iPhone 8 Concepts and Mockups - Part 2

[Fynd]

Exactly why this awful concept would never fly in the real world.

Anyone who begs for this edge to edge display has no grasp of how much hand fatigue you'd get from holding the phone very awkwardly just to avoid accidental touches.

Also, people who want to debate me, count how often you rest your thumb on the home button / bottom area to help stabilize the phone, then get back to me...

Despite Apples track record recently, even they would not release something this impractical.

Don't forget 3D touch, though. That's one thing Apple has going for them with this type of display. The home button can be purely virtual, but not trigger without actually pushing in on it. No different than the iPhone 7 now.

 

[Elijen]

I hope they will not do the same mistake as S7 Edge where you have to hold the phone awkwardly or press stuff unintentionally on the screen edge.

 

[JulienBerthelot]

What I hate about mock ups usually is that people who make them make un realistic predictions about the software. Like, yeah right, Apple will also change the entire user interface... So I decided to make, only the system, not the device. What would be know as iOS 11 on the iPhone Edition / 8 / X . I've only done 3 apps as of right now, but I plan on making more.

 

[dampfnudel]

Heh, welcome to MacRumors. People were incredibly salty about the iPhone 4S, due to the rumours. They thought the 16 month break would mean a ludicrous redesign.

And the iPhone 6. And the 6S. And all the rest of them!

It's unlikely they'd break their 'S' cycle. If they don't, they'll hopefully release this new iPhone along with the 7S at a higher price. I'll try to keep my hopes modest and see what happens. It's difficult not to be excited, though!

Offering a new design at a $200 premium over a design that you could buy/bought in 2014 would be the biggest upsell so far under Tim's reign at Apple. He's probably salivating and can't wait to see the extra cash flow in.

 

[orev]

Except for all the screens that are no longer squares?

Newer technologies have unlocked the ability to custom design display shapes, including rounded corners, or even circular displays .

It doesn't matter. The ability to do something is not the same as it being a good idea or something that anyone will actually do on a major product. All manufacturing processes produce rectangles, which means a bunch of effort and resources went into making it. Cutting off the corners is an additional step, wastes material, and creates problems for the operating system/apps that are all not designed to deal with rounded screen corners.

Unless they're masked from something above them...

Why would you go through all the trouble of making a screen with a bunch of pixels, and then just cover them up? It's a waste of materials, and a dumb thing to do just to get a rounded effect that can easily be mimicked in software.

why?

It doesn't make sense. It's a waste of time and resources on a mass-produced product.

Try telling that to people on the 'Apple Watch wish list' pages.

A watch is a special-purpose device with special needs. Round watches are already well-established so it would make sense to try to make a round display for a watch screen. It's possible to do, but only in places where it really warrants all the extra effort and waste required to do it.

Like the LG G6?

The Android device menagerie with tons of different phones of random features really doesn't compare. There are plenty of Androids that have dumb features that are never used beyond a single device. It's mostly a gimmick.

 

[jonnysods]

Exactly why this awful concept would never fly in the real world.

Anyone who begs for this edge to edge display has no grasp of how much hand fatigue you'd get from holding the phone very awkwardly just to avoid accidental touches.

Also, people who want to debate me, count how often you rest your thumb on the home button / bottom area to help stabilize the phone, then get back to me...

Despite Apples track record recently, even they would not release something this impractical.

Mate it hurts enough using the Plus with one hand. Can't imagine holding it danitily!

 

[sunapple]

The Android device menagerie with tons of different phones of random features really doesn't compare. There are plenty of Androids that have dumb features that are never used beyond a single device. It's mostly a gimmick.

The rounded corners provide the screen with better drop protection since its closer to the edge of the phone. You should really be more open-minded towards other tech companies, especially when they are ahead of Apple.

 

[LordVic]

Exactly why this awful concept would never fly in the real world.

Anyone who begs for this edge to edge display has no grasp of how much hand fatigue you'd get from holding the phone very awkwardly just to avoid accidental touches.

Also, people who want to debate me, count how often you rest your thumb on the home button / bottom area to help stabilize the phone, then get back to me...

Despite Apples track record recently, even they would not release something this impractical.

I actually hold my phone like they do in the photo.
never had tendinitis in my hand.

I think you're applying just a little bit of hyperbole here

 

[JackANSI]

The real "creative thinkers" are the ones that design with reality in mind. Anybody can create a concept phone that they want to see - there's a lot of really cool renders out there but the challenge is to design within the bounds of practical engineering and established design language.

This.

