A Closer Look at Apple's Next-Generation 'Unibody' iPhone Design

[5-325]

meh

Everyone thinks this new design is sexy but i dont get it, its very similar to the 4S which i already have. Its just taller and i wont see the back once i put it in a case.
Of course Im going to pre-order this new phone, but im not blown away by the awesome new design like i was going from the 3GS to the 4.

 

[2IS]

Everyone thinks this new design is sexy but i dont get it, its very similar to the 4S which i already have. Its just taller and i wont see the back once i put it in a case.
Of course Im going to pre-order this new phone, but im not blown away by the awesome new design like i was going from the 3GS to the 4.

Once you put it in a case all you see is the front glass. What would you have them change on the glass to make it significantly different than your phone guy?

If you use a case and want it to look different, get a different case. Out of the hundreds of replies here, this has got to be the most retarded.

 

[Zunjine]

See you back here sept 12

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How much more would titanium cost? That sounds much cooler. Stainless steel sounds like a towel rail and aluminium reminds me of a coke can

I did a quick web search and it seems steel costs about 650 USD per metric tonne while titanium costs 14,760 USD. That's a pretty significant difference. Also, titanium has different properties from those of steel. It's lighter and stronger but it's also got a far more dull finish and is far harder to work with.

I think stainless steel looks great. I always choose stainless steel watches over leather straps.

 

[Sedrick]

I should have been clearer that I'm talking about stainless steel unibody - which this phone appears to be.

I wasn't aware of that there have been other unibody phones, however. I'd be interested to see how they compare to the new iPhone when it comes out.

Trust me, it's not stainless steel. You can't anodize stainless like we're seeing in these images and you can't mill stainless like the inside of these cases have been milled.

It's aluminum and probably aircraft grade aluminum. Go check out a Mini-Mag flashlight at any hardware store for a preview of material and anodized finish. Hard as nails, gorgeous and very resistant to scratches.

 

[olowott]

I got love for this piece of sweet design

 

[aerok]

I did a quick web search and it seems steel costs about 650 USD per metric tonne while titanium costs 14,760 USD. That's a pretty significant difference. Also, titanium has different properties from those of steel. It's lighter and stronger but it's also got a far more dull finish and is far harder to work with.

I think stainless steel looks great. I always choose stainless steel watches over leather straps.

Screw aluminum, steel or titanium, we need diamond!

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Trust me, it's not stainless steel. You can't anodize stainless like we're seeing in these images and you can't mill stainless like the inside of these cases have been milled.

It's aluminum and probably aircraft grade aluminum. Go check out a Mini-Mag flashlight at any hardware store for a preview of material and anodized finish. Hard as nails, gorgeous and very resistant to scratches.

Certain here too that it's alumium, it's resistant enough to be used as a body, just check out the drop tests for HTC Legend, it's quite legendary! (No pun intented)

 

[macbookairman99]

Bring it on. My cash is ready.

If only my two-year contract with samsung was up

 

[Zunjine]

Trust me, it's not stainless steel. You can't anodize stainless like we're seeing in these images and you can't mill stainless like the inside of these cases have been milled.

It's aluminum and probably aircraft grade aluminum. Go check out a Mini-Mag flashlight at any hardware store for a preview of material and anodized finish. Hard as nails, gorgeous and very resistant to scratches.

There's one thing that Apple rarely misses on and that's the quality look and feel of their devices. You sound like you know your metals and I've no reason to doubt you, but whatever it ends up being made from I'm sure it will look great and be solid.

I wasn't ever a big fan of the 3G or 3GS designs. They lacked the quality feel of the original iPhone with the metal back. The 4 and 4S are among the most beautiful pieces of consumer electronics ever crafted and they feel wonderful in the hand. I expect this new iPhone will continue that tradition.

I wish we knew whether the black/white sections on the back were glass or plastic. I'm hoping for glass for the sake of that solid feel and the cool smoothness you only get from glass.

 

[aerok]

There's one thing that Apple rarely misses on and that's the quality look and feel of their devices. You sound like you know your metals and I've no reason to doubt you, but whatever it ends up being made from I'm sure it will look great and be solid.

I wasn't ever a big fan of the 3G or 3GS designs. They lacked the quality feel of the original iPhone with the metal back. The 4 and 4S are among the most beautiful pieces of consumer electronics ever crafted and they feel wonderful in the hand. I expect this new iPhone will continue that tradition.

