Next Generation iPhone Approaching Production? Case + LCD Parts Circulating

[dodgerbluetx]

People, this is the final design.

Steve, is that you??

I guess you never noticed the LED sleep and battery life indicators on all of Apples macbooks.

I second that a LED indicator on an iphone would be both useful and not that hard to implement.

My iMac has an LED on it too. While battery life is important on laptops as well, I'd say it's even more critical on an iPhone. Don't think you can really compare features on a Macbook to those on an iPhone.

I may be wrong, but this looks like a phone repair company showing off some replacement parts for the new iphone. If so, this is not a prototype. You don't send replacement parts out for a phone you aren't going to sell.

What's up with that? Surely there's some sort of non-disclosure agreement between all parties. If we can all agree that there is some sort of agreement between apple/suppliers to not show this stuff off the second you get your hands on it, would we agree that these can't be the final parts? Is it easier to believe that this company is willing to risk future business by showing this stuff off in the face of such an agreement?

Is Apple using the same Chinese factory as LG to make more profit ?
Looks just the same. I would not walk around with that.

I bet you would.

 

[BeyondtheTech]

I can't wait until the keynote. Jobs will say something like "Hmm, you might have seen this before" (Audience laughter).

...or how about, "Did you hear the one about the Apple employee who walked into a bar?"

 

[skyehill]

Screen clutter. Many of us get 10 or 20 emails an hour. A dialog box for missed phone calls and text messages is a good compromise. I could see having the options to add other notifications.

Clutter is bad. simplicity is good.

Simplicity is great for little kids and old people that don't know what they're doing. And the implication here is that it can only either be simple or cluttered. Something tells me a good hardware company could come up with something elegant. Apple can do much much better in this regard. Or at least they should try.

 

[JeffDM]

...and the similarities are.... what exactly?

There really aren't any design similarities. No one that's handled a unibody should reasonably think that it's anything like an HP or Dell. I deal with current HP, Dell and Apple products regularly and people that see similarities are setting far too low of a bar for "similar". The plastic vs. metal shells should be the first big-tipoff, anyone that doesn't see that as a major difference really shouldn't be comparing designs.

 

[DetroitBORG]

I really like the design, except for those seems. It's clear now that this is indeed the final production design so they are hear to stay.

The front glass panel is going to be much easier to shatter when dropped. How many times have people dropped their iPhones and banged up the corners? Now imagine banging those corners with a glass edge! Maybe they've developed a shatter resistant glass for the iPhone?

And I'm not at all surprised Apple is staying with LCD since OLED provides VERY poor visibility in direct light.

 

[ranReloaded]

Apple designs are becoming more and more generic, first the MBP began looking like PCs and now this iPhone which looks a lot like the tons of other smartphones out there now.

I disagree. Simple? yes. Generic? no. What competitor makes such minimalistic pieces of good taste nowadays? Everybody adds their own weird shapes/colors in order to achieve some sort of forced individuality. Industrial Design 101 hampered by lame branding strategy. Everyone else's products are plain U G L Y. Apple beats them by being zen

The most you could bash Apple in this respect is the inclusion of the Apple logo or the rounded iPhone or its silver bezel.

 

[Berio]

There really aren't any design similarities. No one that's handled a unibody should reasonably think that it's anything like an HP or Dell. I deal with current HP, Dell and Apple products regularly and people that see similarities are setting far too low of a bar for "similar". The plastic vs. metal shells should be the first big-tipoff, anyone that doesn't see that as a major difference really shouldn't be comparing designs.

Agreed. Maybe the original poster has only ever seen these two laptops and thus found them strikingly similar. Both have a screen, a keyboard, a touch pad in suspiciously similar spatial relationship to keyboard...

 

[JeffDM]

Seams won't kill you.

That's a pretty odd guideline. A blinking LED won't kill you either, but you're against one but not the other.

 

[army91c]

Agreed. Maybe the original poster has only ever seen these two laptops and thus found them strikingly similar. Both have a screen, a keyboard, a touch pad in suspiciously similar spatial relationship to keyboard...

Yeah... anyone can see with those specs they are pretty much twins.... maybe the Arnold and Danny type of twins but twins they are!

 

[ranReloaded]

Steve, is that you??

I always wondered... what are the chances he is actually reading these forums? I hope that if he is, it will not be acknowledged. Otherwise we'll have to deal with posts like:

"Steve if you are reading these pleeeaaase where are the new non-glossy /Blu-Ray MBPs already???"

 

[ranReloaded]

I bet all my chips that, if the seams are staying they'll surely serve some purpose. Ventilation?

 

[antic]

I really like the design, except for those seems. It's clear now that this is indeed the final production design so they are hear to stay.

The front glass panel is going to be much easier to shatter when dropped. How many times have people dropped their iPhones and banged up the corners? Now imagine banging those corners with a glass edge! Maybe they've developed a shatter resistant glass for the iPhone?

And I'm not at all surprised Apple is staying with LCD since OLED provides VERY poor visibility in direct light.

With regards to breaking the glass face if you drop the phone. From what we have seen on these recent screen shots, it looks like there is a black plastic rim around the glass face. Hopefully this will give it some protection.

 

[ranReloaded]

What are the chances the back glass is multitouch, and will let you (say) play games with your index fingers without obscuring the screen?

