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

PeterSharp said:
Some people seem to forgot that Apple doesn't live in vacuum. Yes, this looks like a major upgrade when you ignore the rest of the smartphone market. Compare it to competitors and suddenly your new iphone is just a catchup game and not even a good one.
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I think the competition is probably about on a par. What are Apple missing then? What are the competitors doing that's so great?
 
I have to say, with this new design, I think the White version is the way to go now...and I've always preferred the black iPhones.
 
faroZ06 said:
LTE? Unibody? 4" screen? Random other little things? Seriously, that's it? Man, Apple doesn't innovate anymore. Steve Jobs would have never let this happen.

/sarcasm
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FWIW, the only thing on said list that is perhaps an innovation is the Unibody, however that has been done before. Doesn't innovation mean bringing something new to the table? They are bringing something new to iPhone, not to technology.
 
old-school said:
I think the competition is probably about on a par. What are Apple missing then? What are the competitors doing that's so great?
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I wouldn't even say they've caught up yet. I see a bunch of plastic phones out there, I don't see too many other companies using quality and unique materials.
 
Northgrove said:
I think the opposite. The 4S was one over 4 though. And the 3GS over 3G. I think Apple's major/minor revision scheme is holding up pretty well. If it will end up using a unibody design, that will be a major deprture in design, weight, and overall "feel". And Apple usually accompanies notable new designs with notable new hardware. I'm unfortunately less impressed by what will run it – iOS 6. That feels like a 5.5 to me. *shrug*
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I anticipate cool new-iPhone-only iOS features that will make it feel like more of an upgrade.
 
senseless said:
There's a lot of design energy going into a device that's just going to be covered up with a case anyway. Yes, I have managed to drop and sit on mine several times.
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Are you saying that since it's going to be covered up anyway they should have not bothered? Maybe make it out of a tin can or a garbage bag to win your approval.

blackhand1001 said:
Unibody is cool and all but Apple needs to stop saying that it increased durability. It doesn't. Its the same in cars. Cars/trucks with frames are almost always more durable than unibody cars. Unibodies are more susceptible to warping and are almost impossible to get back in shape without replacing the entire body.
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Yes, clearly cars and phones are each subject to the same stresses and maintenance requirements.
 
I love all the flinch reaction to the design when this thing first started to surface. Never considering just how much effort and engineering goes into it to strike that balance between form and function.
 
blackhand1001 said:
Unibody is cool and all but Apple needs to stop saying that it increased durability. It doesn't. Its the same in cars. Cars/trucks with frames are almost always more durable than unibody cars. Unibodies are more susceptible to warping and are almost impossible to get back in shape without replacing the entire body.
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It certainly made the Macbook Pro feel more solid and stronger when it switched from the old design to the unibody.
 
I guess Macrumors will not be having the "spoiler free" feature this year. Is there anything we don't know about the iPhone 5?
 
lordofthereef said:
FWIW, the only thing on said list that is perhaps an innovation is the Unibody, however that has been done before. Doesn't innovation mean bringing something new to the table? They are bringing something new to iPhone, not to technology.
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So if someone makes a smartphone that hovers in the air, it wouldn't be innovative because well helicopters...:rolleyes:
 
Zunjine said:
They don't know. None of them know. When pressed they will usually ask for a bigger screen or inductive charging or some other gimmick. And they really seem to be missing the importance of this unibody casing. The reason this new iPhone will be so thin and light and sturdy is because Apple has perfected this style of casing design from the macbook air to the new pros and is now bringing it to the smartphone space. That's a really big deal but, no, people want to moan that the screen is too small!

When everyone was complaining about the two tone back I made a point of posting about how Apple's designs are always driven by function. We now know that this casing allows for the benefits of unibody in a phone - without those top and bottom sections this wouldn't be possible. Form following function - excellent design.
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Excellent analysis!