I wish we knew whether the black/white sections on the back were glass or plastic. I'm hoping for glass for the sake of that solid feel and the cool smoothness you only get from glass.

But glass shatters! Polycarbonate plastic would be best in my opinion.

 

[2IS]

But glass shatters! Polycarbonate plastic would be best in my opinion.

And plastic scratches a lot easier. A bit of care will keep the glass from shattering, but it's close to impossible to prevent scratches on plastic.

 

[Xavier]

Tim Cook on Sept. 12th:

...One more thing...
*Pulls out new iPhone from pocket*
*Accidentally drops it*

"Look, it doesn't break anymore!"

 

[Zunjine]

Everyone thinks this new design is sexy but i dont get it, its very similar to the 4S which i already have. Its just taller and i wont see the back once i put it in a case.
Of course Im going to pre-order this new phone, but im not blown away by the awesome new design like i was going from the 3GS to the 4.

Is it "very similar to the 4S"? It's a different hight and thickness (taller and thinner respectively). The body is made from different materials. The band is now flush with the face and back. The camera is repositioned, as is the headphone jack. The speaker grills are redesigned, the dock connector is new and the screen is a different size and aspect ratio.

There is almost no aspect of this new iPhone that's the same as the last one aside from it being a rectangular shape with a flat back and rounded corners. The earpiece and physical buttons are in the same places but then why would you move them? They are where you ear and your fingers go! They could put all the buttons along the bottom edge and have the earpiece on the back but that would hardly make it a useful, or even usable phone!

What you are seeing as being "very similar" is merely an aspect of it being born of the same design philosophy. Look at Apple's laptops and iMacs. They share similar traits because they are built with the same DNA, so to speak. This new iPhone shares the DNA of it's predecessor and that's a good thing. It's an iPhone and will remain an iPhone.

Look at this: http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/125/coca-cola-bottles-history.html

It shows the evolution of the iconic Coca-Cola bottle through the years. They kept the DNA in there and updated it over time to remain fresh. That's what you do when you have iconic design. You don't toss away the most recognisable design in history - you nurture it and refine it.

In fact, if anyone wants to see how this is done brilliantly in electronics they'd need look no further than the iPod. If you were compiling a list of iconic products of the 21st Century the iPod would be damn near the top of the list. Apple managed to keep it looking fresh and exciting for a decade while retaining the classic look. An iPod is instantly recognisable as an iPod whether it's a first gen or all the way up to the most recent classics. Even the Nano without the wheel looks like an iPod but the classic design will always be that white, rectangular block with the metal back and the square screen with a simple, elegant click wheel underneath. Beautiful.

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But glass shatters! Polycarbonate plastic would be best in my opinion.

Glass may shatter but plastic scratches and lacks that premium look and feel. I've owned both the 4 and 4S and have not used cases. They look almost new even today and I use my iPhone all of the time. But the plastic of the 3GS scratches far more easily.

 

[aerok]

Glass may shatter but plastic scratches and lacks that premium look and feel. I've owned both the 4 and 4S and have not used cases. They look almost new even today and I use my iPhone all of the time. But the plastic of the 3GS scratches far more easily.

I had both iPhone 4/4S, I tried going without a case but the back would get scratched very easily. They were barely visible for they were there. I now use a HTC One X made of polycarbonate plastic and I don't feel the need to use a case anymore. And dropping it anywhere that is not rugged, it won't shatter or scratch. Unless the glass they use is from Corning, they should avoid glass in my opinion.

And polycarbonate plastic does not scratch easily at all, very premium feel too.

 

[jacobj]

And what exactly would they copy? A longer iPhone? No change in the basic format whatsoever, from what I can see it's just extending the tried and tested formula to accommodate the larger screen.

What is the obsession with it having to look completely different. The MacBook pros have had the same basic look for years and they are still the most beautiful machines I see around. The effort that apple puts into design means that they don't trash a working design because people want something new.

 

[Zunjine]

I had both iPhone 4/4S, I tried going without a case but the back would get scratched very easily. They were barely visible for they were there. I now use a HTC One X made of polycarbonate plastic and I don't feel the need to use a case anymore. And dropping it anywhere that is not rugged, it won't shatter or scratch. Unless the glass they use is from Corning, they should avoid glass in my opinion.

And polycarbonate plastic does not scratch easily at all, very premium feel too.

