Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone design: Original thru 6- Which is your fav?
- Thread starter indychris
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Black iPhone 5. Never owned one, but even though I love the design of the 6+ Gold,
just that black is darn sexy.
Usage history: 3GS, 4, 5S, 6+
Usage history: 3GS, 4, 5S, 6+
I actually just got the iPhone 2g, 3g and 4 (and I have the 5s) and I would say that they are all great, but the 4 and 5s are my favorites!!
I missed the original iPhone design all the way until the 5/5S. While that style was originally derived for the 4, I think the 5 with the taller phone shape and the metal back really made it shine. I would frequently rock my 5S without a case because I loved the look of it so damn much. The 6+ I couldn't wait to get a good case on it, something about it doesn't work for me (even though the design looks closest of all the iPhones to the original iPhone, but not close enough).
Heck, I almost considered keeping my 5S after I upgraded for sentimental value, but ultimately money won out.
Maybe in a few years when the 5S is considered ancient tech I'll buy one used just to have it around. Or maybe the 7 or 8 series will bring back that design on a larger phone.
By far my least favorite was the 3G/3GS. They always looked cheap to me.
Heck, I almost considered keeping my 5S after I upgraded for sentimental value, but ultimately money won out.
Maybe in a few years when the 5S is considered ancient tech I'll buy one used just to have it around. Or maybe the 7 or 8 series will bring back that design on a larger phone.
By far my least favorite was the 3G/3GS. They always looked cheap to me.
Still using my 4S, until it dies!!!!
Just feels right.
Played with the 6 & 6+ and they just don't do it for me at all.
Maybe I'll retrofit new tech into my 4S.. ha
Just feels right.
Played with the 6 & 6+ and they just don't do it for me at all.
Maybe I'll retrofit new tech into my 4S.. ha
The 6/Plus design I had a lot of misgivings about, but it's grown on me to the point where style and appearance-wise, it's won me over and become my favorite. It looks and feels to me like a fitting evolution of the original design, which was my favorite (and now my second favorite).
The 5/5s design was all right, though the glass panels on the back always seem to me like they didn't fit in well, visually. I understand why they had to be there, but that was clearly the only reason they were there... they HAD to be, and Apple just tried their best to make them look as pretty as possible under the circumstances.
The 5c: It's a plastic design I actually thought felt really good in the hand and was solid in principle. The colors though... yuck. Maybe in non-pastels, or a black version would've been nice.
The 4/4S: Meh. I remember looking at the pictures of the Gizmodo leaked iPhone 4 and thinking "no way is THAT the next iPhone." The whole sandwiching two pieces of glass between metal look resulted in lots of discontinuous ridges, and felt rushed and unfinished to me. That was one phone you just HAD to put a case on, and I'm just not a case guy.
iPhone 3/3GS: Ugh, no. Only reason I got one was because I couldn't stand being on EDGE anymore.
The 5/5s design was all right, though the glass panels on the back always seem to me like they didn't fit in well, visually. I understand why they had to be there, but that was clearly the only reason they were there... they HAD to be, and Apple just tried their best to make them look as pretty as possible under the circumstances.
The 5c: It's a plastic design I actually thought felt really good in the hand and was solid in principle. The colors though... yuck. Maybe in non-pastels, or a black version would've been nice.
The 4/4S: Meh. I remember looking at the pictures of the Gizmodo leaked iPhone 4 and thinking "no way is THAT the next iPhone." The whole sandwiching two pieces of glass between metal look resulted in lots of discontinuous ridges, and felt rushed and unfinished to me. That was one phone you just HAD to put a case on, and I'm just not a case guy.
iPhone 3/3GS: Ugh, no. Only reason I got one was because I couldn't stand being on EDGE anymore.
I'm starting to dislike the gold iPhone 5s more and more realizing it is more feminine to me. Champagne gold and white looks better next to designer handbags of the same color. I once named it the best-looking iPhone and like the Apple engineers, refer to it now as the Kim Kardashian iPhone. That color scheme appeals to women better.
I agree with the OP, the BLACK iPhone 4/4s design is my favorite although a glass rear is not practical for real world abuse. I like that it was NOT dual colored and the Apple logo was underneath the glass. By pure aesthetics, it seems the best to me followed by the chunkier original iPhone. Even years later, other companies like LG, Sony, Huawei, and Gionee have tried to emulate that all-glass design except Apple still did it better.
