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"iPhone 5" Back Cover Hands-On Video
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I appreciate I'm not looking at a final product yet, or indeed if the part is actually going to be used but... The style and design is not what I've come to expect from Apple and I'd be really surprised (and disappointed) if this is the genuine final part. The aluminium band across the middle of the rear is just far too noisy and too busy for a minimalist design.
I'm also not convinced about the size... The iPhone 4s and all the others before it have been the perfect size for a smart phone. The one in the leak here is just too tall and long.
I'm also not convinced about the size... The iPhone 4s and all the others before it have been the perfect size for a smart phone. The one in the leak here is just too tall and long.
Well, I don't want the earphone jack on the bottom of the phone!! That way you can't even put the phone on the table vertically and lean it against something when talking on Facetime!
Two thumbs down on this one, I hope it's not true. This is one thing I never liked about iPod Touch before...
Two thumbs down on this one, I hope it's not true. This is one thing I never liked about iPod Touch before...
All-aluminum = terrible reception
All-glass = fragile
Mostly aluminum, with some glass = reception where you need it, strength where you need it.
Ordinarily I'd be very skeptical of a leak like this - but it's so detailed and thorough. The headphone jack is in a better place, the dock connector is smaller, the camera flash is a bit farther from the lens, etc. Usually a hoax is very roughshod, but this part looks quite feasible. It even has the little bevels on the edge of the stainless steel frame.
Who knows whether to not this will the final design. But in my book it's at least passable as a prototype. Or some detailed counterintelligence from Apple.
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You could just put the phone upside down...FaceTime works either way
The benefits of putting the headphone jack on the bottom far outweigh this one particular use case...Easier to pocket and the cable doesn't dangle out the top.
That stuff is probably needed to keep the antenna parts separate. Notice the glossy/matte change happens exactly where the seams on the sides are.
So if Apple uses something for a long time, that means they will NEVER ever upgrade it? Yeah, makes sense.
So aluminum makes its return and so does the name "the new iPhone" (no more numbers)
We've come full circle.
Also, "Apple would never release a plastic iPhone, thats cheap" = iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS
"Apple would never put dividers on the side" = iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S
I could see a few benefits to the two-tone design.
Obviously, if Apple ditches the "external antenna" design, they wouldn't want the 4G and other radios inside a Faraday cage of a case.
Second, if Apple implements NFC technology in the next iPhone, the glass sections could demarcate an area/areas of contact (and also have better NFC "reception"). It would be unmistakable, but more subtle than "here's a big fat NFC logo".
"To transfer a contact, map location, or web address, just tap the 'Share' icon. Then touch the smooth portion of your iPhone's back...to a friend's. And that's it."
Obviously, if Apple ditches the "external antenna" design, they wouldn't want the 4G and other radios inside a Faraday cage of a case.
Second, if Apple implements NFC technology in the next iPhone, the glass sections could demarcate an area/areas of contact (and also have better NFC "reception"). It would be unmistakable, but more subtle than "here's a big fat NFC logo".
"To transfer a contact, map location, or web address, just tap the 'Share' icon. Then touch the smooth portion of your iPhone's back...to a friend's. And that's it."
I remember that being said about the iPhone 4 vs. 3GS before it came out. People are quick to like Apple's new things after release.
It's a functional thing, *needed* for antennas to stay separate. Just like the gaps in iPhone 4/4S sides.
I call BS.
To me, this is just a mockup of the best rumours to date. Did you hear the tinny sound when he dropped it? Very unlikely this will be the actual body IMO.
To me, this is just a mockup of the best rumours to date. Did you hear the tinny sound when he dropped it? Very unlikely this will be the actual body IMO.
I also think the phone looks too tall. However, I'm basing this on the fact that it'd be quite a reach to hit a button on the top right/left depending which hand you use when using the phone one-handed. Maybe Apple will change the button bar to be at the bottom (like Instapaper) rather than split between top and bottom like now? I don't know much about iOS development, but couldn't they introduce a revised/new api to apply this to apps without the developers having to do too much work?
It is wider...if you hold it sideways.
Seriously though, I personally dislike the feel of larger phones. Even with my big hands, I find them difficult to hold securely.
And don't get me started on the Samsung Note...
What makes it easier to pull the phone out of your pocket with the jack on the bottom? The phone with the jack in use would presumably be upside down then, rather than right-side up. I would never presumably put my phone upside down and that is one of the most annoying features of the iPod Nano/Touch, for my tastes.
That's exactly my thinking. Imagine Tim putting that up on screen to be met with a half-arsed cheer from the slightly perplexed crowd... it's such a silly design that would garner a worse reaction than simply releasing a 4" version of the current design. And you're right- they wouldn't possibly allow the real design to get out so easily. It would be an embarrassment to Tim after saying recently that they're tightening up secrecy.
I would really advise people take this design with a few bags of salt. I expect better, and i think we all should too.
Especially after you actually hold the device. I bet the two-tone material has a nice feel to it.
I thought the iPad didn't make sense until I actually got my hands on one.
The sound may just be because of it's thinness, it won't sound like this full of stuff! No way this is a mock-up IMO, the detail is too precise. Look at the positioning of the noise cancelling mic, and the speaker grills are all Apple. Of course this could be one of many prototypes, but I don't think so.
Personally, the decreasing thickness of the facing and backplane in that cross sectional top view is disappointing. The phone is the right thickness, now. Reducing it more other than to just be `thinner' is obnoxious and weakens the solid feel of a phone already easily felt the most durable feeling smartphone on the market.