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iPhone 5 Cases Suggest a Much Larger Device with a 4" Screen

Apple and it's competition

Samsung just announced a 5.3" mini tablet called Samsung Note that uses Super Amoled display. Something I have been wanting Apple to consider in their line up: something as powerful as iPad but more portable and handhold-able in one hand. Apple needs to watch out for it's competition.
 
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hleewell said:
Samsung just announced a 5.3" mini tablet called Samsung Note that uses Super Amoled display. Something I have been wanting Apple to consider in their line up: something as powerful as iPad but more portable and handhold-able in one hand. Apple needs to watch out for it's competition.
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I was gonna mention that in my post...

I hate decisions... Nexus Prime, iPhone 5, or the Note :p Why can't they just get released already, so I can fully see my options! *sigh*
 
Menopause said:
Don't care much if it's not longer, give me a bigger screen and I'll be camping in front of the store with my kids on launch day eve ! :D
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Why don't you just order it online. Some people got the last iPhone a day earlier. And most got it the day off.
 
what if the cases are real but for the iPod touch next gen?

what if the cases are real but for the iPod touch next gen?

MacRumors said:
[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]


While we've seen a number of possible "iPhone 4S" parts based on the iPhone 4 design in recent weeks, the design of the iPhone 5 has remained unclear with little concrete evidence of the device's design having yet surfaced. The first claim of a radical redesign surfaced back in April, suggesting that the iPhone 5 would adopt a "teardrop" form factor tapering in thickness from top to bottom.

By late July, a purported design document for the iPhone 5 surfaced and began to make its way to third-party case manufacturers, who apparently placed enough faith in its accuracy to begin making cases based on the design.

Image


Based on that same design document, we commissioned a set of renderings in an attempt to get an idea of what the iPhone 5 might look like. Our designer took measurements of this imaginary device using the dock port as a standard measurement and produced the document shown above. Based on that extrapolation, the iPhone 5 design should have had dimensions of 4.33" x 2.36", suggesting a shorter but only slightly wider design. In comparison, the iPhone 4 dimensions are 4.5" x 2.31".

What we can't explain, however, is that the actual third-party cases circulating are significantly longer and wider than what the design document would have suggested.

Measurements

We ordered a pair of these third-party iPhone 5 cases, confirming they are available for public sale and subjecting them to a series of measurements.

[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2011/09/iphone5a-500x425.jpg]Image

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While accurate measurements were difficult to achieve due to open ends and overhangs on the sides of the case, we estimate the size of the phone at approximately 4.7" x 2.6". Measuring the expected thickness of the device is more challenging given uncertainty about exactly how the case snaps onto it along the sides, but the device certainly appears to be below .30" at its thickest and tapering by approximately .065" from top to bottom.

[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2011/09/iphone5b-500x240.jpg]Image

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The following images show an iPhone 4 inside this iPhone 5 case with substantial room on all sides, illustrating the increased size of the iPhone 5. The much thinner profile of the iPhone 5 compared to the iPhone 4 is also visible in a side shot.

[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2011/09/iphone5c-500x803.jpg]Image

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[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2011/09/IMG_1460-500x69.jpg]Image

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Macitynet.it also provides a nice gallery of size comparisons against an iPhone 4 with a soft iPhone 5 case.

Even a second-generation iPod touch, which measures in at a thickness of .33", is significantly thicker than the iPhone 5.

[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2011/09/IMG_1480-500x63.jpg]Image

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Screen Size at Least 4"

The iPhone 4's 3.5" screen measures approximately 1.95" in width within a total device width of 2.31", leaving approximately 0.36" for margins/bezel.

Assuming a comparable margin on the iPhone 5, the device's display would be approximately 2.24" wide, making the display approximately 4" on the diagonal. It seems unlikely that Apple would make the margins of the iPhone 5 screen larger than on the iPhone 4, so if this does represent the final case design, the iPhone 5's screen would have to be at least 4". Of course, this contradicts a recent report from DigiTimes claiming that the iPhone 5's screen would be between 3.5"-3.7".

Conclusion

Unfortunately, we don't have any definitive answers. Depending on which evidence you believe, there are several possibilities.

If you believe these cases represent the final iPhone 5 design, then you also have to believe that the iPhone 5 will be much larger than the iPhone 4 and is certain to have at least a 4" screen. We still can't reconcile this data with the extrapolated dimensions from our designer that suggested a much smaller phone. Those dimensions match up more closely with the circulating rumors of a screen closer to 3.5"-3.7".

Apple is expected to reveal the iPhone 5 later this month for a possible October launch.

Article Link: iPhone 5 Cases Suggest a Much Larger Device with a 4" Screen
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ChrisTX said:
Don't get me wrong, that actually looks like a nice device, but you would look absolutely hideous holding that up to your face while talking.
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I totally agree. It looks interesting, and honestly the more I think about it, the more I could use such a device in my work. But I have an Apple Newton which has an even bigger screen.... And is sitting around rather disused.
 
It's very possible that the mock-up with the larger 4" screen is the new iPod Touch to compete in the handheld gaming market with the likes of Nintendo DS & PSP. The latter is not only huge, it is thick and not pocketable. Key is the large screen so that you don't have to scan back & forth while playing Angry Birds & what not. :)
 
For those who think this is an iPod Touch's case, please look at the facts first:

1) There is a mic and speaker gap. Thus, iPhone

2) There is a headphone jack on the top. Thus, iPhone

3) There is a silent/loud switch. Thus, iPhone

4) There is a noise cancellation hole. Thus, iPhone

5) The iPhone is one of Apple's major flagship products, not the iPod Touch. They would want more people upgrading their iPod Touches to iPhones, rather than vice versa.

