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

faroZ06 said:
None of the iPhones included new technology that Apple invented unless you count ALAC.
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They gave us a brand new UI that we hadn't seen before with the first iPhone; a true all touch experience and full world wide web at our fingertips. I never claimed that any of the other phones were terribly innovative though, because they weren't.

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blackcrayon said:
So if someone makes a smartphone that hovers in the air, it wouldn't be innovative because well helicopters...:rolleyes:
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Hmmm.... no it would because cell phone don't current do that. It would also be pretty pointless.

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You two should look up the definition of "innovate". Slapping an LTE antenna onto a phone, especially where there are 356897456 others that do the same thing isn;t considered innovation, no matter how much you squint your eyes.
 
edry.hilario said:
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.
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Look when it was last updated. If there is no news, there is no rumor preceding it. Plain and simple. Plus, the components are bigger so they are less likely to be smuggled out of the factory.
 
AMG63 said:
Personally, I'm hoping for a black finish more like this:

Image
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Whoa, that is really good looking. I really, really hope it looks like that. Like someone said, it looks like the Apple TV finish. This is basically what I thought the new iPhone would look like. Hope it won't be that contrasting two-tone back seen in the article. Although, it is starting to grow on me.
 
One thing, this "reveal" in septemeber is going to be pretty boring.
Unless the *real* iphone 5 looks like a DUCK!
 
AZREOSpecialist said:
Uh oh… looks like the cell antennas are located in areas where people will be holding the phone.
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the 4s antennas are in the same place and there have been no problems with that because apples using a modified technology than the 4. you probably should have read the article before posting this.
 
PeterSharp said:
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...
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Yeah. I actually truly believe the razr maxx was the most innovative phone of the past 4-5 years and I don't even own it. The battery life on it is seriously out of this world compared to anything else on the market.


This video really shows what this thing is capable of.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu7VgPmTvC0

Razr maxx is at 67 percent when Iphone dies.

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old-school said:
True, Apple's engineering is the best in the business.
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They did such a great job engineering it to do well in drop tests/real life usage.

/Sarcasm
 
lordofthereef said:
You two should look up the definition of "innovate". Slapping an LTE antenna onto a phone, especially where there are 356897456 others that do the same thing isn;t considered innovation, no matter how much you squint your eyes.
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No, but a unibody design in innovative. Siri (like it or not....beta or not) is innovative.
 
myrtlebee said:
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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Well he hasn't seen the parts himself, he's just going on pictures and videos from people who have the parts. The other thing is that it's something that Apple could easily change their mind on at any point.

Personally I think they will go with glass. If it's down flush with the metal it should be pretty safe from impact damage, which is glass's weak point, and glass will be more scratch resistant than plastic.
 
"Hey, I'm looking for a phone that does X, Y, and Z, at price Q. Oh, you have that? I'll take it. Wait a minute. How innovative is it? Not at all, you say!? That's terrible. Forget it buddy, no sale."

- something which never happened ever
 
Unibody iPhone? Now the redesign actually makes more sense! Apple always make their products with the same principles (OSX being more and more like iOS Desktop Version etc). I love it!

I just have to say it:
Stefan Jobes would never have approved this!
StefanJobes.jpg
 
AppleInMyBlood said:
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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Funnily enough, those three stages are completely understandable when the design is actually innovative.

People don't like what's good - they like what they know! That's why there are millions of people who will claim that McDonalds burgers are excellent. I've seen people turn their noses up at tender, perfectly seared fillet steak who will wolf down a bag of chicken nuggets and lick their fingers afterwards. There's no point telling them they're wrong - they like what they know and the know what they like!

The same is true for art and I consider great design to be akin to art. People like what they grew up with or what is normal and standard for their cultural/socioeconomic sub group. That's fine but it takes really great art and really great design to bring about something new. That's why you absolutely MUST design from function first. Aesthetics will mislead you. No, that's not right - aesthetics are also from function - designing based on what you think LOOKS GOOD will mislead you. That's how you end up with instantly pleasing but equally instantly forgettable designs like those seen in most high end smartphones.

When you do design from function first and you eschew the bubblegum rubbish in favour of something that will stand the test of time, those designs often leave people cold at first. People are hooked on fashion so they want something like what they know but... you know... more! A faster horse! But then, when people get over the shock of the new, they start to calm down a little. Then someone shows it to them - properly, and explains why it is the way it is. Suddenly, if they're relatively enlightened people, they will start to get it. The thing that looked odd and random before is now merely a signal of the excellent design that underpins the object. Without knowing the function the form seems strange but things that are functional are always beautiful when you really understand them. Then they get excited. Then they want it!

Nobody will be studying the Samsung Galaxy S3 in future lessons on industrial design but there will be a whole module based on the iPhone 4/4S. The GS3 looks nice but it's boring nice. It's cold beer to the iPhone 4's aged scotch. It's something designed by committee and put together by a talented team who's brief was to design something that looked nice. They succeeded. But the iPhone 4/4S and this new iPhone by the looks of it, were clearly designed by a team with a higher minded brief. The antenna band may have had it's flaws but those flaws were fixed. The steel band and the glass back allowed for a rigidity and strength along with a clean, polished, high quality finish that, to this day, no one has yet surpassed. Sure, some newer phones may out-spec the 4S but that's just technological progress. No one has yet fundamentally out-designed the 4S.

