Lost Next-Generation iPhone Believed to Be Late-Stage or Final Design

[kdarling]

If it's "Just an engineering prototype" to test some hardware.

Why on gods earth would they print the back up with the Apple Logo and iPad written on the back?

Even prototypes usually have full markings. I've had dozens from different companies over the years. It's partly a pride thing, and partly because markings are a requirement for the group that makes the casings.

Sometimes the model name hasn't been decided yet and that's missing, and sometimes buttons don't have markings, but I can't think of a prototype (outside of one that was just bare boards or in a temporary case) that wasn't marked at least with the company name... especially if it was going outside the lab.

 

[tempusfugit]

The masculine design of the new iPhone - which echoes my favorite Braun designs of the 70's and 80's, is very welcome in my book. watch out droid - this thing looks like it can stop a bullet - def. a man's phone and a must have.

Quite possibly the most bizarre assessment I've heard about the new design. I read and re-read your post and can't stop laughing.

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

Quite possibly the most bizarre assessment I've heard about the new design. I read and re-read your post and can't stop laughing.

I couldn't tell if he was joking or not, so I didn't know how to reply, but it sure is a silly post.

 

[jchatterbox]

As my post above yours says...............

If it's "Just an engineering prototype" to test some hardware.

Why on gods earth would they print the back up with the Apple Logo and iPad written on the back?

Printing the back up would be the last thing you'd do to a design and certainly nothing you'd do to anything less that a virtually finished piece of hardware as you'd never want someone seeing a poorly made prototype and also see your name and brand printed all over the back of it.

You would wish to keep it as blank and unrecognisable as possible.

I just wanted to point out that the iPhone was found in a case to make it look like a iPhone 3G/3Gs without any markings on it so all that was written on the back was infact hidden from anyone until the case was removed.

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

As my post above yours says...............

If it's "Just an engineering prototype" to test some hardware.

Why on gods earth would they print the back up with the Apple Logo and iPad written on the back?

Printing the back up would be the last thing you'd do to a design and certainly nothing you'd do to anything less that a virtually finished piece of hardware as you'd never want someone seeing a poorly made prototype and also see your name and brand printed all over the back of it.

You would wish to keep it as blank and unrecognisable as possible.

and what makes you an authority on the subject? Or are you just talking out your backside?

 

[hachre]

and what makes you an authority on the subject? Or are you just talking out your backside?

Nothing makes him an authority - just as much as anyone else here isn't, who's claiming the opposite.

 

[MadMacxxx]

The seams are in the final version because they have a utilitarian use (or two).

They function primarily as the attachment points for accessories that connect to the dock connector and the headset jack. They also serve as expansion joints in case of thermal stress or impact, making the phone much more durable than previous versions.

No, you don't know that for certain.

 

[Piggie]

and what makes you an authority on the subject? Or are you just talking out your backside?

Ok, imagine for a moment, you are Apple (super secret company to the point you apparantly have people with iPads in locked rooms chained to tables just a week before launch)

You have a new product you are making the whole "techy" world would like to find out about.

You have a few people out in the "wild" with the device that will have to test it out in the wild........

Assuming the casing with finished, would you actually print your company logo and the name on the device in white on a black background so that anyone nearby may see what it is, or for safety would you leave the printing off of it (or cover it up) for the demo units out there for testing that would wish to take every effort possible to keep secret?

I know what I'd do.

Many companies I know would not worry as generally we don't have this hysteria with other brands.

Guess I'm just think what I would do if I wished to minimise the risk of anyone identifying my new device being tested, as I say the last thing I'd do it to print the name of what it is on the back of it as that would be moronic.

Unless I WANTED it to be seen

Which is still a possibility.

 

[OutSpoken]

BTW: people who are still wiping tears of anger and sadness that something got leaked early, get over it already.

Exactly, I don't get why lot's of people are so angry...talking law suits and all sorts. Talk about sucking the fun out of the leak

I'm sure the guy Gray isn't losing sleep over the situation as much as you guys..

 

[Anuba]

Even prototypes usually have full markings. I've had dozens from different companies over the years. It's partly a pride thing, and partly because markings are a requirement for the group that makes the casings.

Yup, and even the markings need durability testing... the new ceramic back may not like being printed on, and decide to shed the markings. Enter class-action lawsuit #594, Doe vs. Apple, Inc, "bohoo the markings on my iPhone rubbed off and poisoned my hamster".