1. iPhone 4/4s
2. iPhone
3. iPhone 5/5s
4. iPhone 6/6 Plus
5. iPhone 3G/3Gs
6. iPhone 5c
OT (for Nexus fans)
1. Nexus One
2. Nexus 4
3. Galaxy Nexus
4. Nexus 5
5. Nexus S
I agree with the OP, the BLACK iPhone 4/4s design is my favorite although a glass rear is not practical for real world abuse. I like that it was NOT dual colored and the Apple logo was underneath the glass. By pure aesthetics, it seems the best to me followed by the chunkier original iPhone. Even years later, other companies like LG, Sony, Huawei, and Gionee have tried to emulate that all-glass design except Apple still did it better.
1. iPhone 4/4s
2. iPhone
3. iPhone 5/5s
4. iPhone 6/6 Plus
5. iPhone 3G/3Gs
6. iPhone 5c
OT (for Nexus fans)
1. Nexus One
2. Nexus 4
3. Galaxy Nexus
4. Nexus 5
5. Nexus S
4s. I wish apple would have kept hat design and just improved hardware and maybe screensize with every new iphone generation.
iPhone 6. While each were great in their time, you look back and the designs are just dated to today's standards. In their time, they have all been the best.
Last edited:
In all honesty I prefer the design of the original iphone above all else. The black front and silver back just fit and because of its weight it really feels like a premium device.
It is the only iphone I never sold because I just love the design so much.
It is the only iphone I never sold because I just love the design so much.
The 4/4s is the best design. Oozed quality and the weight of it made you feel it was worth the money. The "Stainless Steel Sandwich" design hasn't been topped yet.
iPhone 5s is the best OR Why iPhone 6/6+ vs iPhone 5s strength is in question?
Structural design is the main issue for 6 buyers - for the following reasons:
1. Very thin design
2. Oblong or very long oval buttons - like Androids!
3. Ring/Silent button along side the volume buttons - adding to the large cuts made on that side of the phone's main skeleton.
Like how it is difficult to break ten pencils at one attempt vs one at a time, the thickness matters - even a steel credit card is easily bent. That thickness between the 5 and 6 models is significant - not just to normal users, but to mischief-mongers who deliberately bend the phone.
The long oblong cuts in the side of the 6's main structural element are two PLUS the Ring/Silent button - in a row! So, no matter how strong the material - and this is not made of diamond - that defect in the foundation of the phone makes it vulnerable unlike the 5s series! The "defects" in the 5 series are holes punched in the center of the frame - the ratio is enormously different!
Why is Apple trying to look like a Samsung or the rest of the crowd?
Why did the engineers not spot this? Or, if they did, were they ignored by this quest for thinness?
Why did Apple move the On/Off button? It is rarely/never used while the fingers are busy reaching for the icons at the extreme range!
All of this, plus the marginal improvement in the A8 chips, NFC aside, makes the iPhone 6 an inferior line of product from Apple!
Yes, the screen size needed to be larger to compete with the market; did that need all these compromises?
Why not a 6 series phone with the same dimensions as the 5 series? Add 3 to 7 mm in screen size to denote a "newer", "better" model - not all this engineering troughs!
Any bets the 6s series is going to change? A9 maybe!
But, a thicker (as in the 5 series) phone would've given room for a better battery!
Nothing wrong with the OS - this is all about the body, not the mind!
Thumbs down for the first time for an Apple phone model to newer model ever!
Structural design is the main issue for 6 buyers - for the following reasons:
1. Very thin design
2. Oblong or very long oval buttons - like Androids!
3. Ring/Silent button along side the volume buttons - adding to the large cuts made on that side of the phone's main skeleton.
Like how it is difficult to break ten pencils at one attempt vs one at a time, the thickness matters - even a steel credit card is easily bent. That thickness between the 5 and 6 models is significant - not just to normal users, but to mischief-mongers who deliberately bend the phone.
The long oblong cuts in the side of the 6's main structural element are two PLUS the Ring/Silent button - in a row! So, no matter how strong the material - and this is not made of diamond - that defect in the foundation of the phone makes it vulnerable unlike the 5s series! The "defects" in the 5 series are holes punched in the center of the frame - the ratio is enormously different!
Why is Apple trying to look like a Samsung or the rest of the crowd?
