Closeup Photos Show Clear Difference in Thickness Between iPhone 5 and 4S

Assuming the leaks have been of real parts, the asymmetric speakers speaks volumes. If Jobs was alive such ugliness would have never been allowed. And that makes you wonder what other things have been allowed now one of the founder is 6 feet under.

Asymmetric speaker ports speaks to engineering taking precedent over design. And run of the mill engineers tends to think of what's possible vs what should be. If not pushed we tend to take the safe paths.

Another thing to consider is what is the raison d'être for the iphone going forward. It is to be the phone with the most new features? Is it the most beautiful phone that's a fashion icon? Or what? Right now I don't think that can be answered but I don't feel confident that the will be a clear definition of why the new iphone will be better than the old one.

Not giving a complete redesign or at least a bigger departure from the existing product suggests a lot. This isn't going to be a all new product but an incremental improvement. It's the safe choice which I think reflects the personality of the new head of the company.

The question is if idevices are going to take the incremental improvement path. Would they still generate the huge and increasing sales volume to sustains the stratospheric Apple profits and stock price? I for one think not. I think you'll see quite a few people starting to stick with their existing device (and this will not be limited to apple) for a few years. Just like most people do with their computers and other electronics.
 
I have to say, the design is nothing special here. To me it looks kind of "off". The back is a bit too brutal (and camera is placed weirdly), the speaker-grill element doesn't seem to fit in and the different parts of the phone are not harmonizing. I could explain that in detail, but it's subjective really, and I never found this place to be a good one to discuss design.
I really hope Apple presents us something other than what has been leaked so far, because these things (incremental hardware update + updated design) are not really convincing enough for me. The competition looks a bit more interesting at the moment, not really the Samsung S3, but I think Nokia is doing remarkably well at the moment. It would have been my first iPhone to buy and I almost unconditionally planned to buy it, but I'll wait what the 12th of September shows us. I'm not wanting to be pessimistic, I have high hopes that we're going to be surprised.
 
dv8r said:
When in a dock, when in a shirt pocket, when in a pocket (unless your motor skills are challenged), when in a car dock, when it's next to you in a seat etc etc etc. Now You have to remove the headphones every time you do something else... that's some real cleaver design there Apple :confused:
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1) Get a dock with a headphone port on the bottom and built-in. You'll need a new one because of the new connector anyway.
2) It will be easier to access music controls, the slider and the end call button by only partially exposing the phone.
3) Why would you need headphones plugged in when it's in a car dock? :confused:
 
dv8r said:
When in a dock, when in a shirt pocket, when in a pocket (unless your motor skills are challenged), when in a car dock, when it's next to you in a seat etc etc etc. Now You have to remove the headphones every time you do something else... that's some real cleaver design there Apple :confused:
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Who leaves their headphones plugged in when they aren't using them?
 
macheet said:
For ***** sake Macrumors!!! Does anyone care about these leaks anymore? It's the same crap on every site. We know what it's going to look like already. The iphone has leaked!!! Ok we get it. Macrumors--Please stop comparing leaked iphone video/pic/specs/etc. WE GET IT!! same ****, taller phone. Can I get a amen from someone?
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Rumour sites care about page hits. Nothing else.
 
I know alot of people arent loving this design at all, but I think its going to be rather beautiful once you see it in person. People said the same thing about the leaks of the iPhone 4, then when it came out, everyone loved it and now compare other phones and future iPhones to it.
 
PDXoPDX said:
Sigh, I wish they had gone with a more radical redesign. The 4th generation chassis was my least favorite iteration of the iPhone and this feels like more of the same. Is this really the best Johnny can do or is Tim too afraid of killing the sacred cow?
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Some kind of radical (but superficial) redesign for its own sake (especially on a device that “becomes the app” and you focus on the screen alone) is neither good engineering nor necessary to appeal to consumers.

I’m glad to see the functionality, power, and screen upgraded while the excellent “shell” gets subtle refinements (like the thinness which I will welcome).

Other companies throw money (and bad designs) on endless different “fashions,” but if you look at Apple’s many product lines, you’ll see great ideas that are kept—and refined—for years. Change JUST for the sake of change? Bad for brand awareness, and bad for a missed chance to make a good design even better.

Look at the retina MacBook Pro. Same basic styling as the 4-year old unibody MacBook. And it still looks as great as ever. No need to toss random design concepts in all directions.
 
