So from what I can tell, some of these new cases taper down towards the bottom of the phone, suggesting that the phone does the same. My question is, why on earth would you want a phone that's not the same thickness on both ends? When you hold the phone in landscape mode, wouldn't it be very uncomfortable and rather unstable? Just thinking aloud here...
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iPhone 5 Teardrop Design...?
- Thread starter asaeta
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I don't get it either. Maybe it would be good for table typing in portrait, or for use as a VNC trackpad?
Those are the only benefits I could see.
Those are the only benefits I could see.
Hm...I feel like there's so many negatives to it though. Also just thought, if you have it tapered, setting it down on the table in landscape mode will make it crooked and would probably affect your visibility.
Judging from the schematic pics, looks like the teardrop will be very slight. I highly doubt it'll affect productivity so much.
I think it would be easier and much better to just taper both sides equally, but still have the middle, un-tapered part long enough to prevent waddling while place on a table.
please note i say all this as someone who would much prefer a non-tapered phone with symmetrical top and bottom bezels:
realistically the taper looks subtle enough that it probably wouldn't functionally hinder the phone in any substantial way, even comfort when holding in landscape. likewise with the asymmetrical top and bottom bezels.
the 6 million dollar question (provided there is even any truth to the rumoured design) is what does it add to the phone? right now it feels gratuitous change for the sake of it. but so did the broken metal bands when iPhone 4 first leaked. then it suddenly seemed like a stroke of genius when they revealed it was actually the antenna wrapped around the perimeter of the phone. of course whether that was ACTUALLY a good idea is a whole other debate, but at least there was clear motivation. and the motivation contributed a lot to its perceived elegance.
if i had to make a guess at the design justifications of the rumoured iPhone 5 based on their past choices, it would be as follows:
-They want a larger screen to compete with some of their competitors, but they needed to keep a certain amount of bezel, so they had to increase the width and height. the iPad is a good precedent that they continue to believe bezels are important.
-They don't want it to be considered an oversized brick, so they push to make it as insanely thin as possible to compensate. pretty much their entire company history is a good precedent for this behaviour
-Decent camera components just don't come that thin. (Precedent: iPod touch. They abandoned their first attempt and then eventually settled for a lower quality camera that left many dissatisfied.) So they taper the phone to be a little wider on the top to fit it all in, while still boasting about how thin it is at its thinnest point. Marketing precedent: macbook air
Anyway, I'm not saying you couldn't argue the objective sensibility of many of those points, but i do feel they all "fit" with apple's M.O.
realistically the taper looks subtle enough that it probably wouldn't functionally hinder the phone in any substantial way, even comfort when holding in landscape. likewise with the asymmetrical top and bottom bezels.
the 6 million dollar question (provided there is even any truth to the rumoured design) is what does it add to the phone? right now it feels gratuitous change for the sake of it. but so did the broken metal bands when iPhone 4 first leaked. then it suddenly seemed like a stroke of genius when they revealed it was actually the antenna wrapped around the perimeter of the phone. of course whether that was ACTUALLY a good idea is a whole other debate, but at least there was clear motivation. and the motivation contributed a lot to its perceived elegance.
if i had to make a guess at the design justifications of the rumoured iPhone 5 based on their past choices, it would be as follows:
-They want a larger screen to compete with some of their competitors, but they needed to keep a certain amount of bezel, so they had to increase the width and height. the iPad is a good precedent that they continue to believe bezels are important.
-They don't want it to be considered an oversized brick, so they push to make it as insanely thin as possible to compensate. pretty much their entire company history is a good precedent for this behaviour
-Decent camera components just don't come that thin. (Precedent: iPod touch. They abandoned their first attempt and then eventually settled for a lower quality camera that left many dissatisfied.) So they taper the phone to be a little wider on the top to fit it all in, while still boasting about how thin it is at its thinnest point. Marketing precedent: macbook air
Anyway, I'm not saying you couldn't argue the objective sensibility of many of those points, but i do feel they all "fit" with apple's M.O.
I would imagine it would be to compensate for the larger screen size. Bigger screens look great, but when trying to use one with one hand (as most of us do with our phones throughout the day) it can be a bit awkward to reach the top of the screen. With iOS 5's notifications, reaching the top will be important and users will do it dozens of times each day.
By reducing the thickness at the bottom, the phone will take up less space in the user's hand three-dimensionally, making it so that the movements will be very similar to previous generation iPhones, despite the increase in screen real estate.
I can't imagine it would have that much of an impact on gaming in landscape mode either. You don't really hold the phone by the ends, it's more of a wrapping around the outside of the frame with your index fingers, then resting your middle fingers on the back with very little tension. They also tend to contact the back of the phone in the middle, where the taper won't be noticeable.
By reducing the thickness at the bottom, the phone will take up less space in the user's hand three-dimensionally, making it so that the movements will be very similar to previous generation iPhones, despite the increase in screen real estate.
I can't imagine it would have that much of an impact on gaming in landscape mode either. You don't really hold the phone by the ends, it's more of a wrapping around the outside of the frame with your index fingers, then resting your middle fingers on the back with very little tension. They also tend to contact the back of the phone in the middle, where the taper won't be noticeable.
I would cry little iPhone 5's if Apple did this. It would possibly be uncomfortable both in portrait and landscape. We can only hope this is false, or that Apple has done it in such a way that it just works -- which is always possible.
Notice how most of Samsung's phones have a hump at the bottom? There's got to be some big component in these smartphones that simply can't be in the nice thin part.
But I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet... If the iP5 is bigger at the TOP, won't it be really oddly balanced when holding it normally, in portrait? A lot of reviewers complained about that in the Nexus One - the phone being "top-heavy" I'd hate for that to happen here with the iPhone too
But I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet... If the iP5 is bigger at the TOP, won't it be really oddly balanced when holding it normally, in portrait? A lot of reviewers complained about that in the Nexus One - the phone being "top-heavy" I'd hate for that to happen here with the iPhone too
Even on the MacBook Air I do not like the look of the tapered, wedge design. I don't think it would look (or feel) good on a phone. Screw having the world's thinnest smartphone. I could care less about that if the phone looks and feels terrible. If the iPhone 5 ends up like that, then I'm gonna be picking up an iPhone 4.
Are there any specs experts out there that know a good deal about what parts make up the bottom of the iPhone and whether or not it's even possible/plausible to make it thinner on the bottom?
Didn't even realize 'till I took mine out of the case and looked at it. But yeah, something like that. I think the 3GS back design is great (would be cool to see it in metal though).
If you "could care less", it means that you do care, to some degree or other. On a scale of 0 - 10, you could be a 1 or you could be a 10 with that statement. You should say "could not care less", which means that you care so little it is not possible to care any less, so 0 on the scale.
I like the mockup off BGR where it is like the current iPhone but with curved glass design. I really hate the teardrop design.
Something like that would be nice - glass shaped like the iPad 2 (so flat, with curved edges), that meets up with the bezel also cut at an angle to maintain the smooth flow of the glass. Right now, the iPhone 4 is one of, if not the worst phones to hold in terms of aesthetics.
I will reserve judgement until it's officially announced, but this stupid teardrop design from top to bottom is the one thing that bothers me most from all the mock ups we've seen. I hate it.
I type on my ip4 in landscape lying flat on the table all the time. Now it's gonna wobble???
I type on my ip4 in landscape lying flat on the table all the time. Now it's gonna wobble???