Assuming the casing with finished, would you actually print your company logo and the name on the device in white on a black background so that anyone nearby may see what it is, or for safety would you leave the printing off of it (or cover it up) for the demo units out there for testing that would wish to take every effort possible to keep secret?

Nobody nearby would see it because the prototypes were disguised in custom cases in the shape of iPhone 3GS. If it ended up in unauthorized hands, are you honestly saying that without the markings, nobody would be able to deduce that it's an iPhone? It was still running when found, they logged on to Powell's Facebook account. What non-Apple phone would run iPhone OS 4.0 and have a 30-pin connector and the same buttons and same mic/speaker configuration as an iPhone? The device is littered with dead giveaways even with no markings.

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

Ok, imagine for a moment, you are Apple (super secret company to the point you apparantly have people with iPads in locked rooms chained to tables just a week before launch)

You have a new product you are making the whole "techy" world would like to find out about.

You have a few people out in the "wild" with the device that will have to test it out in the wild........

Assuming the casing with finished, would you actually print your company logo and the name on the device in white on a black background so that anyone nearby may see what it is, or for safety would you leave the printing off of it (or cover it up) for the demo units out there for testing that would wish to take every effort possible to keep secret?

I know what I'd do.

Many companies I know would not worry as generally we don't have this hysteria with other brands.

Guess I'm just think what I would do if I wished to minimise the risk of anyone identifying my new device being tested, as I say the last thing I'd do it to print the name of what it is on the back of it as that would be moronic.

Unless I WANTED it to be seen

Which is still a possibility.

So... you obviously have no idea what you're talking about. Several Apple product prototypes including Macbook Airs (about a year after the product release) and iPod touches have got out. They all had full markings. This disproves anything you thought you had. Good job.

 

[blouis79]

So... you obviously have no idea what you're talking about. Several Apple product prototypes including Macbook Airs (about a year after the product release) and iPod touches have got out. They all had full markings. This disproves anything you thought you had. Good job.

Nothing there says that leaks are not carefully managed purposeful media campaigns. (70% of the news comes from corporate PR depts.)

 

[lawrencelaptop]

So I'm not the only person who has chipped the metal by scratching at that? Phew....

dear god, i just wish those places werent so damned addictive to fiddle with! i scratched the central notch with a belt buckle, and now i come close to tears whenever i stroke the scars... :'(

 

[skate71290]

And that seems to be Apples talent ..... I don't "need" any of them...but i want them

tell me about it... end of May the ipad comes to the UK i think i'm going to need Physical Restrains or for somebody to steal my pennies so i don't pointlessly buy one, because i literally have no need for it (i have an iMac... MacBook Air and iPhone) but i want it like well badly because it looks freaking AWESOME!

 

[Anuba]

Disappointed in the screen size, but that's not a deal breaker. I like the rest of the design, but really I am more interested in what other software tweaks will come with 4.0.

I don't get this "screen size" stuff. The resolution has doubled, supposedly, but why would you want a larger screen? It's a phone. If you want to be walking around with a billboard stuck to your face, get the iPad 3G.

 

[na1577]

So... you obviously have no idea what you're talking about. Several Apple product prototypes including Macbook Airs (about a year after the product release) and iPod touches have got out.

Well, the MacBook Air and original iPhone had some markings on them, but not the name. (likely because they didn't have a final name at that point)

One of the iPod touch leaks didn't have any markings, while the other had full markings, including iPod-branding. The iPad leak had no markings. I'm not really sure what I'm trying to say, but I thought it was interesting to note.

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

Nothing there says that leaks are not carefully managed purposeful media campaigns. (70% of the news comes from corporate PR depts.)

Yeah, I would like to see where that statistic came from (no where) and the data collected to make such a statistic (there is no data).

 

[Andrew K.]

So Apple gives us a curvy iPhone 3G that feels great in your hand. Now the next one will be flat? What are they gonna tell us?

 

[1Zach1]

I don't get this "screen size" stuff. The resolution has doubled, supposedly, but why would you want a larger screen? It's a phone. If you want to be walking around with a billboard stuck to your face, get the iPad 3G.

It's not just a phone, it's used for browsing the Internet, watching movies and playing games all of which would benifit from a larger screen. I was hoping for a larger, higher resolution screen in a similar sized package not an inscrease in the dimensions.