Glass is one of the hardest materials you can find. The glass on the 4 and 4S is chemically toughened too. I think people are more paranoid about scratching the glass because they think something that shatters can also easily scratch but it's really not that easy.

Of course, plastic can feel good too. I just don't think it compares to the feel of glass and metal.

 

[theBB]

Too many seams on the back. Even though glass is risky when dropped, it looks much nicer as it comes in a single sheet.

If the non-conductive surfaces for the antennas are going to be glass, shattering is still a risk. The front screen is still a large piece of glass, so this will not make the phone all that much more sturdy, but it seems the looks of the phone will suffer.

 

[Technarchy]

The next iPhone will not have a stainless steel unibody.

It will aluminum. It's cheap, it's light, durable and can be anodized black very cost effectively.

Plus Apple has a ton of experience with aluminum.

 

[aerok]

Glass is one of the hardest materials you can find. The glass on the 4 and 4S is chemically toughened too. I think people are more paranoid about scratching the glass because they think something that shatters can also easily scratch but it's really not that easy.

Of course, plastic can feel good too. I just don't think it compares to the feel of glass and metal.

It's not paranoia if it scratched already.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/23/yes-you-can-certainly-scratch-the-iphone-4/
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Uh-Oh-The-iPhone-4-s-Glass-Back-Is-Already-2463465.php

I was the same on mine. Just take your phone, put some light on the back of phone and you'll see all the scratches.

 

[blackhand1001]

The next iPhone will not have a stainless steel unibody.

It will aluminum. It's cheap, it's light, durable and can be anodized black very cost effectively.

Plus Apple has a ton of experience with aluminum.

Cheap and light it is. Durable not so much. It also has major issues with blocking wireless signals. See the transformer prime, and pre unibody macbook pros which had their antennas encased in aluminum. They both frequently had WiFi reception issues. Materials like magnesium alloys like the HP envy uses and the toughbooks use is a much stronger material. Its also very light as well. You'd be surprised how light those tough books are. They look much heavier than they are. Even hardened plastic like Samsung uses is much more durable than aluminum.

 

[tennisproha]

No it's not...

It sure is.

 

[lucas107]

Everyone thinks this new design is sexy but i dont get it, its very similar to the 4S which i already have. Its just taller and i wont see the back once i put it in a case.
Of course Im going to pre-order this new phone, but im not blown away by the awesome new design like i was going from the 3GS to the 4.

if your not blown away and have a 4s which is a great phone why "of course im going to pre-order". this must upgrade yearly mentality in the cell phone world really needs to stop. people are throwing away money for things marginally better then what they have already.

 

[Technarchy]

Cheap and light it is. Durable not so much. It also has major issues with blocking wireless signals. See the transformer prime, and pre unibody macbook pros which had their antennas encased in aluminum. They both frequently had WiFi reception issues. Materials like magnesium alloys like the HP envy uses and the toughbooks use is a much stronger material. Its also very light as well. You'd be surprised how light those tough books are. They look much heavier than they are. Even hardened plastic like Samsung uses is much more durable than aluminum.

I carried a 80% aluminum Colt M4A1 in Iraq and Afghanistan, fired countless rounds, and slept in the open elements many times. Our aluminum weapons held up better and longer than ANA steel AK47's.

Remington was testing magnesium alloy weapons with some parties that shall remain nameless towards the end of my last rotation. They seem to hold up okay from what I saw.

Also, since Apple is again using a reception exoskeleton, I dont think it will replicate the issues of the Transformer Prime.

 

[Kwill]

The unibody porn pictures suggest iPhone 5 will be a well constructed device ... until the Foxcon starts glueing the parts inside.

 

[apolloa]

The problem of having an iOS phone and an Android tablet is the fact you have to pay twice for the same apps sometimes because of the different ecosystems. I'm a victim of that, I already paid 3 times for the app that I use on Blackberry, iOS and Android.

Yeah but I am just careful what apps I use on what devices, plus I had a cheap Chinese Android 4 tablet for a while so brought some apps on that anyway.
I will most likely get my games on the tablet first as it's bigger and you can even just plug a PS3 controller onto the Nexus 7 with no routing! I will always have apps on my phone too though as it is the one device you take everywhere with you.

 

[nickelt]

But glass shatters! Polycarbonate plastic would be best in my opinion.

I almost went for sgs3 (thank god i didnt) but it was def the plastic that stopped me, i buy the phones outright and i want something that will last