Why did the engineers not spot this? Or, if they did, were they ignored by this quest for thinness?
Why did Apple move the On/Off button? It is rarely/never used while the fingers are busy reaching for the icons at the extreme range!
All of this, plus the marginal improvement in the A8 chips, NFC aside, makes the iPhone 6 an inferior line of product from Apple!
Yes, the screen size needed to be larger to compete with the market; did that need all these compromises?
Why not a 6 series phone with the same dimensions as the 5 series? Add 3 to 7 mm in screen size to denote a "newer", "better" model - not all this engineering troughs!
Any bets the 6s series is going to change? A9 maybe!
But, a thicker (as in the 5 series) phone would've given room for a better battery!
Nothing wrong with the OS - this is all about the body, not the mind!
Thumbs down for the first time for an Apple phone model to newer model ever!
Last edited:
The 6 series is my favorite followed by the 4 series and the 1. The worst in my opinion are the 3 series and the 5 series.
My personal ranking of iPhone designs:
1. 4/4S - I don't think any other iPhone has caused such an uproar upon its announcement since the original 4. Steve Jobs compared it to an "old school Leica", and in many ways, the 4 lived up to that description. There was nothing else like it on the market, and it's still the most solid feeling iPhone that I would have no problem sitting on (not that I'd ever put any phone in my back pocket).
2. 6 - after my initial disgust at the protruding camera and massive antenna bars, this is quickly becoming one of my favourite iPhone designs of all time. It takes the iPad mini and iPad Air design philosophy and removes the dreadful chrome bezel that gets scratched really easily and replaces it with curved glass.
3. 2G - great design for its time that blew consumers away. It was sleek, simple, understated, but with a premium feel.
4. 3G/3GS - the 3GS was actually my first iPhone, because it was the one on the market at that time. But I've never been a fan of Apple's plastic-wrapped products. But it did look really good in the OtterBox Commuter case.
5. 5/5S - definitely my least favourite iPhone design. Not only was it very similar to the 4/4S in shape, but it was a step backwards in many ways. The metal case scratched easily, and it was too light for its size. This was the first time I skipped an entire generation of iPhones.
1. 4/4S - I don't think any other iPhone has caused such an uproar upon its announcement since the original 4. Steve Jobs compared it to an "old school Leica", and in many ways, the 4 lived up to that description. There was nothing else like it on the market, and it's still the most solid feeling iPhone that I would have no problem sitting on (not that I'd ever put any phone in my back pocket).
2. 6 - after my initial disgust at the protruding camera and massive antenna bars, this is quickly becoming one of my favourite iPhone designs of all time. It takes the iPad mini and iPad Air design philosophy and removes the dreadful chrome bezel that gets scratched really easily and replaces it with curved glass.
3. 2G - great design for its time that blew consumers away. It was sleek, simple, understated, but with a premium feel.
4. 3G/3GS - the 3GS was actually my first iPhone, because it was the one on the market at that time. But I've never been a fan of Apple's plastic-wrapped products. But it did look really good in the OtterBox Commuter case.
5. 5/5S - definitely my least favourite iPhone design. Not only was it very similar to the 4/4S in shape, but it was a step backwards in many ways. The metal case scratched easily, and it was too light for its size. This was the first time I skipped an entire generation of iPhones.
I'm going to go with the 6/6 Plus design. Why? Because having larger volume buttons = win.
Also, whereas every other iPhone looks exactly the same from the front (minus TouchID and the larger screen on the 5/5s), the curved edge of the glass on the 6/6 Plus is just so, so gorgeous.
original iphone.
aluminium back, chrome trim on the stainless steel bezel.
best.
then the 4s next.
the 6 is great but i feel like it's so fragile.
it feels like the 3Gs, which would crack and deform after a year - clearly a phone designed to last just up until apple care expires.
having said that.... iphone 6 user here.
aluminium back, chrome trim on the stainless steel bezel.
best.
then the 4s next.
the 6 is great but i feel like it's so fragile.
it feels like the 3Gs, which would crack and deform after a year - clearly a phone designed to last just up until apple care expires.
having said that.... iphone 6 user here.
There's something fragile about the 6/6 Plus? I've had one since launch day and it's just as strong as my previous iPhones and iPads. Doesn't strike me as fragile at all. Quite the opposite, actually.