 

[msb3079]

It's not just a phone, it's used for browsing the Internet, watching movies and playing games all of which would benifit from a larger screen. I was hoping for a larger, higher resolution screen in a similar sized package not an inscrease in the dimensions.

It can't be "larger in a similar sized package" without making is BIGGER. The aspect ratio would change. Only thing I could see doing, is making is wider & shorter and losing some of the empty space. But I wouldn't want it wider than it is now.

No need for a larger screen, IMO. But I wouldn't mind losing some of the "dead space" on the top and bottom which would make the case smaller.

 

[1Zach1]

It can't be "larger in a similar sized package" without making is BIGGER. The aspect ratio would change.

So what you're saying is that it could be larger in a similar sized package.

 

[Anuba]

It's not just a phone, it's used for browsing the Internet, watching movies and playing games all of which would benifit from a larger screen. I was hoping for a larger, higher resolution screen in a similar sized package not an inscrease in the dimensions.

Apple may be innovative but they don't make screens inhouse, so forget any edge-to-edge screen iPhones in the foreseeable future. They can't make the screen wider without making the casing wider. Right, it's not merely a phone, but it is a phone and this dictates the form factor. They can't make phones that only NBA players can hold comfortably, it has to work for 7-year old pygmy girls as well.

As for making the screen taller, the top houses a speaker, the headphone jack, the SIM card slot, the camera and soon also a front-facing camera. The bottom, apart from having a home button also houses a mic, a speaker and a 30-pin connector, none of which will fit under the screen without making the phone thicker, and Steve would rather die than release a product that's thicker than its predecessor, never mind the fact that fanbois would kill him over this if he doesn't kill himself first -- they're already sobbing uncontrollably over the seams and screws.

I'm hard to please so I usually understand when others are disappointed, but not when they're irrationally disappointed over Apple being unable to bend the laws of physics.

So Apple gives us a curvy iPhone 3G that feels great in your hand. Now the next one will be flat? What are they gonna tell us?

Probably the same thing they told us when they replaced the Mighty Mouse with one that has sharp edges and looks like Oprah sat on it: Nothing. Fans will instinctively rationalize the design changes, and then they'll explain to you why a flat phone is more ergonomic than a curved one. Apple could remove the stands on their monitors and the space key on their keyboards, and all their evangelists out there would still be able to tell you why this makes perfect sense.

 

[amonheim08]

I think there will be some modifications still. It would not be like Mr. Jobs leave screws visible, the overall look is very unfinished and to me very "Un Apple".

But we shall see and I am sure the speculation will be rampant until it is formally unveiled!

Yeah exactly thats why all the mac book pros before the unibodies had screws come on i think the seams and the screws look cool it looks way more modern and there is no way to not have the seams if the production model has a glass front and a glass back
i think you guys are all ridiculous i love it as is and would buy it the first day it comes out screws, seams and all

 

[Anuba]

Yeah exactly thats why all the mac book pros before the unibodies had screws come on i think the seams and the screws look cool it looks way more modern and there is no way to not have the seams if the production model has a glass front and a glass back
i think you guys are all ridiculous i love it as is and would buy it the first day it comes out screws, seams and all

+1.

The 30-pin connector needs the screws since it's gonna have to endure hundreds, perhaps thousands of more or less violent/careless insertions and the seams are there for shock absorption, otherwise both the front and the back would shatter on impact. Welcome to reality.

Nobody should be complaining about this stuff, you should be celebrating the fact that Apple is prioritizing function over form. The company has a history of doing the opposite and that's why we got the broken hinges on Ti PB and MBA, the cracked plastic on the Cube, the constantly malfunctioning ball on the Magic Mouse, iPods so scratch-prone that pocket lint would age them 12 years in 12 hours, and other questionable constructions that were designed to look pretty rather than be reliable and durable. Perhaps they've finally realized that form over function isn't worth the class-action lawsuits and the costly warranty replacements and exchange programs. Perhaps they've also realized that if they choose pretty over robust, and the result is that everyone who buys the pretty thing covers it with a butt ugly case, then it was pointless to make it extra pretty instead of extra robust.

 

[hachre]

...the constantly malfunctioning ball on the Magic Mouse...

Mighty Mouse*