iPhone 5 to Get Aluminum Backing, Redesigned Antenna?

[shigzeo]

Metal is meh

Not that glass or plastic are much better, but metal's use really really needs to be fine-tuned. Aluminium scratches too easily. Crinkle finish ala Nikon magnesium cameras is too un-Apple. The iPhone 4 (despite my early hate) is amazing. It is, however, prone to shattering.

Here's hoping for a better design than what we see on the front page.

 

[GLS]

Instead of aluminum/liquid metal....perhaps titanium? It's been done before....

linkage

 

[youknome]

I currently own the 3GS and will most likely purchase the iPhone 5 but that mock up on the 1st page looks hideous.

 

[bass93]

EEWWWWWWWWW!!!!!

 

[DotComName]

The curved edges look nice! But the buttons being on the curve concerns me. It is such a PAIN on the iPod touches! For the iPad 2, it looks to be much more accessible because of the devices larger size, but for the iPhone that you hold in one hand, the buttons being on the angle like that would be beyond annoying!

 

[elhungarian]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_6 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8E200 Safari/6533.18.5)

Anyone else think iPhone 5 would be good candidate to roll out liquid metal?

 

[Wubby]

Please no. The current design is way better than the old curved back iphones. I don't care if it's metal or glass but I want it to keep its flat back.

 

[FriarNurgle]

Even though I LOVE the feel of the machined aluminum Apple products, I could care less what they make it out of just as long as the device will survive a fall without a scratch.

 

[gramirez2012]

My contract for the iPhone 3G is up in July. Whatever happens, I will be getting the iPhone 5.

 

[khunsanook]

This would be saweeeet! I am 100 percent in favor of an iPhone redesign.

 

[Reach9]

Anyone who thinks the iPhone 5 will be a iPhone 3G/3GS upgrade is stupid.

Btw, the 3G to 3GS upgrade was very big, internally. But externally they remained almost identical. That's because there wasn't any competition in the smartphone market at the time. Android was just starting up, and Apple had the majority of the market to themselves.
For this reason as well the iPad 2 is like a 3G to 3GS upgrade.

But in 2011, the smartphone market is intense and Apple has to pick up their A game and really deliver a proper phone with a proper software.
From all their products, Apple needs to work on the iPhone the most.

 

[crackbookpro]

Glass on the back of the iPhone 4 was the most epic distrubance I have seen from Apple in years.

If it wasn't purposefully designed from a strategic stance in sales, and furthermore, designed just for the look of glass with no functionality to design - then I will go even further, to say this...

The Glass on the back of the iPhone 4 was the most crafty(good and/or bad) move on the consumer from Apple I've seen in the past 2 decade...

This new design should be at least be a "smart" one.

 

[greytmom]

Hope this isn't true. I love the design of the iPhone 4 and have never had any issues with it.

 

[Eye4Desyn]

...I would love to see them make a light on the top like blackberry's, for message notification etc, but have it look like the sleep light on the current macbook pro's.

Agreed. I like the idea of a subtle and elegantly done strobe that would be an indicator for notifications, etc. when the phone is asleep. But I've always been curious why the iPhone (and especially the iPad) doesn't have the backlit logo like the MBPs and MBAs when in use. That would be killer. But for obvious reasons it seems like it would be to conserve battery power. As far as the mockup shown on page 1, I"m not a fan of that design at all - the back is heinous.

 

[Kenrik]

I prefer the iPhone 4...

 

[justjohn025]

I don't think it looks that bad, but that is clearly a mock up because as you can see, the volume button is going back to the 3GS. That volume button on my old 3GS literally came off the phone. I like the volume buttons way better on the iPhone 4

 

[cohibadad]

While I doubt the aluminum back, I know won't return to a sloped sides like the 3GS for the 5.

 

[Mess]

very first Gen esc! I like it! first Gen is a classic and worked well! nice

 

[slicecom]

here comes all the iPad 2 look alike mods for iPhone 5... like this has never happened before.

This is still my favourite iPhone mockup of all time.

 

[Apple Expert]

It should look similar to how the iPad 3G looks.

 

[iScott428]

Pleaseeeee bring back a metal backing! I miss the durability of my original iPhone so much! Now i have a cracked and discolored white back on my 3gs, please scratch less metal!

 

[Erwin-Br]

It looks cheap compared to the iPhone 4. But yeah, a phone made out of glass is not very practical, I agree with that.

 

[MUrhino]

But I've always been curious why the iPhone (and especially the iPad) doesn't have the backlit logo like the MBPs and MBAs when in use. That would be killer. But for obvious reasons it seems like it would be to conserve battery power.

I think the more obvious reason the MBPs and MBAs have a backlit logo is because the logo is directly opposite the screen. That is to say, there is no extra hardware required to illuminate the logo on a laptop, simply the screen brightness itself does the job. To test, close your laptop lid half way, then start to dim the screen. The apple logo also dims w/ it. To put this in an iPhone or iPad would be a waste of space for "cool factor" and add unnecessary weight and engineering problems. The iPhone and iPad have other materials between the screen and the apple logo on the back, thus the light wouldn't be transparent through the innards, unlike the laptops.

 

[BlazingSword]

some things to consider

apple licensed liquidmetal exclusively. from the liquid metal SEC filing...
"granted to Apple a perpetual, worldwide, fully-paid, exclusive license to commercialize such intellectual property in the field of consumer electronic products in exchange for a license fee"

now, they surely didn't do that so they could include a high-tech paperclip with the iphone 4. they clearly have plans for this material.

there has been lots of talk about a new "edge to edge" design that would essentially reduce the thickness of the side bezels to gain added real estate for a larger screen. such a design will require a very tough, very rigid material that can be cast with great precision. liquidmetal is stronger than aluminum, stainless steel or even titanium alloy. it's super light and easier to mold. its rigidity would make such a design possible and it's resistance to scratching, cracking or denting would make it extremely durable.

the liquidmetal website also says that by mixing it with other alloys, you can achive unique colors which could be an interesting twist..and finally there is a vague reference to unique "acoustic properties". who knows what that really means...

i think they'll go to metal. the obvious weight savings, thickness reduction and durability gains are too strong to ignore. the only wildcard is the antenna. i have no idea what they'll do about that...

 

[ghostface147]

I prefer the iPhone 4...

I agree. I think this current design is very easy on the eyes and feels great in the hands. I don't use cases and find the reception better than previous models. Doesn't matter to me for this next refresh anyways. I'll be skipping it and see what 2012 brings. I'll be out of contract and I'll be shopping between the two carriers that have it.