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New iPhone Rumors Reiterate Claims of Smaller Dock Connector, No Change to Screen Aspect Ratio

My guess is the new iPhone will take a similar look to the iPad.

It will have a metal back with more contoured design so finally all the products in the line will have some continuity to them. Surprised they didn't do that last year.
 
I will be immensely disappointed if they don't go up to a 4" screen, retaining the same aspect ratio. That's what I want most in the next iPhone.

Not saying the next phone won't be great anyways, but...
 
Again, like I have said before. I won't mind the same look or even 3.5 inch. I already have enough trouble fitting the iPhone sometimes. But, I'd really like to see some fundamental improvement, battery life up to several days of heavy usage, robust structure/screen, LTE. Something that would really WOW the community once again. I hope Apple doesn't fall into the usual tech trend of bigger screen, more speed and more memory....do something cool.

Please don't give me those "If Apple makes the phone too robust (or well) then nobody is going to bother to get a new one". Most people sign two-year contracts anyways and get new phones for around $200. Also, I don't think people these days have problem putting down $500+ and get the none contract iPhone.
 
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Wikipedia Dock Connector says:

"Many Portable media players feature a dock connector, such as the Apple dock connector, which is a proprietary 30-pin connector that is common on most models of iPods, and all models of the iPhone and iPad.[1] Originally, the Apple dock connector carried USB, FireWire, some controls and line-level audio outputs. As the iPod evolved, so did the signals in the dock connector. Video was added to the connector. FireWire was phased out of the iPods, which led to a discontinuity in usage of the dock connector. Older implementations of the dock connector may have been using the FireWire power pin to supply power, and cannot charge later iPods, iPhones, or the iPad, requiring an after market adapter to allow charging."

Since Thunderbolt talks in the listed protocols, Firewire, USB 1,2,3, Audio, all they need to add is power. It also widens the available protocols to various video formats and anything PCI. This is not merely a smaller hole in your iDevice, it is a broader compatibility with outside devices and protocols.

Expect to see some sort of converter for older 30 pin devices so newer devices can use them as currently expected for I/O and charging.

But new ecosystem devices will have far broader capabilities.

I just wonder if an iDevice is necessarily the end of a TB chain or if there will be a dongle/procedure to make it a pass-thru device as an option?

Rocketman
 
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I see the current iPhone like the Porsche 911, the design will be tweaked but remain the same, Why change when its perfect.

you want a bigger screen buy a tablet, Its the iPhone not the iPda, its primary task is telephone calls, the current form it the perfect balance between usability's and portability, once you go to the super sized its no longer portable.

Its built for the masses who want a phone with the internet,email and apps, not tech geeks that want there laptop in there hand just to post of forums moaning about unreleased products.
 
That new dock slot looks awesome. I'm definitely buying the next iPhone having seen that amazing improvement in minimalistic design. I hate the current dock connector. It's too bulky and really inconveniences me on a daily basis.
 
isoft7 said:
I can see the iPhone (5) being exactly as the 4 and 4s are in terms of design and in a strange way, demonstrating tremendous corporate confidence in their product by doing so.

As if to say "We have the most ideal design, there is no reason to change."

While people will be disappointed, they will still make billions and billions in profit. So who can really win that fight?
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I'm beginning to think it actually may look the same as the 4 and 4S but they'll hype up the internals and new apps/icloud stuff.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
Disagree. With exception of Original iPhone to iPhone 3G Apple has at least tweaked the cosmetic design every two years. The next iPhone will not be a mirror image of the iPhone 4/4S. Bank on it.
Click to expand...

"every two years"??
1st design lasted 1 year
2nd design lasted 2 years
3rd design, unknown, at least 2 years, but could be more.

Based on one confirmed 2 year period, yes, you can definitely say that apple redesign every two years.
 
Will definitely sit out iPhone 5 (iPhone 6?) if it is still packing a 3.5" screen...will just stick to my 4S instead.
 
I welcome a new dock connector if it means a new design!! If it's still the same 3.5 screen I'll probably keep my 4S until the screen gets bigger.
Apple probably will change the screen size because that is the most asked for feature.
My "prediction" is that it'll be a liquidmetal chassis (ala i4) a little thinner than the 4S with slightly curved back glass and also a 4.2 Retina screen with an all new ios6 with the new maps technology along with a better camera sensor and a 1.2 mp front facing camera for FaceTime HD.
 