On another note, as with the original iPad, the original iPhone and countless other products, the acclaim by many for the new phone design, now we've seen more and more of it, is yet another example of the three stages of Apple product reception: "I hate it"-"actually, I'm warming to it"-"I MUST HAVE IT!"

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senseless said:
There's a lot of design energy going into a device that's just going to be covered up with a case anyway. Yes, I have managed to drop and sit on mine several times.
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I have an Incase transparent case that is barely detectable.
 
PeterSharp said:
Some people seem to forgot that Apple doesn't live in vacuum. Yes, this looks like a major upgrade when you ignore the rest of the smartphone market. Compare it to competitors and suddenly your new iphone is just a catchup game and not even a good one.
Click to expand...

I disagree. Sure, naturally Apple gets a bit behind the curve (spec wise) at this time of year because a new smartphone comes out every month but only a new iPhone every year, but I still think the 4S is right up there with all the top smartphones on the market. Sure if you look at the spec sheet there are a lot of other phones that on PAPER have a faster processor, more ram, bigger battery, bigger screen, LTE, NFC... But to that I say a) the iPhone 4S still runs as good as any of those smartphones with a faster processor/more ram b) a bigger screen is only subjectively better not objectively c) you can't blame Apple for not jumping on LTE a year ago with such tiny coverage and power sucking chips d) who the flip actually uses NFC?
 
lordofthereef said:
FWIW, the only thing on said list that is perhaps an innovation is the Unibody, however that has been done before. Doesn't innovation mean bringing something new to the table? They are bringing something new to iPhone, not to technology.
Click to expand...

None of the iPhones included new technology that Apple invented unless you count ALAC.
 
PeterSharp said:
Some people seem to forgot that Apple doesn't live in vacuum. Yes, this looks like a major upgrade when you ignore the rest of the smartphone market. Compare it to competitors and suddenly your new iphone is just a catchup game and not even a good one.
Click to expand...

How is the device just catch up when we don't know exactly what the new features will be besides the norm. Catch up? :rolleyes:
 
Am I the only one who feels its a bit of a bad design? I dont know it's just, its not their standard silver-sheen aluminium. All the shots we've seen so far show it slightly darker with a blue tinge to it. It looked really cheap and out of place with the white bars at the top and bottom.

I guess I just still prefer the 3G/s design - even though it was plastic it was a lightweight elegant design. Since then we've just seen rehash after rehash :(
 
slicecom said:
I wouldn't even say they've caught up yet. I see a bunch of plastic phones out there, I don't see too many other companies using quality and unique materials.
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How about Kevlar? Is that unique enough for you? Something like Droid Razr Maxx. Thinner than iPhone 4S, 22 hours talk time, 3300 mAh battery and LTE. Talk about innovation...
 
slicecom said:
I wouldn't really call it luck, but yes, I do try to take care of my $850 device.
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This is exactly what is wrong with subsidized phones... Enabling you to buy what you can't afford and also you never really learn to value things... :)

I have dropped my phone a couple of times... But so far it is scratchless (except the ones on the scratchguard)... And yes I have been sporting it naked (infact allll my phones I ever owned have always been naked...)

I tend to take good care of my belongings... And a 1000$ phone is certainly towards the top of the list if not at the very top...

old-school said:
I think the competition is probably about on a par. What are Apple missing then? What are the competitors doing that's so great?
Click to expand...


Dooooooooooood haven't you heard of 5.3" screens... What world you live in dooooooood...!

/sarcasm
 
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senseless said:
There's a lot of design energy going into a device that's just going to be covered up with a case anyway. Yes, I have managed to drop and sit on mine several times.
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I never use a case. I always get to appreciate the design of my iPhones.
 
iphone rumors daly rumors count avr:10
imac MONTHLY rumors: 0.1
Can we get some imacs rumors i think were saturated with the iphone omfg.
 
Someone has probably mentioned this already but why is it so hard for the author to deduct whether the strips at the top and bottom are plastic or glass?
 
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