Photo of Plastic Packaging with 'iPhone 5C' Name Surfaces

[bungiefan89]

I still can't believe people are buying the idea that Apple would actually make a plastic piece of crap like the other companies attempting to emulate their success.

Apple has made some bone-headed moves in the past, but a plastic iPhone? They're not THAT dumb!

 

[E.Lizardo]

Which means that it is able to be recycled. Whether it is actually recycled (and how environmentally friendly that process turns out to be) is a whole other question...

Very true.Just as true of all plastics,the Aluminum cases of macbooks and the cardboard boxes with PLASTIC inserts that the iPhone 5 comes in.

 

[Cougarcat]

In the UK we have the option to either get a phone with a contract or pay the full price of the product. My Mum will likely ask me to pick her one up from the Apple Store.

.
You can do that in the US, too. It's probably not going to be cheap. An unsubsidized iPhone 4, $0 on contract, is still $450.

But maybe they will manage something impressive and it'll be the equivalent of a subsidized iPhone 5, at $199/299.

 

[Krazy Bill]

If Steve Jobs was still here, there wouldn't be any leaks at all.

True, no leaks. Just the real thing left on a bar stool somewhere.

 

[Patriot24]

Well, as long as we're speculating it might stand for 'China' meaning its made specifically as a China model for release there.

Not bad. It just seems odd to me that they'd create an entire product type for a single country. But, who knows.

 

[Lazy]

The Apple logo on one of the boxes is off (top right of the picture) and the box appears shallow.

Points of interest, if real:
1. Packaging designed for different markets (shorter box for N.America, bigger for rest of the work since the charger elsewhere is larger).
2. But why would the boxes be mixed in the same pile, if aimed at different markets.
3. Similar approach to iPod packaging.
4. If Apple is axing the iPhone 5, and introducing two flavors... There is a good chance they'll be dropping the number. Example: iPhone & iPhone Colour

You're right, that one box is distinctly shallower. Could be the top cap, with a clear plastic sleeve in between the two ends. That would actually make for a more elegant look and it'd be easier to make a clear plastic sleeve look nice that if the end were clear too. (Think of all of the visual distortion you get looking through curved plastic corners and edges.)

Now why one top cap would be in with a bunch of bottom pieces is unexplained, but that's a minor mystery.

 

[0dev]

What the "C" really stands for

 

[MisterK]

It's also possible that the new "regular" iPhone will be 5C (instead of 5S). Maybe there's a big camera upgrade or something. I don't know anything you guys don't, but aside from the author mentioning it, there's no real reason this has to be for the lower cost iPhone.

 

[Patriot24]

I still can't believe people are buying the idea that Apple would actually make a plastic piece of crap like the other companies attempting to emulate their success.

Apple has made some bone-headed moves in the past, but a plastic iPhone? They're not THAT dumb!

Brace yourself. Reality is coming.

 

[Lazy]

I still can't believe people are buying the idea that Apple would actually make a plastic piece of crap like the other companies attempting to emulate their success.

Apple has made some bone-headed moves in the past, but a plastic iPhone? They're not THAT dumb!

You're absolutely right. Just like they'd never switch to Intel processors.

 

[Koulie]

If this turns out to be true, and the new aluminum iPhone is called 5S

Good luck to all those who mix up their C's and S's
*queue the popcorn*

 

[TheRainKing]

I still can't believe people are buying the idea that Apple would actually make a plastic piece of crap like the other companies attempting to emulate their success.

Apple has made some bone-headed moves in the past, but a plastic iPhone? They're not THAT dumb!

Yeah that would be insane...

 

[Transeau]

I still can't believe people are buying the idea that Apple would actually make a plastic piece of crap like the other companies attempting to emulate their success.

Apple has made some bone-headed moves in the past, but a plastic iPhone? They're not THAT dumb!

Doesn't anyone remember the iPhone 3/3GS? It was PLASTIC.

 

[0dev]

I still can't believe people are buying the idea that Apple would actually make a plastic piece of crap like the other companies attempting to emulate their success.

Apple has made some bone-headed moves in the past, but a plastic iPhone? They're not THAT dumb!

Because the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iBook, MacBook, and every iMac prior to 2007 and Mac Mini prior to 2010 never existed

 

[E.Lizardo]

Because some people have spent years deriding the competition for their usage of plastics.

As many have pointed out, the material used is not as important as the execution. Using a plastic shell that is one seamless part will avoid the issues that other manufacturers have (multiple parts cobbled together lead to creaking, cracking, and the like). As you rightly pointed out, Apple proved this with the 3G/3GS.

OMG I had not thought of that!It is insane complaining about plastic for environmental reasons on a product so infrequently bought by any one person.And that same whiner generates hundreds of pounds of plastic waste yearly(beverage bottles,anyone?)

