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Next-Generation iPhone With 'Radical New Case Design' Coming in August?

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Could well be coming in August. iOS 5 release date just says "coming Fall" which could mean August and I can see them releasing the new software and hardware at the same time to keep things nice and tidy. Whatever month the iPhone is released in, I think the software and the iPods are going to be released at the exact same event.
 
The most telling piece of evidence…

Is that we're getting a refresh in September.

Apple has stuck to the annual refresh through three upgrades. Then something shifted things.

One could attribute the shift to new industrial design, testing and parallel manufacturing…I'm not even sure the iPhone 4 design has even completed rollout to all territories?

Or perhaps this is time to bring in a second form factor, so we get a 4S, plus iPhone X in September with a big event in August to drive folks mad.

If it is a second device which remaining vector does Apple push against? Price? Size? Compatibility?
 
Needs to be different!! Too many new competitor phones out there since last June for just a minor update. If they would have done the release in June it would have been more acceptable for minor release. This industry is moving quicker and quicker and

Apple needs to LEAD not follow. I want to see at least a no glass back and the antenna issue fixed. I would like to see us get it blown away this fall. It would be a perfect compliment to iOS 5 and iCloud.

Apple needs to show that Steve's still got it! There is a lot of concern about his departure and the future leadership of the company. I'd like to see nothing more than the critics shut up!
 
IMO it makes sense to get away from the iPhone 4 design for a few reasons.

AntennaGate was a "black eye" on the design.

Verizon / ATT build differences are holding back Verizon updates (what I don't like about Android).

Samsung has cloned the design making it less unique.

Curved glass machines cost a lot and need to be used :apple:
 
I hope they stick with a simply incremental numbering scheme. That way everyone will stop confusing the iphone version for the network technology it contains.

I don't really care about the form factor though, I'm just interested in it getting the A5 and maybe a slightly larger screen (a nicer camera won't hurt). Next year should be big with LTE and I think we can seriously start discussing OLED/AMOLED at that point.

Another interesting point is if it retains the radio used in the verizon iphone 4, will they all have a SIM slot and greater carrier mobility? It's important to note that that chipset even supports T-Mobile 3G, though the radio firmware likely doesn't.
 
Everyone I know prefers the iPhone 4 square design over the 3G, S. Feels better and sits on a table better.

I bet the case/accessory mgfr's will love a newly designed iPhone case! Not me...too much invested already in cases.

Now if Apple made a phone that didn't require one to buy a case ( for antenna issue or just to make it less slippery or damaged) that would be a coup!

Love Apple products, but every back plastic case gets scratched up or is just too slippery in the hand to hold.

Please keep the current iPhone 4 design...as Apple says...'it just works' for me...
 
dustinsc said:
Also, history is clearly not repeating itself in this case. If it were, we'd already have the "4S" (which, by the way, is a ridiculous name for a phone and doesn't fit the nomenclature at all)
Click to expand...

You mean the unusual, September release, right?
 
Please Zeus let this be TRUE!!! I want a metal backing, and regardless of what it looks like I will be getting it; because my 3Gs is just not cutting it any longer!!!
 
ArtOfWarfare said:
QFT. Those of us who will be upgrading hope it will be something better than what those of us who will not be upgrading already have, while those of us who will not be upgrading hope what they already have is nearly indistinguishable from what they'll not be upgrading to.
Click to expand...

I agree with what I think you said. :)
 
chrmjenkins said:
I hope they stick with a simply incremental numbering scheme. That way everyone will stop confusing the iphone version for the network technology it contains.

I don't really care about the form factor though, I'm just interested in it getting the A5 and maybe a slightly larger screen (a nicer camera won't hurt). Next year should be big with LTE and I think we can seriously start discussing OLED/AMOLED at that point.
Click to expand...

I think they need a case redesign for that very reason...next year they can toss in LTE as the incremental upgrade while still performing this year, without it.
 
As always I'd suggest taking ANY rumour of Apple hardware with a large grain of salt but let me just throw something out here. Would it not make a huge amount of sense for Apple to add inductive charging in the next iPhone / iPod Touch design? iOS 5 has cut the cable as far as data is concerned but you still need to plug in for power. If they can somehow introduce it without bumping the production costs too far it'd be a very nice bullet point for them.

Which sorta leads on to the redesign question. While it may be possible to build inductive charging into the iPhone 4's glass case surely a metal back would be an easier solution? Just a thought and total speculation of course but still, would make some sort of sense...
 
When to upgrade?

I currently own an ATT 3GS, and can upgrade 6/30. When should I upgrade? Do I get the iPhone 4 now or wait until whenever the iPhone 5 comes out (who knows how long that will be?)? I know the 4 will be cheaper, and is it really worth waiting for the 5? I'm really torn! :confused:
 
JuanGuapo said:
If history is any indicator, it will likely be an iPhone "4S" before an "5" model. All around upgrades--Better x,y, and z but indistinguishable from the iPhone 4.
Click to expand...

Original iPhone (new design)
iPhone 3G (new case design, internals largely the same with the exception of 3G)
iPhone 3GS (old case design, upgraded internals)
iPhone 4 (new case design, new internals)

Really? If history is any indicator? People are way too caught up on the 3GS, both on the 'S' name and the 'pattern' it supposedly creates. It takes more than a single data point to create a pattern.

The iPhone 4 is also set to become the longest running iPhone without a successor, and it's had two additional 'launches' since its initial one (Verizon and white), which has never happened with an iPhone model before. I don't think history is any indicator at all.
 
Unconvincing.

The R&D investment on a new iPhone design is substantial; Steve claimed it took a team eighteen months to design the iPhone 4.

From an ROI standpoint, it would make far more sense for Apple to keep the same basic design and make incremental improvements to the internals (CPU, GPU, storage, camera, and networking).

One would expect to see a new design in 2012's handset, not this year's.

Note that Apple has a history of retaining basic designs for a couple of iterations before moving to a new platform. The most notable exception is the iPod mini/nano product line.
 
juicedropsdeuce said:
History? That happened in 1 out of 4 versions. Do the math. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

1 out of 4? Try 1 out of 2.

iPhone -> iPhone 3G (yes so no "S")
iPhone 3G -> iPhone 3Gs

Even if you are trying to count that they didn't go from the iPhone 3Gs to the 3gss (which is silly), that would be 1 out of 3.

iPhone 4 -> hasn't happened yet.
 
I want to see 2 iphones:

4S with beefed up specs and world phone (GSM + CDMA)
5 with new design, including larger screen, NFC, and LTE.

Why not dream big?
 
How "radical" can it be?

Short of having a roll-up screen (i.e., the Chapstick form-factor), how "radical" can it be? It's a box with a screen! All phones look exactly the same to me - either an iPad Touch lookalike or a Star Trek communicator lookalike.
 
no way they release this in Aug without iOS 5, with iOS 5 being Fall, which is Sept 23rd
 
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