Most of these renderings are just too far off what is actually capable. While it is nice for designers to push those lines out a bit so engineers have a challenge to meet, 98% of these are so far past the engineering and practicality line.

 

[saile]

To see is concept I can only say ouahhh. And if there are a very strong chances that the final product will not look like this, we however hope that Apple will be inspired a little bit.


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iphone 6 s iphone 7

 

[orev]

The rounded corners provide the screen with better drop protection since its closer to the edge of the phone. You should really be more open-minded towards other tech companies, especially when they are ahead of Apple.

Apple makes/made phones that are 90% glass. You think they care about drop protection? Anyway, it's besides the point. Drop protection is a function of the housing, which is very cheap to produce compared to the expensive process of making a rounded LCD panel. I really don't think your argument is based in reality.

 

[sunapple]

Apple makes/made phones that are 90% glass. You think they care about drop protection? Anyway, it's besides the point. Drop protection is a function of the housing, which is very cheap to produce compared to the expensive process of making a rounded LCD panel. I really don't think your argument is based in reality.

Actually, I'm right.

The LCD is expensive to replace and they do care about protecting that.

Here's where my theory comes from, an article from The Verge:

Those rounded corners aren't just there to show off. LG actually filed off the edges of the LCD panel, making more room for reinforcement around the corners of the phone itself, which is the most common area to suffer impact damage and which could otherwise have made the G6 especially vulnerable. If the panel remained rectangular with this slim-bezel design, its corners would have been much closer to the edge of the device and therefore more vulnerable to cracking upon impact.

http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/2/26/14741886/lg-g6-announced-specs-features-mwc-2017

Apple better makes a sturdy housing if they finally start making smaller bezels like the competition is already doing. Rounding the corners of the LCD helps with that.

Convinced yet?

 

[orev]

Actually, I'm right.

The LCD is expensive to replace and they do care about protecting that.

Here's where my theory comes from, an article from The Verge:

http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/2/26/14741886/lg-g6-announced-specs-features-mwc-2017

Apple better makes a sturdy housing if they finally start making smaller bezels like the competition is already doing. Rounding the corners of the LCD helps with that.

Convinced yet?

No, because drop protection is only one of many many factors that are taken into consideration for design purposes, and every single LCD screen on the planet except for a vanishingly few exceptions have square corners. To accommodate rounded corners you have to rewrite the whole OS and every single app that runs on the OS to be able to deal with it. Or you have to pad out every single app so the corner of the app starts on the edge of the curve, making everything look absolutely horrible and also removing the ability for apps to use the whole screen (without a rewrite). It's an idea that has almost no benefit while having a huge number of drawbacks.

 

[sunapple]

No, because drop protection is only one of many many factors that are taken into consideration for design purposes, and every single LCD screen on the planet except for a vanishingly few exceptions have square corners. To accommodate rounded corners you have to rewrite the whole OS and every single app that runs on the OS to be able to deal with it. Or you have to pad out every single app so the corner of the app starts on the edge of the curve, making everything look absolutely horrible and also removing the ability for apps to use the whole screen (without a rewrite). It's an idea that has almost no benefit while having a huge number of drawbacks.

Look closely at the LG G6 and leaked pictures of the Galaxy S8. The LCD has round corners. The bezel is super thin. They are willing to deal with the trade offs to get better drop protection. I can't see any other reason.

iPhone doesn't yet need round corners because there's a big bezel. When they finally start making iPhones with smaller bezels they will have to think of a better housing. They might also choose to make round LCD corners like LG and Samsung.

I remember when Apple switched from 3,5" to 4" and most apps weren't yet optimized. Or when the switched to Retina screen and everything became blurry. Nowadays apps and iOS are much better optimized to scale to fit. They'll think of something that works, don't worry about that.

 

[orev]

Look closely at the LG G6 and leaked pictures of the Galaxy S8. The LCD has round corners. The bezel is super thin. They are willing to deal with the trade offs to get better drop protection. I can't see any other reason.

iPhone doesn't yet need round corners because there's a big bezel. When they finally start making iPhones with smaller bezels they will have to think of a better housing. They might also choose to make round LCD corners like LG and Samsung.

I remember when Apple switched from 3,5" to 4" and most apps weren't yet optimized. Or when the switched to Retina screen and everything became blurry. Nowadays apps and iOS are much better optimized to scale to fit. They'll think of something that works, don't worry about that.

Look, I understand your point, and I appreciate your optimism about something new. However, I just don't think the benefits (which I think are very little) outweigh the drawbacks, and I bet that most engineers probably see it the same way. Ultimately, we will only see what Apple does in time.