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iPhone 5 concept

Trius said:
What do you suggest then? let me guess... you would keep the iPhone exactly the same... :rolleyes:
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I'm as much for change as the next guy, but only when that change makes sense and doesn't effectively cripple the original device.

The "concept" simply is too short. There is a reason other phones are not shaped like that unless they have means to expand via slide-out keyboard. There are no other existing phones with that form factor in a candy bar. I can guarantee you that it's not because it hasn't been thought of - it's because it isn't practical. If one does exist, I'd like to see it and how well it has been received.

The design itself is attractive - nobody can deny that. It's essentially a minature version of the iPad. However, as much as Apple tends to go with "form over function," the device STILL has to be functional. As I mentioned previously, the height impedes activites such as virtual keyboard typing and applications or games with controls on the extreme edges - just two examples from the top of my head. Also, with an enlarged screen AND an enlarged bezel on the sides, that presents problems for smaller hands and one-hand operation.

I may have been harsh in the beginning - apologies for that. Your design is very well done and you obviously spent time on it (unlike other "mockups" these forums have unfortunately seen), but it's simply impractical.
 
It's cool, thanks.

I just did the math - it's only half an inch off either side of the thicker bezel. Also, the device width would be 2/5 of an inch wider. Basically, it might not be as big of a difference as it seems. I think it just looks like a different form factor because there are small changes being made to all the sides together.
 
I have been hearing that the home button is going away and will be replaced by multitouch gestures. Will the beloved button go away?
 
Perfect. I was wondeirng how the 4th can be usurped. This does it perfectly. I want one.

The concept goes perfectly in line with the 5-finger gesture demo that came out recently as well. For those who don't know...those new gestures make the existence of a home button moot. So I wouldn't be surprised if they do this for real.
 
I'm just saying that possible software malfunctioning can be fixed without a huge button on the front - I wasn't talking about any of its other functions.
 
Really ugly and horrible. You completely ignore Apple's aesthetic design. Looks like a short-wannabe evo.
 
What if they just move the home button to the side under volume control? I third button there wouldn't look too bad. Then that frees space on the front for remove the black area on the bottom and replace it with a half an inch or so of larger screen!
 
I actually moved it above the volume controls in one of these, to double as a physical camera button
 
I don't want a smaller phone. I want a BIGGER phone that will support at bigger screen like 4.3" or so and also be able to hold more compoents internally, like 2 NAND flash modules and a micro-sd card. The current phone is already too cramped internally.

Tony
 
Tones2 said:
I don't want a smaller phone. I want a BIGGER phone that will support at bigger screen like 4.3" or so and also be able to hold more compoents internally, like 2 NAND flash modules and a micro-sd card. The current phone is already too cramped internally.

Tony
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With the design I put together, the phone is smaller, but the screen is half an inch larger (3.5" to 4").
 
Sedrick said:
I think you've got a good iPod Touch design there. Too squat for a phone though.
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Interesting. I feel like part of the reaction to the ratio (not the 'fatness', because the design is less than .4" wider) is what people conceive to be a 'phone'. The funny thing is, the phone app is one of the only ones where dimensions don't matter that much. Look how much the shape of a phone has changed already - and it's not to fit your face better - it's to do everything else. These things are not really phones anymore - that's just an app.

So if you're going to have a small multitouch pad with similar width and height (3:2), unless you need the space for something like a home button, why would you design something with a fat bezel on two sides and a thin on the other two, especially when the screen could be noticeably enlarged and the additional width is negligible?
 
To put it another way, although it may not seem to be the case because the screen is in the center, the screen on the iPhone 4 only takes up about 50% of the available space on the front.
 
Tones2 said:
Yeah but the overall dimensions are smaller, leaving less space for internal components.

Tony
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True. Ideally I would like a larger screen and smaller product.

Not saying that this will definitely come to fruition or anything like that (and I don't know anything about component sizes anyway). I was just thinking in form-factor/design terms.
 
nicholasfukuoka said:
Interesting. I feel like part of the reaction to the ratio (not the 'fatness', because the design is less than .4" wider) is what people conceive to be a 'phone'.

So if you're going to have a small multitouch pad with similar width and height (3:2), unless you need the space for something like a home button, why would you design something with a fat bezel on two sides and a thin on the other two, especially when the screen could be noticeably enlarged and the additional width is negligible?
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The thing is, it's not just "a small multitouch pad"; it's a phone. Like it or not, words and concepts like "phone" carry with them cultural meaning and baggage that goes far beyond the ultility of their design. When designing a product, designers cannot just follow logical precepts; they have to take people's emotional reactions into account. That's what your design fails to do.
 
thelatinist said:
The thing is, it's not just "a small multitouch pad"; it's a phone. Like it or not, words and concepts like "phone" carry with them cultural meaning and baggage that goes far beyond the ultility of their design. When designing a product, designers cannot just follow logical precepts; they have to take people's emotional reactions into account. That's what your design fails to do.
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I respect your opinion, but frankly that sounds a little silly. Of course its a multitouch pad (that includes a phone and a text-communicator and a gaming device, etc). It doesn't really matter - it's semantics. The question is - which functions of the device are most directly affected by form factor? I don't think the 'phone' function is one of them - that one is pretty simple already.

The phone has undergone a myriad transitions since its invention - people have kept up alright so far. I don't think clipping the top and bottom blank areas would have a huge emotional backlash.

Put it this way: if for whatever reason the first iphone didn't have a home button on front - do you think it would have still had the two large blank areas?

I found a similar phone design in the beginning of this 2014 prediction video - looks pretty good (obviously the magic expansion bit is impossible for now).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7_mOdi3O5E
 
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