Possible Photos of Plastic Rear Shell from Apple's Lower-Cost iPhone [Updated]

[baryon]

Plastic may be stronger or weaker, whatever, the point is that it's transparent to radio waves and it allows the whole back to be one piece, which looks nice. However, it needs to be thicker than metal in order to hold, so the entire device will be thicker. It's not painted at the surface, the paint is mixed into the plastic, so scratches don't show up a totally different color than the paint. Plastic can be made strong enough to not crack, and if it's good quality, it will be more elastic and therefore won't dent or break, as opposed to metal or glass. It feels a bit less professional in your hand, and looks a bit cheaper too. I guess those are the pros and cons! I don't mind either way, I'm sure it will look nice.

 

[Supermule]

Me don't like that.

 

[aerok]

Plastic may be stronger or weaker, whatever, the point is that it's transparent to radio waves and it allows the whole back to be one piece, which looks nice. However, it needs to be thicker than metal in order to hold, so the entire device will be thicker. It's not painted at the surface, the paint is mixed into the plastic, so scratches don't show up a totally different color than the paint. Plastic can be made strong enough to not crack, and if it's good quality, it will be more elastic and therefore won't dent or break, as opposed to metal or glass. It feels a bit less professional in your hand, and looks a bit cheaper too. I guess those are the pros and cons! I don't mind either way, I'm sure it will look nice.

Yes just like the HTC One X was. Unibody design made of polycarbonate plastic that does not crack (well I have not seen a cracked one yet in real life). And also, in my opinion, it feels better than the glossy plastic used on Samsung products even if it's the same plastic. I was always a bigger fan of matte over glossy.

Hard to see from the piture but I really hope Apple takes the matte plastic over glossy.

 

[berniemakaveli]

Just what i've always wanted, a bright neon green iPhone

Aww man!! Youre going to hurt Apple's feelings!! Because, you know, EVERY product of theirs is intended to be adored by "BulletToothTony," and the fact that you dont want this one is going to CRUSH them

 

[BobbyCat]

The reason to buy iPhone is product quality, not price. That's what makes Apple different.

Wrong. The reason is quality at an affordable price for the target customers. Huge difference
Have you ever heard of the iPod Nano or the Mac Mini? They could be the pattern for a "cheaper" quality iPhone.
Yes, price does matter. A lot.

 

[3282868]

Really dislike Apple moving from aluminum to plastic. Not good for environmental reasons. Plastic is highly caustic in current general recycling technology, even more so as the general consumer merely discards plastic materials without recycling. With e-waste already a major concern, we also have two large plastic islands the size of Texas in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Millions of plastic based iPhones are not what the world needs. Sorry.

Plastic Island Problem

 

[sik08amg]

Cut your fingernails...

I hope this will be available in more colors other than bumper colors.

 

[aerok]

Really dislike Apple moving from aluminum to plastic. Not good for environmental reasons. Plastic is highly caustic in current general recycling technology, even more so as the general consumer merely discards plastic materials without recycling. With e-waste already a major concern, we also have two large plastic islands the size of Texas in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Millions of plastic based iPhones are not what the world needs. Sorry.

Plastic Island Problem

They're both awful. Aluminum takes a lot more energy to refine and takes more time to decompose when dumped.

Ideally they would be made with wood lol

 

[blackhand1001]

I never said plastic was better than metal in terms of cracks. Metal is more resistant than plastic when it comes to cracks, I am not denying that. But metal does bend and dent more than plastic.

And yes the build of the body does affect screen resistance too. Plastic has more flex and bounce, this in turn can help avoid the screen cracking.

Find me a bent plastic phone made of polycarbonate.

And you're making me repeat myself, I always supported the fact that metal does not crack.

Plastic also returns to its original shape even after being bent. it has elasticity that metal does not have.

 

[YourHerojb]

Does it glow in the dark?

 

[Chupa Chupa]

So radioactive vomit green is one of the color choices?

Like it or not it's a trendy color right now. Bright, but less than neon colors are in. It will be a good seller with the college and under crowd as well as women.