The only question is, whether it's legit or not.

I'm pulling for this to be a real, iPhone 5 case.
 
love how people get pissed that screen is getting larger (supposedly) and all the apple fan boys on here are not gonna buy one cuz your little girl thumbs cant reach? larger screen, faster processor, more ram, more storage. all sounds good to me.

honestly the 3.5" screen is annoyingly small.

if any of the above makes you angry....then keep your iPhone 4? and quit batchin'. YOU KNOW no matter what apple ****** out of there R&D hole everyone will love it.

i just want a phone from apple that WORKS. my iPhone 4 is a mess of issues.
 
wutang61 said:
love how people get pissed that screen is getting larger (supposedly) and all the apple fan boys on here are not gonna buy one cuz your little girl thumbs cant reach? larger screen, faster processor, more ram, more storage. all sounds good to me.

honestly the 3.5" screen is annoyingly small.

if any of the above makes you angry....then keep your iPhone 4? and quit batchin'. YOU KNOW no matter what apple ****** out of there R&D hole everyone will love it.

i just want a phone from apple that WORKS. my iPhone 4 is a mess of issues.
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Simple answer for those people. Buy an iPad.
 
Yumunum said:
I was gonna mention that in my post...

I hate decisions... Nexus Prime, iPhone 5, or the Note :p Why can't they just get released already, so I can fully see my options! *sigh*
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Off topic, quick question. Which processor did you get in your MBA, the 1.7 or 1.8? Thanks. And sorry for derailing the thread.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
Off topic, quick question. Which processor did you get in your MBA, the 1.7 or 1.8? Thanks. And sorry for derailing the thread.
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You do realize there is a PM function to MR. ;)

Samsung Note, does look interesting. However holding it to your face might look awkward don't ya think. PDA meet Smart Phone = Samsung Note. :)

I agree with the camp that says that there is a balance between screen sizes, what the size might be is only opinion until :apple: tells us in a keynote when it does introduce an iPhone as such due to they research findings. :D
 
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Apple announce the keynote, please dear baby god.
 
Apple has had many opportunities to increase the size of the iPhone and yet they have never done so.

The simplest explanation is that Steve Jobs likes the iPhone's size. We know that his aesthetic favors small, simple, elegant, and thin. Steve doesn't supersize.

Anyone else's opinion is completely irrelevant. Steve is not going to let the iPhone pork out.

This case is likely for a non-Apple device or Apple has seeded false specs.
 
I don't see a big problem with increasing the resolution of the display along with its physical size. If the pixel density remains the same, apps which haven't yet been updated could simply run within the same area of the current iPhone screen.
 
Nothing like this has been discussed and it won't but I would love for this to be an iPod Touch HD type of thing. Ipod touch with a big screen and 200 GB's of storage. Maybe then would I finally upgrade my iPod Video
 
MacRumors said:
first claim of a radical redesign surfaced back in April, suggesting that the iPhone 5 would adopt a "teardrop" form factor tapering in thickness from top to bottom.
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Didn't you mean "front to back"???

If it tapered in a teardrop shape from "top to bottom" that would require a weird, non-rectangular screen (probably verrryyyy hard to manufacture).
 
To all the people saying this could be for an iPod Touch, it's not. Other posters have already explained why. But I offer this to the doubters - even if it WAS for an iPod Touch, it would logically follow that the next iPhone is getting a screen upgrade as well, wouldn't it? There's no way in hell Apple would make a 4" iPod Touch and keep the iPhone at 3.5"...only the other way around. And history has shown that the iPhone gets the upgrades first (retina display) and the iPod gets them later down the line.

About the design - I hope the rumors of a bigger screen are true - there's so much more you could do with an iPhone with a 4" screen while still maintaining "retina" PPI. I just do not like the teardrop shape...IMO phones should be flat. Rounded edges, sure, but no teardrop please.
 
wutang61 said:
love how people get pissed that screen is getting larger (supposedly) and all the apple fan boys on here are not gonna buy one cuz your little girl thumbs cant reach?
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That's one thing missing on these online forums. Almost every tech forum is full of geeky males so the opinion always leans on what boys want. Yet girls still buy smartphones.
 
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I think this is iPod touch stuff :( it seems more likely that they'd change a few physical features of the touch (headphone jack, vibrate switch), especially if it's a complete remodel, than it is that they be able to or want to make the iPhone that thin.

I'm gonna cry if the iPhone doesn't change, too, though.
 
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murdercitydevil said:
To all the people saying this could be for an iPod Touch, it's not. Other posters have already explained why. But I offer this to the doubters - even if it WAS for an iPod Touch, it would logically follow that the next iPhone is getting a screen upgrade as well, wouldn't it? There's no way in hell Apple would make a 4" iPod Touch and keep the iPhone at 3.5"...only the other way around. And history has shown that the iPhone gets the upgrades first (retina display) and the iPod gets them later down the line.

About the design - I hope the rumors of a bigger screen are true - there's so much more you could do with an iPhone with a 4" screen while still maintaining "retina" PPI. I just do not like the teardrop shape...IMO phones should be flat. Rounded edges, sure, but no teardrop please.
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The only reason the touch got upgraded after is bc it's always been RELEASED after.
 
SchneiderMan said:
I don't see Apple changing the iconic round home button. No other phone has it.
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The circle is simple and pure which matches Steve Jobs' aesthetic sensibilities.

An oval button would have to carry some major additional functionality benefits to replace the round button. That's really the only legitimate reason for a change.

After all, the iPhone will always be Steve's phone, as long as he's alive. Whatever it is, if Steve doesn't like it, it will probably stay on some prototype unit in some lab in Cupertino.
 
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