iPhone 5C Rear Shell Subjected to Scratch Tests, Caliper Measurements

[mitso]

Not sure if this has been previously mentioned but I'm hearing rumors that there will NOT be a black slate iPhone 5S. This is primarily due to the scuffing issues with the slate but also works well for Apple as these colors have a more prestigious connotation ie. watches. The champagne iPhone won't experience scuffing discolorations as the molten aluminium will be processed with something like nickel to give it a bronzed complexion. Therefore the iPhone 5S will come in silver/white and champagne/black ONLY.

The iPhone 5C will although come in an all black version.

 

[fullauto]

Nano 4G / 5G had the best blue by far IMO. Shame about the 5C colours.. looks like it's the 4S for 1 more year.

Grrrr iphone 6, you better be fricken awesome..

 

[Smartass]

I hope the large number of leaks of the 5C is somewhat intentional, and an attempt to keep the focus on that phone, so a new iPhone 5S with a larger screen, or possibly an iPhone 6 with a larger screen (in addition to a 4-inch 5S?), is a big surprise when announced in September. 3 new phones would be phenomenal!

Like I said, hoping... But not holding my breath...

calm down with iphone 6 and bigger screen

 

[mrobit]

It's a good thing Volkswagen keys are duller than a melted crayon.

 

[TommyA6]

Great. So now when I make fun of my Android using friend's cheap plastic casing (all I have left in my arsenal) they can just point to Apple's new Easter color plastic phones and laugh

Small screen + dated/limited UI = I may finally be going Android this fall. Sad Apple.

This....just....WTF lol

 

[puggsly]

You forgot the sarcasm tag...

Not every other company was stupid enough to put the antenna where everyone holds the phone.

Stop children! No more bickering.

1) Yes, the iPhone 4 did lose more signal when held in a certain way than the average cell phone.
2) No it was not stupid of Apple to move the antenna outside the phone. This actually gave better reception with lower power due to the lower interference (as long as you had a cover on it or avoided bridging the antenna gap).

So for the 95% would use covers or who were smart enough to not bridge the gap they got Better coverage. And the 5% who didn't figure it out, they got slightly lower coverage.

Can we just let this go after 3 years?

 

[B4U]

Am I the only one that is more concerned about the headline of the newspaper at the background?
Seems like they are talking about some 11 year old rich girl running from home and got drunk with a picture of a guy having his face masked talking to a microphone on the bottom right corner...

What is going on there in Taiwan...

 

[AppleMark]

I am morbidly interested in how these phones will turn out.

 

[Porco]

Really not all that different than the 3G series....

I think they are though. It's not just the colours, or the way the Apple logo is applied, or the shape, or any one single thing - the 5C as a whole just looks (from what we have seen) far tackier and cheaper-looking to me than any of Apple's previous iOS devices (or iPods before that either). I do prefer the metal and glass look of the 4/4S/5 to the plastic backs of some of the others, but still, it isn't just that they're plastic. Apple has made loads of gorgeous plastic products. The 5C looks like horrible recycled 1970s kitchenware so far.

All IMHO of course. Good luck to anyone who loves the look of them and can't wait to buy one.

 

[cmichaelb]

I think they are though. It's not just the colours, or the way the Apple logo is applied, or the shape, or any one single thing - the 5C as a whole just looks (from what we have seen) far tackier and cheaper-looking to me than any of Apple's previous iOS devices (or iPods before that either). I do prefer the metal and glass look of the 4/4S/5 to the plastic backs of some of the others, but still, is isn't just that they're plastic. Apple has made loads of gorgeous plastic products. The 5S looks like horrible recycled 1970s kitchenware so far.

All IMHO of course. Good luck to anyone who loves the look of them and can't wait to buy one.

Well hard to argue you with there. They don't look as nice to me as well. I'm not sure if it's the boxy shape or lack of metallic buttons.

But then again, I thought the first leaked images of the 4, the prototype found at the bar, couldn't be an Apple iPhone.

It looked so much better in person and in the hand- the pictures did not do it justice.

We don't have much longer to wait, should be interesting.

 

[ElTorro]

The blue and yellow colors look horrible on that shiny plastic. I've seen better looking soap boxes than these phones.

 

[shartypants]

Is it Sept 10th yet?

 

[flux73]

Why are people criticizing these obviously fake photos? Do you actually believe they're real?? I'm open to a lot of rumors, but no, these are not the colors Apple is going to use. Come on.

 

[macs4nw]

Shame on you apple...you can not go from to expensive to too cheap don´t you?…..

Who said anything about cheap? Based upon all the rumors and leaks, I'm expecting a fully featured phone, with most of the flagship's functionality, and running iOS7 naturally, at a less expensive cost, due to slightly lower-priced internals and casing.

You're entitled to your opinion; I think it's a great looking little phone. And a phone you wouldn't feel so fearful about, actually using it, with it's accidental bumps, drops and scratches. With the 5, although I love it, you always seem to be on guard about getting it blemished, precisely because it is such a beautifully crafted and executed piece of gear. This seems like a fun phone that's carefree.

Even though that was a very short scratch & damage test, the results were impressive. I would like a finish like that on my car.

Btw, who on earth walks around with paperclips and screws in their pockets? If you are that rare specimen, please don't answer that.

 

[j2004p]

I guess they didn't perform these tests on the iPhone 5...

Save the durability for the cheap plastic phone?

Build quality is not the same thing as durability.

The iPhone 5 has incredible build quality and mechanical durability, just s*** aesthetic durability

 

[dampfnudel]

iPhone 6???

There's a small possibility that Apple could call the next premium iPhone the iPhone 6 instead of calling it what we're all expecting, 5S. Maybe to better differentiate the premium model in case the plastic casing of the 5C wasn't enough. I'm still betting on Apple calling it the iPhone 5S.