 

[bungiefan89]

Actually the package seems to mimic the design of the phone itself, in terms of shape and corners (of course though, completely different proportions for the depth).

Image

lol! See, THIS is just one more reason I think the plastic iPhone rumors are fake. Just LOOK at that stupid thing! Even Samsung and Nokia and Microsoft and all the rest aren't dumb enough to make a phone that looks that ugly!

Even before smartphones, flip phones and feature phones and cell phones never had awkward right-angles integrated into their design as largely as that... this is something that's going in your pocket so it has to have as few parts on it that can get caught on something as possible. And for Apple to do something as dumb as this after they've resisted the temptation other handset designers have succumbed to of giving a phone a bulge for a camera (making the device look like a pocket-sized humpback whale), it would be foolish to even flirt with the idea that Apple might entertain such an embarrassing design.

 

[0dev]

Because some people have spent years deriding the competition for their usage of plastics.

As many have pointed out, the material used is not as important as the execution. Using a plastic shell that is one seamless part will avoid the issues that other manufacturers have (multiple parts cobbled together lead to creaking, cracking, and the like). As you rightly pointed out, Apple proved this with the 3G/3GS.

And so the "Apple's magic plastic is special" propaganda begins...

 

[maxosx]

If Steve Jobs was still here, there wouldn't be any leaks at all. Apple is no longer a secretive company. It's sad. No more surprises.

While I agree that Apple isn't the exact same company as before, I also believe they have drifted off in a more self serving direction which seems to centered on obscene profits (beyond reasonable) at the expense of great products.

Then we have the bad karma factor brought on by the never ending pre-occupation with launching legal assaults like scud missiles, as fast as they can. This tactic involves constant vigilance and desire to pick apart everything the competition is doing to see if in any conceivable way it violates any of Apple's long list of patents.

Finally we have Apple's ongoing hyper focus on managing their public image while causing as much destruction to the competition as possible.

Whatever happened to the Apple I grew to admire for it's brilliant work, terrific designs, unique approaches, and wonderful computers? It's not like they weren't being challenged in those days.

But hey... as they say... times change, and no where is this more evident than in the way Apple's acting in the present moment.

 

[bungiefan89]

Yeah that would be insane...

Image

lol, ok, good point. But what I mean to say is after the iPhone 4, they wouldn't go back to that design.

Steve Jobs made a big deal about the beauty of the iPhone 4 because it was "glass wrapped in stainless steel" or something to that effect. Apple has made a fashion statement with their brand, at least as far as their smartphone lineup goes: premium materials for a premium experience. And they had to do that because after the first iPhone, every hardware developer and their mother started making iPhone knock-offs, so they set themselves apart by at least not making their device look like a black plastic piece of crap like everyone else was (and still is) making!

 

[KPOM]

If Steve Jobs was still here, there wouldn't be any leaks at all. Apple is no longer a secretive company. It's sad. No more surprises.

Not necessarily. There were leaks in the Jobs era as well. It's a function of reliance on an external supply chain. Note that the Mac Pro did not leak.

 

[donnaw]

Not bad. It just seems odd to me that they'd create an entire product type for a single country. But, who knows.

I agree. Just speculating. But in a way I could see a specific model for China since its such a huge new market. I'm not sure exactly which spectrum China uses so it may be something like that or it might be used to denote a locked model with some specifics that the Chinese gov insists on (such as really tied down and with some limitations not included in international phones).

Guess we'll find out in a month or two.

 

[tekboi]

So, I guess the whole "apple would never do this" thing is out of the window right?

 

[Retired Cat]

And so the "Apple's magic plastic is special" propaganda begins...

I doubt it.

The leaked 5S photos clearly show the same CNC machine aluminum as the 5. It's pretty clear that the premium product still uses the finer manufacturing process and materials.

The plastic allows for multiple colors at lower cost. Special? No. Fun for people who want more than a black and white choice? Probably.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

 

[Casiotone]

Did people believe that the iPhone 3G and 3GS were cheap looking?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

Well I did.

But I still got a 3GS, which plastic shell ended up cracking (without any drop) because I put it in my jean's back pocket.

Sure you'll tell me that it was my fault for putting in my back pocket and sitting on it repeatedly, but my iPhone 4S shows no signs of cracking from the pressure of my butt, and I doubt it will since it feels much more solid than the 3GS.

The back of my 3GS was all scratched up, but my 4S only shows a few very tiny scratches that are hard to see unless I tilt the device toward the light.

But hey, people in this forum "convinced" me that plastic is stronger than metal...

I hope that the plastic used for this iPhone 5C will be more resistant than the 3GS.

 

[egodspeed]

Carbon Fiber

It won't be plastic.... It will be made of carbon fiber. Lightweight and stronger than plastic. Macrumors covered this last year:

https://www.macrumors.com/2012/09/26/apple-sourcing-carbon-fiber-components-for-upcoming-product/