I simply love how he whispers "iPhone 5" at 2:59. Unintended hilariousness!

[Reason077]

Originally Posted by AppleScruff1

So the new iPhone will look like an out of proportion long skinny version of the 4S?

I think the 4S looks short and stubby compared to the tall and sleek new iPhone. I almost can't bear to look at it any more. Can't wait for the new one!!

[nerdpov]

Originally Posted by MacFather

Who wants taller 16:9 screens ?

I do!

[Reason077]

Originally Posted by MacFather

Who wants taller 16:9 screens ?

Me!

[Zunjine]

Originally Posted by Avatar74

There's a "bigger is better" mentality that pervades the consumer space. But ironically if part of their design mantra was "oh we'll make the next one bigger" doesn't that mean that every previous model was never the right size to begin with? Size isn't really a deal breaker here. If you add one diagonal inch to the iPhone's screen, without increasing the PPI substantially, how much marginal improvement is there on the user experience? What does it take away from the compactness and fit in your hand, though?

It's clear that Apple has tested a lot of designs and what seems good at the time may not actually work out all that well when tested against a broad range of consumers. Larger size may also have engineering implications like tensile strength of the glass... how much thicker does the glass have to be? How much more cost will be added to the product? Are all those detriments going to be adequately offset by the marginal improvement in user experience?

Precisely. Design is always about trade offs and finding just the right balance between competing requirements. If you're talking about a home cinema then, sure, make the screen as big as you can fit on your wall! You don't have to worry about battery life and pocket size or whether or not people with average sized hands can easily reach the inputs on the screen. But this is a smartphone and all those items you mentioned do need to be considered. This new model looks to be a significant amount thinner and pack in a fairly good screen size increase without adding much to the footprint of the phone - that sounds like good design to me.

[madsci954]

As someone who works in a laboratory environment, I really don't see the advantage of these finger guards over regular latex gloves To me, these would be more of a hassle to put on and remove versus a glove that slips one easy and slips off.

[JoeMacDe]

Originally Posted by nastymrx

This website now start me puking!!
Every F%&/(O day there is some speculations on this $%&/() iThings

From today you have lost a user, *****ite!!!

Then good riddance.

[*Calypso*]

Originally Posted by itsmemuffins

That's why htc is a distant memory and the 4S is the best sellington phone.

For two reasons:

1) It's Apple - there are still many people out there who want an iPhone for the sole purpose of owning and showing of an iPhone, no matter how outdated the screen size is and how boring the design gets.

2) iOS. The HTC One X is a brilliant piece of hardware, the design is the best in the market in my opinion. Still, Android doesn't even come close to the super-intuitive, logic menu structure of iOS. Which is why a lot of people (including me) chose the 4S over HTC and Samsung phones.

[manu chao]

Originally Posted by Aidyn's X

I thought he was wearing them as to not damage the screen and then he starts scratching the hell out of it with his keys... So I am left wondering why the finger condoms to begin with?

Fingerprints. Who wants photos or videos of iPhones full of fingerprints?

[BornAgainApple]

They should have used a dark or black background for the scratch test. I just watched the video on my riPad and couldn't see the scratches on the i4S glass.