 

[Porco]

But then again, I thought the first leaked images of the 4, the prototype found at the bar, couldn't be an Apple iPhone.

It looked so much better in person and in the hand- the pictures did not do it justice.

We don't have much longer to wait, should be interesting.

I know what you mean... some Apple products do look a lot better in person. I certainly hope the 5C is one such example!

 

[topper24hours]

Great. So now when I make fun of my Android using friend's cheap plastic casing (all I have left in my arsenal) they can just point to Apple's new Easter color plastic phones and laugh

Small screen + dated/limited UI = I may finally be going Android this fall. Sad Apple.

We will all REALLY miss you.

 

[Bskippy]

iPhone C???????

I wouldn't be surprised if Apple did introduce the plastic backed phone. However I would imagine that they would simply call it the 'iPhone C' and every year introduced "the new iPhone C." That would keep the iPhone 5S separate as the flagship phone and avoid confusion.

 

[topper24hours]

Apple would do well to make the 5S come in some of those 5C colors, rather than just black and white (and champagne).

I don't understand the marketing behind offering the 5C in red, blue, etc. and not the 5S. Do you WANT people to forgo your more expensive device even though they can afford it because they just really want a blue iPhone? Because I can see that happening. Maybe not often, but it'll happen.

Let me explain some marketing to ya....
Pay CLOSE attention!!
Ok, here in America, $450 of a phone's retail price get subsidized.. thus, a $650 iPhone 5 is $200, a $550 iPhone 4S is $100, etc.
So... enter Android- with phones that retail at $450, they can be offered by carriers for FREE!!
This, whether Apple makes a better phone or not, can be quite enticing to the consumer! If they want to pay $0, they have a bunch of new Android phones to choose from, but only one Apple phone (the three year old, iPhone 4).
NOW.... (stay with me- we're getting to the crux!), if what they're saying is true... & Apple has made a phone that they can retail for $450; for the 1st time EVER Apple will have a brand new phone... for $0!
Let me know if you DON'T see how that would make marketing sense, please.
Moving on.... this creates a clear dichotomy. You may be one of the people that wants a top-tier classy phone & doesn't mind paying $200 and buy a BRAND NEW iPhone 5S... or you can be one of the people that just wants a free phone that seems flashy and still get a BRAND NEW iPhone 5C. The two types of people I'm describing are quite different. I don't see a lot of cannibalization occurring.
Also, (and this is my final point) if I seem to recall correctly.... Apple, once they reach parity, tends to make the same amount of profit off each phone... as the ones they sell for cheaper, cost less to make... thus they don't care which model you get... just as long as you buy Apple, they'll make the same either way.

 

[captain kaos]

I can see next year the higher end 5S type of build disappearing. If the 5c sells well and eats into the 5s sales apple might just make the next phone plastic and colour.

 

[maxosx]

Outside of major metro areas like Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, The Peninsula, SF, LA, & the like just to name a few wealthy enclaves of CA, in today's economy price is an issue. I believe the Cheap Plastic iPhone will sell in enormous numbers, outside of these areas. Actually, they'll probably also move tens of thousands in the well heeled areas to the soccer moms kids & others drawn to the carnival colors. After all it's got the much sought after fruity logo.

 

[gatearray]

Why are people criticizing these obviously fake photos? Do you actually believe they're real?? I'm open to a lot of rumors, but no, these are not the colors Apple is going to use. Come on.

ha, that's what I said about the color palette of iOS 7, yet here we are. these garish plastic iPhones will match nicely with it, don't you think?

 

[ElTorro]

Let me explain some marketing to ya....
Pay CLOSE attention!!
Ok, here in America, $450 of a phone's retail price get subsidized.. thus, a $650 iPhone 5 is $200, a $550 iPhone 4S is $100, etc.
So... enter Android- with phones that retail at $450, they can be offered by carriers for FREE!!
This, whether Apple makes a better phone or not, can be quite enticing to the consumer! If they want to pay $0, they have a bunch of new Android phones to choose from, but only one Apple phone (the three year old, iPhone 4).
NOW.... (stay with me- we're getting to the crux!), if what they're saying is true... & Apple has made a phone that they can retail for $450; for the 1st time EVER Apple will have a brand new phone... for $0!
Let me know if you DON'T see how that would make marketing sense, please.
Moving on.... this creates a clear dichotomy. You may be one of the people that wants a top-tier classy phone & doesn't mind paying $200 and buy a BRAND NEW iPhone 5S... or you can be one of the people that just wants a free phone that seems flashy and still get a BRAND NEW iPhone 5C. The two types of people I'm describing are quite different. I don't see a lot of cannibalization occurring.
Also, (and this is my final point) if I seem to recall correctly.... Apple, once they reach parity, tends to make the same amount of profit off each phone... as the ones they sell for cheaper, cost less to make... thus they don't care which model you get... just as long as you buy Apple, they'll make the same either way.

Let me explain a little reading comprehension to ya. He wasn't questioning the marketing behind making the 5C, he was asking why there isn't the same color offering for the 5S. He says there might be people who buy the 5C instead of the S, because they want a particular color.

 

[Glideslope]

how so? i wouldn't mind a more affordable iphone.. just wish it didn't look like a fisher price toy

There are millions who will not look at it as a Fisher Price Toy.
It will, IMO, easily sell 2X 5S sales in Asia. Provided production can keep up.

It's ok that you don't like it. Not everyone will. Make no mistake however. This is no poorly designed cell phone. It simply has last years technology, and fewer bells, and whistles. Your going to need 80 grit sandpaper to scratch this polymer case.

So, like I said. You're not the target market.