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The iPhone 6

  • Antenna Bands Look Really Bad

    Votes: 90 39.0%
  • Antenna Bands Look Good

    Votes: 141 61.0%

  • Total voters
    231

Konvictz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 25, 2014
182
111
People were quick to brush off this issue saying we are going to love it after it comes out.

No.

Pretty much every person who reviews the iphone 6 mentions it saying it just does not look pleasing.

Design is important for me. And now thats it out and im holding it, it just looks horrible. The lines are thick, and gives a toy like look, very amateurish. Me and many many others have voiced concerns.

It just looks tacky. No other apple product has this kind of uneven incoherent design. In fact most apple products have this plain, simplistic minimalistic design where as these iphones we have now have a busy design, the look seems interrupted and broken.

The lines suggest a deformation and lack of consistency. Seriously what were they thinking? It is otherwise a very sleek and well built (the bending issue aside because I consider that an anomaly, a minor initial production issue which will certainly be fixed).

Before anyone says but we need the technology. Of course we need the bands for all the wireless specifications. But other phones have similar features but dont look that bad from the back, just look:

Photo-Sep-09.jpeg


512hKrIBWvL._SL1500_.jpg


samsung-galaxy-note-3-leather-back.png


Xperia-Z3-Back.jpg
 

wxman2003

Suspended
Apr 12, 2011
2,580
294
You can hide the antenna inside the case when the back is made out of plastic like the Samsung and Sony. You cant hide it when you use an aluminum body, unless you want them to run the antenna around the sides again.
 

Altimax98

macrumors 6502
Mar 26, 2012
302
69
Lakeland Fl
Yeah Samsung has plastic backs to allow for reception and Sony utilizes glass backs similar to the iPhone 4's.

That being said, no the back does not look fantastic. Could it be better? Of course. Is it this horrible thing that cannot be overlooked?

No.
 

spillproof

macrumors 68020
Jun 4, 2009
2,028
2
USA
I agree that the bands look ugly on the 6. The glass separations on the 5 looked better.

I think the bands look good on the HTC One, though. It is a great phone to hold and use.
 

Cool Pup

macrumors 6502a
Jun 18, 2010
724
115
Dallas, TX
Where's the "I don't really care" option? They don't really add nor reduce the design and Apple was smart to make it at least blend in a little.
 

KenAFSPC

macrumors 6502a
Sep 12, 2012
626
26
I agree that the bands look ugly on the 6. The glass separations on the 5 looked better.
Different strokes for different folks.

Being an engineer, I didn't care for the glass back. The glass back on the iPhone 5/5S was a cheap way (from an engineering perspective) to incorporate a metal back while providing a means to pass cellular and wifi radio signals. Apple couldn't figure how out to achieve adequate cellular and wifi reception with an all metal back, so it tore off large pieces of the metal back and replaced them with large glass windows. Somehow, Apple convinced most folks that this kludge was desirable.

That's not to say the iPhone 6 design is perfect. Far from it. But I prefer the bands on the space gray iphone to the large glass windows on the 5/5S. The bands on the gold iPhone 6 are more distracting. Either way, you never see them with a case.

I think the bands look good on the HTC One, though. It is a great phone to hold and use.
I too prefer the bands on the HTC One, but it is not an apples to apples comparison, because the HTC One doesn't have comparable radio capabilities.
 
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kerrikins

macrumors 65816
Sep 22, 2012
1,242
530
Honestly, I don't mind them. They're actually a trivial part of the design for me because they're on the back, they're useful, and I put a case on my phone.

That said, I do think that the design on the gold should have been better, I got the gold 5S last year but this year I was disappointed in the design. The space grey is the one that looks the best with the current design.
 

1968

macrumors regular
Sep 15, 2014
104
3
Why can't people just express their opinion without creating a corny loaded poll for every minute aspect of the iPhone? This forum is ludicrous. A poll? Seriously?
 

McPc

macrumors 6502
Sep 30, 2012
352
17
CA
I also really don't mind the look of the HYC though I saw those old prototypes from Mac 5 to 9 Pics that showed black lines and I don't think they looked good with the space gray.

images


Using a case now anyway so I no longer have to look at them.
 

dkh587

macrumors regular
Jan 29, 2009
241
76
The antenna bands don't bother me like I thought they would. I barely notice them. They are very subtle on the space grey 6+. I don't mind them #
 

Konvictz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 25, 2014
182
111
The thing is, obviously here most people LOVE apple and go with anything they release.

But in other places, like say discussions between me and my friends, even reviewers on youtube, people are always commenting on the bands and how bad it looks because it looks bad, they are thick and no other phones have them and no other apple product has them.

The other thing people are making a deal about is the camera sticking out. I didnt think it was going to be an issue at the start but after seeing the iphone for real, I must say it is a little rough, when you are holding your phone and your hands catch that back area, it does feel rather odd, especially because it is round and small - but i dont mind it as much as the antenna lines.
 

FuzzMunky

macrumors regular
Jul 7, 2007
213
159
I hated the design originally, with the bands. I thought I would always feel sore about them, but I have already gotten used to them. I still wouldn't say they are GREAT design, or in any way close to the aesthetic quality of the rest of the phone, but I definitely am not bothered (in an OCD sense) by them as much as I thought i would be. Or maybe up close they don't actually appear as bad as in the 2D / flat photos, where the top surround of silver is fully visible above the bands? In real life use and in closeup, those surrounds are obscured by the corners from almost all angles. I think it's a combination of things, also including the fact that when you use the phone you rarely look at the back as much as you do when thinking about purchasing. Maybe also I realised that my passions are better spent elsewhere.
 

Macshroomer

macrumors 65816
Dec 6, 2009
1,301
730
A military aircraft will have functional cosmetic attributes that may be off putting to one who would otherwise order a Gulfstream G6.

I don't mind seeing things that have a specific purpose. In fact, I think the entire case should be a PV cell, progress always looks better to me than vanity.
 
Last edited:

KenAFSPC

macrumors 6502a
Sep 12, 2012
626
26
The other thing people are making a deal about is the camera sticking out. I didnt think it was going to be an issue at the start but after seeing the iphone for real, I must say it is a little rough, when you are holding your phone and your hands catch that back area, it does feel rather odd, especially because it is round and small - but i dont mind it as much as the antenna lines.
This is one criticism I agree with. The bands have got to be there to support cellular and wifi in a metal back. However, the protruding camera is only there because Apple wanted to make the phone a few mm thinner.
 
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