iPhone 13 Prototype Mockup Depicts Notch-Free Design and USB-C Port

[MacRumors]

We still have a few months to go before Apple unveils the iPhone 12, but rumors about the iPhone 13, coming in fall 2021, are already circulating.

Japanese site Mac Otakara today shared a rough 3D printed mockup of a 5.5-inch iPhone said to be coming in 2021, which is from "Alibaba sources." The model may be built on leaked specifications and rumors, but where the info comes from is unclear.

It's a successor to the smaller 5.4-inch iPhone that's expected in 2020, so likely one of the lower-end devices in the 2021 lineup, if accurate. It's the same size as the rumored 5.4-inch iPhone, but design changes provide more available display space.

The iPhone features no notch for the TrueDepth camera, and the FaceTime camera is located in the front center. Mac Otakara suggests the iPhone could use Samsung's Under Panel Sensor technology, which would allow cameras to be positioned under a display. The site also speculates about a possible bottom-of-screen camera, a rumor we haven't heard before and which seems unlikely.

Along with no notch, the mockup features ultra thin bezels, and while the camera module is not fleshed out, there are dots that suggest open space for testing different camera modules. Late last month, leaker Fudge (@choco_bit) said that the higher-end iPhone models coming in 2021 will feature four camera setups with LiDAR technology, but it's not clear if that information is accurate.

One other major design change appears to be a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port. There have been rumors about Apple swapping over to USB-C for years now. Another Fudge leak from late last month suggested Apple's iPhone 13 lineup will be portless, combining wireless charging with a Smart Connector system for data transfer.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also said that the high-end 2021 iPhone will have a "completely wireless experience."

Whether we'll end up with a port-free design, USB-C, or another year with Lightning remains to be seen, but past rumors have said that in the long-term, Apple wants an iPhone without external ports and buttons.

Mac Otakara says the mockup depicts just one prototype that's under development, so Apple's plans may ultimately change and this mockup is unlikely to represent the final version of the iPhone that we see in 2021.

Article Link: iPhone 13 Prototype Mockup Depicts Notch-Free Design and USB-C Port

 

[dlewis23]

No notch will be nice on the new design, but I doubt USB-C will ever come to the iPhone.

 

[mozumder]

Gonna be impossible to put a case on that, with the case covering the edge of the display

 

[farewelwilliams]

this mockup somehow did the opposite of visualizing what it might look like. awful attempt.

 

[JPack]

Apple will stay with Lightning until they decide to drop the connector altogether. There's no USB-C in that plan.

And only the high-end iPhone in 2021 is expected to be completely wireless.

 

[EvilEvil]

Welcomed news if true.

 

[decisions]

The perfect iPhone. Too good to be true .

 

[KooL BeAnZ]

So speaker grill on top?

 

[mattopotamus]

Is it that bleak that we are looking at renders that will never come to fruition =/

 

[chabig]

I too can paste a printed iOS screen on a piece of 3D printed plastic.

 

[nutmac]

No notch will be nice on the new design, but I doubt USB-C will ever come to the iPhone.

My guess is that Lightning will be replaced with Smart Connector. iPad Pro charges pretty nicely over Magic Keyboard's Smart Connector.

 

[ghostface147]

Portless device. Bad idea. Wireless transfer is so slow compared to wired. I manage my music and photo albums on my Mac and to move tens of gigs over wireless? Pass.

Plus the vast majority of vehicles don’t have wireless charging built in. How will you use an external battery? Charge at airports?

 

[UltimateSyn]

Personally I'm all set on the 'completely wireless experience.' Give me Lightning or give me USB-C, I don't really care which one, but taking away the port for the sake of removal is asinine.

 

[blacktape242]

not blurry enough to be real.

 

[satchmo]

Wow, someone knows how to use Autocad.

 

[jml12286]

Ill believe it when I see it. don't care much about notch or not, but USB-C would make things easier with all the other usb things out there. I still feel USB-C is kind of janky in terms of its physical port compared to lightning.

 

[nickgovier]

.

 

[now i see it]

I was going to buy an iPhone XS but rumors of the 11 discouraged that purchase. So I was going to buy an iPhone 11 but rumors of the 12 discouraged that purchase. So I was planning to purchase an iPhone 12, but these rumors of the 13 have discouraged that decision.

 

[NickName99]

This is silly. There will be a notch.

 

[Diogoammon]

I believe this will be the iPhone 12S, because as we know apple may be switching to a scattered iPhone arelease in the coming years. My guess is that the iPhone 12 and 12 Max (5.4” and 6.1”) will be updated around march/april 2021 and will be named iPhone 12S and iPhone 12S Max. The Pro models will be updated in the Fall and will be the iPhone Pro and iPhone Pro Max (ending with the numbers). In the spring on 2022 we will see the iPhone and iPhone Max (sucessors to the 12S and 12S Max) And so on.

 

[Rychiar]

Portless device. Bad idea. Wireless transfer is so slow compared to wired. I manage my music and photo albums on my Mac and to move tens of gigs over wireless? Pass.

Plus the vast majority of vehicles don’t have wireless charging built in. How will you use an external battery? Charge at airports?

most of that stuff is streamed these days. wireless can be added to cars. I even just got a wireless CarPlay module

 

[Blackstick]

The iPhone will be a portless, hermetically sealed slab of aluminum before they move it to USB-C. Everything they've done thus far indicates that progression. Charging too slow via induction? Don't worry, it's got 40 hour battery life and only needs an hour on the pad. Headphones? Sorry, wireless only. Restoring the OS? Recovery partition or cellular/wifi restore.

 

[CrazyForCashews]

Who cares about the iPhone 13 when the 12 hasn't even released yet?

 

[Eorlas]

something that should never happen: a portless device

something that should happen: apple making the prototyped device with no notch. make smartphones great again

 

[JPack]

So speaker grill on top?

It'll be in the bezel, which is already the design for this year.