Patriot24 said:
Fair points, but I've yet to see anyone else manufacture a better industrial design. Some of the Lumia phones are close, but it isn't as easy as people make it out to be to just throw away everything you know and start over so that people can say that they bought a phone that looks different.

How many years have the Mac Pros looked the same? MacBook Pros? iPods?

This incremental behavior is not new at Apple.
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Incremental is good, no one complaints about that - it just needs to be moving forward not backward. This is a step down in design and in IOS6 one of the central apps will take a big step backwards also (looking at you maps). This update is going to suck...

You are right that no one comes close to Apple in build quality, but they're slowly getting there - if only Nokia were to abandon the horrible Windows8 "experience" and move to Android there would be a better alternative.
 
I think the 5 looks pretty good but I want the dark edges and not the silver. I was hoping for the dark gunmetal on the black phone.
 
Either there's been too many leaks or the iphone 5 is just boring. Yawn. When are we going to get a leak of the iPad mini?
 
afurry13 said:
Who leaves their headphones plugged in when they aren't using them?
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I do, so that I can put them on quickly and answer a call.

And apparently I'm not alone because both headphones and the phone speaker itself 'ring' when you get a call.

I also sometimes charge my iPhone on my nightstand dock, keep the headphones plugged in so that I can make a call while the phone is still charging - it's good for the battery.
 
xAnthony said:
Why would they make the holes symmetric? That would be stupid. The microphone only needs to be so big. The extra holes belong to the speaker, which will hopefully improve sound quality drastically. As the sound quality from the speaker on the iPhone 4/4s is terrible.
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For the same reason they put a pair of non functional screws on the left side of the good old plastic macbook. For the aesthetics.

Pock said:
Design for the sake of change does not create good design.
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And stop innovating wont make your design better...

its not for the sake of change. the iphone 4 design is far from perfect. you know it. I know it.

In fact i would argue its one of the most unergonomic phones out there. The iphone 3G and the the original iphone just fit so much nicer in your hands.



Patriot24 said:
How many years have the Mac Pros looked the same? MacBook Pros? iPods?
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Well, most of the iPods -specially the nano changed every year. And dont compare the iphone to the mac pro and the macbook pro.
 
wkadamsjr said:
Disappoint who? You and the other tech nerds who are looking for some unnecessary redesign? You must be extremely unhappy with Apple selling the same notebook designs for 4-5 years at a time...:rolleyes:
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dont know what the quote is about
but
idk why ure talking *****
if you have an account on this site you are part tech nerd yourself haha

must agree though
 
MacRumors said:
Image

Perhaps most notable is one closeup side-on shot showing the iPhone 5 laying next to an iPhone 4S on a table. The photo shows that the iPhone 5 is indeed substantially thinner than the iPhone 4S, by approximately the thickness of either the front or rear glass of the iPhone 4S.
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It's funny because the first thing I've notice wasn't the thickness but rather that the mute button is upside down! :eek:;)
 
DaffyDuck said:
Was that a problem that needed to be fixed? Have you ever felt a 4S flex?
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No, because the 4s band is steel made.
With a better structure, the 5 can be alluminium without flexing or having structural problems. An alluminium phone is way lighter that a steel phone
 
xriderx11 said:
I HATE the bottom of the iphone!!! (where the speakers and charging port is) !! It looks like cheap plastic!!!! The iphone 4 looks so much more sturdy and more layed out! The different sized "speakers" will give me OCD xD


But hey,,,, Its only a mock up....
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im with you on that one!
 
Wiesenlooser said:
For the same reason they put a pair of non functional screws on the left side of the good old plastic macbook. For the aesthetics.


And stop innovating wont make your design better...

its not for the sake of change. the iphone 4 design is far from perfect. you know it. I know it.

In fact i would argue its one of the most unergonomic phones out there. The iphone 3G and the the original iphone just fit so much nicer in your hands.





Well, most of the iPods -specially the nano changed every year. And dont compare the iphone to the mac pro and the macbook pro.
Click to expand...

Interesting, you start off comparing the iPhone to the MacBook...and as far as the nano, after checking out the revisions, it's been out longer than the iPhone and has changed just as few times. Many years just shrinking slightly or adding a camera.

Anyway, I like the feel of the 3G better than the 4 but the bumper case totally changed that - and if there's a bumper for this, i'll probably buy it.
 
cotak said:
Assuming the leaks have been of real parts, the asymmetric speakers speaks volumes. If Jobs was alive such ugliness would have never been allowed.
Click to expand...

Everyone stops reading there. Mr. Jobs is still deceased, so we will never know what he would think.
 
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