I don't see my next phone being an iPhone, it will either be something like the galaxy Note, or Nokia Lumina, the windows phone has me pretty intrigued, its a nice phone
 
I don't buy this story for two reasons:

1). I think there would be an uproar if the device's design didn't change and LTE capability wasn't added.
2). The device's design hasn't been decided on. I'm sure Apple has had the design locked in for some time. I'm sure only a select few know the final design. It's common practice for Apple to make a few variants and even have employees work on fake projects to maintain security and prevent leaks.

Must be a light Friday at iMore, MR and 9to5. :rolleyes:
 
I don't much care for a radical change to the design of the next iPhone. The current one is fine. I carry it in a case so I hardly see the phone itself.

A slightly larger screen would be nice but I'm sure they won't change the aspect ratio. The one possibility (discussed elsewhere) would be if they add pixels to the top and bottom which are only used in movie playback. I doubt that will happen.

Much more important is changes to the iPhone's function. LTE, expanded use of Siri, a payment system, expanded iCloud functionality, longer battery life, multi-person FaceTime. That is far more important than whether they make the edges rounded or not.
 
I'm fine with the current port (especially because it works with older accessories), but a MagSafe version that is backwards-compatible would be great!

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JohnDoe98 said:
No thanks, 3.5" is plenty for me. If I need bigger I'll use my gorgeous iPad. I rather have a smaller, lighter phone than a larger, bulkier, heavier, phone that drains battery more quickly than the smaller model. I'll upgrade for LTE if the screen stays the same size, I'm not so sure if they increase the screen and device size though.
Click to expand...

My friend has a large Nexus. It has poor battery life, and the screen is easily susceptible to damage because it's so big. He got a huge crack in it after a week.
 
As some have wrote, USB 3.0 is more suitable replacement over Thunderbolt. As for the change in dock connector, I am sure Apple will provide an adapter for compatibility with third party product.

As for the screen, if Apple can increase the screen size without increasing physical size of the iPhone, I am all for it. What is wrong with more screen real estate?
 
Small and round, makes no sense. Going to put this in my "say what" bin. :p

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chriscrk said:
I don't mind if the dock connector is smaller or not, I'd rather they focus on implementing a new Thunderbolt connector for the iPhone (and all iDevices in the future). They need to push on it a bit more, and what better way than with their own products? Make it the standard.
Click to expand...

Why Thunderbolt when USB3 will probably be the norm on PC and Mac in the next refresh? I would think USB3 would be lightning fast for something like an iPad or iPhone needs.
 
Spectrum Abuser said:
Thunderbolt is not designed to fill the role of USB. It's made to cover the niche market of high speed data transferring such as external SDD's, HDD's, external GPU's/Apple Cinema Display and other things of that nature.
Click to expand...

While this may or may not be true, with capacities of iDevices getting larger, a Thunderbolt sync would be amazing. USB 2.0 is way too slow for large syncs.
 
chriscrk said:
I don't mind if the dock connector is smaller or not, I'd rather they focus on implementing a new Thunderbolt connector for the iPhone...
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What for? They are pushing them to be stand alone devices - why have the need to be leashed to a computer? I never need my phone or ipad plugged into a computer again for all I care.
 
For a company that's supposedly all about software why are people so hung up on what the hardware looks like. :confused:
 
after owning 4 dif iPhones im gonna jump ship then. i already feel left out seeing my friends with their badass phones while im still stuck with my baby 3.5 inch
 
No need to redesign dock connector. Unless they just one to hose everyone who has docking stations portable speakers or stereos etc.. From an accessory standpoint why reinvent the wheel? A huge benefit to owning iPhone is all 3rd party accessories. Need to evolve sometime I guess. Not sure if I'm buying this just yet.
 
That 30 pin connector needs to go. Almost all of us have the cables where only 6 of the pins are actually used.
 
faroZ06 said:
I'm fine with the current port (especially because it works with older accessories), but a MagSafe version that is backwards-compatible would be great!

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My friend has a large Nexus. It has poor battery life, and the screen is easily susceptible to damage because it's so big. He got a huge crack in it after a week.
Click to expand...

I have seen an awful lot of cracked iPhone screens :eek:
 
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