You can argue about laundry list of features all day long. For me, here in the UK, LTE is a nothing feature. NFC might have some interesting uses but it's not a deal breaker. But I love great design and when that great design goes into a mass market product that I can own that's even better. This isn't a luxury sports car, a yacht or a $10000 Bang and Olufsen sound system. This is a smartphone that I can buy and use and I'm just some guy on a decent but not exceptional wage working in an office. Nobody makes products like this that are within the reach of normal people. I look around at all the things I own and nothing comes close to the quality of design and engineering that I get in my Macbook, my iPad and my iPhone.

Let the philistines fondle their plastic slabs and compare spec sheets. Whatever makes the knuckle draggers happy. Their chipsets will be obsolete next year, even before then, but great design stays great. I know which one I choose. A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
 
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blackhand1001 said:
Yeah. I actually truly believe the razr maxx was the most innovative phone of the past 4-5 years and I don't even own it. The battery life on it is seriously out of this world compared to anything else on the market.


This video really shows what this thing is capable of.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu7VgPmTvC0

Razr maxx is at 67 percent when Iphone dies.

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They did such a great job engineering it to do well in drop tests/real life usage.

/Sarcasm
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Yet neither of you say that you own this innovative marvel... So looks like there is more than just innovation needed to get you to buy. Honestly the battery is sick on the Razr maxx but if I wanted a phone that stayed charged 3 days I would get an old Nokia.:cool:
 
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Wonder if the front facing camera will finally get an upgrade or will they wait for the iPhone 5s to do so.
 
imageWIS said:
Change is not synonymous with revolution... this is certainly an evolutionary product from what should / used to be a revolutionary company.
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Give it up, will you? If you haven't noticed, Apple usually upends a category (e.g. iMac, OS X, iPhone, iPad) then releases solid, iterative releases. This has always been the case.

OS X made huge waves. Then each subsequent release made steady improvements. None of the iPhones besides the original were "revolutionary", whatever that means. Compare the list of expected improvements with the "iPhone 5" with any of the past releases, and it measures up just fine. But this next one seems to be at least as good an update as the iPhone 4. Thinner, stronger, better display, faster processor, more RAM, better camera, slightly improved buttons and I/O....But hey, I guess a holographic screen would have been awesome.

You're going to be one of those "when I was your age..." people, aren't you? :p
 
Zunjine said:
Let the philistines fondle their plastic slabs and compare spec sheets. Whatever makes the knuckle draggers happy. Their chipsets will be obsolete next year, even before then, but great design stays great. I know which one I choose. A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
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Quoted for truth! :D
 
Did anyone else read 'Toolpath' as "Toothpaste"?

Also, I now understand the black portions at the top and bottom of the device. I didn't even think of them having something to do with the antenna. That's actually a great idea. And to me, it doesn't make it look ugly. It actually adds a little bit of personality.
 
Geckotek said:
No, but a unibody design in innovative. Siri (like it or not....beta or not) is innovative.
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How exactly is Siri innovative? If it actually worked more than half the time for most people I would at least call it good (but still not innovative). Right now, it doesn;t succeed at either.
 
acslater017 said:
Give it up, will you? If you haven't noticed, Apple usually upends a category (e.g. iMac, OS X, iPhone, iPad) then releases solid, iterative releases. This has always been the case.

OS X made huge waves. Then each subsequent release made steady improvements. None of the iPhones besides the original were "revolutionary", whatever that means. Compare the list of expected improvements with the "iPhone 5" with any of the past releases, and it measures up just fine. But this next one seems to be at least as good an update as the iPhone 4. Thinner, stronger, better display, faster processor, more RAM, better camera, slightly improved buttons and I/O....But hey, I guess a holographic screen would have been awesome.

You're going to be one of those "when I was your age..." people, aren't you? :p
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Exactly! And it's the right way to do things too.

Big, risky plays are usually a sign of desperation anyway. That isn't to say that a company can't take risks to break into a new market or create a new market the way the iPad did, but when it does that, when it makes a big change of some kind within a market where it is already a major player, that's a bad sign - it's a sign of a company lacking confidence.

Apple has a roadmap of products that runs years into the future. They have designs they aspire to and features they intend to include, but they have to wait for the technology to mature. This new iPhone has been on the cards for a long time. Clearly they've been waiting for the unibody technology to get there.
 
This looks really intriguing. The ID guys at Apple are just so bloody impressive, they’re producing Leica quality products while the rest of the industry by and large churns out cheap, plastic products with no price difference. It’s such a rare occurrence that best of breed industrial design and materials are so easily accessible. Imagine an Aston Martin costing the same as a Honda, or a Patek Phillipe the same as a Casio.

imageWIS said:
Change is not synonymous with revolution... this is certainly an evolutionary product from what should / used to be a revolutionary company.
Click to expand...

This is what Apple does. The current MacBook line has its origins way back in 2001 with the introduction of the Titanium PowerBook. The most marked outward design change came in 2003 when Apple moved to an Aluminum case and eliminated the external hinges. Ditto the current iMac which goes back 7 years.
 
lordofthereef said:
How exactly is Siri innovative? If it actually worked more than half the time for most people I would at least call it good (but still not innovative). Right now, it doesn;t succeed at either.
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Because the brought it into the OS and tied it in with the apps. It works far more than half the time for me. But I'll admit it's not perfect. However, that's nuance issues, not Siri.

Working or not, it's an innovative concept.

Let's see what Apple brings to the table next month when they update it.
 
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