 

[charlituna]

There's also no way any Chinese rip-off company is going to invest in that level of aluminium machining technology to make a cheap copy either.

don't be so sure about that. Some of these knock offs are probably made by folks that do or have worked in the actual factories and could get the knockoff they sent out earlier this year actually machined. And with Gizmodo giving out major details it wouldn't be hard to go back to your knockoff and put the appropriate holes to make a perfect match.

it does seem a tad odd that service parts for phones that haven't even been announced and won't likely be for 3 more weeks are going out. I would think that would happen at the same time as the actual devices. Cause folks don't need them before that. So why clutter up shelves

 

[Berio]

That's a pretty odd guideline. A blinking LED won't kill you either, but you're against that and not the other thing.

i see what you mean.
I was merely reacting to the consternation about the possible seams, an amusingly extreme consternation. ("i would never be seen with a phone with seams" etc)

of course neither will kill anybody.

If there are indeed seams in the final version, i tend to agree with those who have said there may be a technical necessity/reason for them, whereas a blinking LED would not be a technical necessity, rather an added feature, which imho is not beneficial or beautiful.

 

[Cousin Dirk]

Horary for the iPhone but I' wondering... will this also mean a possible iPod Touch update or will the iPod Touch be put on the iPad refresh schedule?

the iPod Touch already has its own refresh schedule - the next one is expected in September.

 

[Berio]

What are the chances the back glass is multitouch, and will let you (say) play games with your index fingers without obscuring the screen?

I do not play games on the phone, but i would still love to see a touch sensitive back. scrolling on the back with the index finger would be useful for me. last time this was proposed here there was violent reaction and ridicule, so it seems many are opposed to this option, but i'd like to see it.

 

[ranReloaded]

NEXT: Steve gets mad at all the recurring leaks/knock-offs and goes All-Willy-Wonka.

 

[JeffDM]

it does seem a tad odd that service parts for phones that haven't even been announced and won't likely be for 3 more weeks are going out. I would think that would happen at the same time as the actual devices. Cause folks don't need them before that. So why clutter up shelves

It may be that they have some kind of back channel with many of the parts makers. But if I had a back channel like that, I wouldn't be showing off the parts like that, else those channels might be rooted out and not be there when they are needed for actual supplies and information.

 

[ranReloaded]

the iPod Touch already has its own refresh schedule - the next one is expected in September.

I wonder if the next iPod Touch will look like this, albeit a bit thinner.

 

[kdarling]

One thing that has been bugging me since day one of this story: how likely is it that an apple employee is carrying the new hardware and new software around outside the apple campus - without even having the 4-digit "Passcode Lock" feature switched on?

Perhaps habit.

Apple reportedly makes their employees turn off passcodes at work. This is so the Apple Worldwide Loyalty Teams (aka the "Apple Gestapo") can look at any private emails or phone calls to see if you've been leaking secrets.

 

[ranReloaded]

I do not play games on the phone, but i would still love to see a touch sensitive back. scrolling on the back with the index finger would be useful for me. last time this was proposed here there was violent reaction and ridicule, so it seems many are opposed to this option, but i'd like to see it.

It's gonna be alright. Once Steve is the one defending it, they'll all suddenly love it.

I agree it's not only games that are affected.

 

[JeffDM]

If there are indeed seams in the final version, i tend to agree with those who have said there may be a technical necessity/reason for them, whereas a blinking LED would not be a technical necessity, rather an added feature, which imho is not beneficial or beautiful.

I don't know why you don't think it's not useful, but I'll grant the beauty part, though the sleep indicator on the MBPs would suggest otherwise on that part too.

So far, no one has forwarded a plausible reason for the seams. The idea that someone forwarded that they're cooling vents is just ridiculous, Apple puts a lot of gaskets on the phone to try preventing junk from getting inside, vents defeat that. I've never had a phone with vents either, that would be a new one.

Maybe they're there for shock dampening, that would work better if you have seams.

 

[charlituna]

Some people have this crazy theory that the whole iPhone prototype/Gizmodo thing was a plant by Apple to get free advertising about the next iPhone release.

you want Crazy, I got really crazy

There's a theory going around that Gawker was set up.

They had a bug up their butts over the whole Steve's health thing and jumped on it hard. Enough that Apple supposedly stopped advertising on the site and giving them any info. So pretty much everything they post is media announcements and stuff off other sites. Which has not made Gawker happy.

And then they pulled this stunt over the tablet back in January and really really pissed Apple off. Since Jobs and company saw that Gawker was not above criminal acts, they 'lost' the phone wanting it found just so Gawker would get in legal trouble and end up with their rep in the mud. And Apple stays clean cause it's the DA doing all the dirty work.

They are saying that Powell wasn't fired because he was in on it. And he didn't lose the phone anywhere. He handed it to the guy and just called the bar pretending he lost his phone. They had him call AppleCare because they knew that no one would buy his story but would 'make a ticket' to record the call. in the end the guy will be all contrite and agree to help the DA and won't get charged with anything. etc

Now hows that for crazy.

 

[xtwentyseven]

Design

You know...I keep seeing people complaining about how 'ugly' this new design is. I know maybe 3 people who do not have a case on their iPhone. Remember that the prototype had a case on it that disguised it to look like a 3Gs? If you don't like the look, just put it in a case.

For this same reason, I'm betting the seems are not for ventilation, unless case makers make slits in the cases where the seems are.