 

[bassfingers]

and how do you explain iPod mini? ipad mini?

The iPod mini was smaller, which is a feature. At that time, people perceived the iPod as unbelievably small. So, to release a smaller device was innovation.

I cannot explain the iPad mini. It is a sub-par user experience that doesn't need to exist. I have the same concern about it as i do the cheap iphone. Apple should have reduced the size of the bezel on the full size iPad and continued to promote it as the only viable tablet option.

In the past, apple introduced products at a competitive price by scaling away excess features that legitimately reduced the price, but did not compromise product qualify. Like 20GB iPod down to 4GB mini. However, there are no removable features on the iPhone. An iphone has to have a camera. Old processors run too slow, etc.

Are we waiting on a plastic phone w/o retina display running an old processor with a crappy camera? That'd be cheap, right? It's also the 3GS. A less expensive iPhone just isn't a good phone.

 

[3282868]

They're both awful. Aluminum takes a lot more energy to refine and takes more time to decompose when dumped.

Ideally they would be made with wood lol

Aluminum in Apple's process is not nearly as terrible as plastic. If that were the situation, there would be islands of aluminum soda cans and not plastic water bottles, etc. Aluminum is much easier and friendlier, and natural as bauxite is mined and then smelted into aluminum - much in green energy plants, than plastic.

 

[Vinamra]

Yay for rounded edges, this might convince me to back to iPhones if it carries the same specs as the iPhone 5.

I doubt Apple will incorporate iPhone 5 specs to this speculated lower cost iPhone. 4S is the max we can expect!

 

[aerok]

I doubt Apple will incorporate iPhone 5 specs to this speculated lower cost iPhone. 4S is the max we can expect!

You are absolutly right but one can hope since the 5S will be out with probably a quad-core SOC.

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Aluminum in Apple's process is not nearly as terrible as plastic. If that were the situation, there would be islands of aluminum soda cans and not plastic water bottles, etc. Aluminum is much easier and friendlier, and natural as bauxite is mined and then smelted into aluminum - much in green energy plants, than plastic.

Yeah I guess we should find out what kind of energy is used to refine the aluminum used to make iPhones. If fossil fuel is used then it might be worse even if there are no islands of aluminum goods.

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Plastic also returns to its original shape even after being bent. it has elasticity that metal does not have.

Yup and let's not forget that the temperature factor. Holding an iPhone 5 when it's -20 degrees outside is very uncomfortable lol

 

[irDigital0l]

This better glow in the dark as well

 

[ClemyNX]

I'm liking this a lot. Recently sold iphone 5 since it was so fragile.

And what stronger phone did you buy?

 

[3282868]

If fossil fuel is used then it might be worse even if there are no islands of aluminum goods.

True, yet if both are honed/manufactured using the same methods and energy, all things being equal, plastic is still by far the worse offender as it is takes centuries to biodegrade and uses more energy to recycle.

A man in Japan invented an amazing appliance that uses less energy than a coffee maker that recycles any plastic in any form into usable oil. It's quite amazing and is gaining traction, hoping the steep $10k price falls quickly enough to bring this to the general consumer, not to mention in large scale for large recycling plants. Could you imagine? Finally, recycling plastic without the waste produced. Wow!

I highly recommend this to many techies as it's fascinating to us as well as green initiatives and consumers.

Plastic to oil fantastic

Yup and let's not forget that the temperature factor. Holding an iPhone 5 when it's -20 degrees outside is very uncomfortable lol

I actually own a pair of gloves that work perfectly with my iPhone. A simple Google search brings up a ton.

 

[hamiltonDSi]

Just what i've always wanted, a bright neon green iPhone

and cheap.

 

[69650]

suddenly iOS7's color palette makes all the more sense...

That's a bit of a worry. I was thinking about getting one of the colour iPhones but that colour would really put me off. It's just too childish for my tastes. Very similar to the current crop of iPod touch colours. I can see their target market for this now. Hopefully there will still be an all black version.

I hope they consider making the main iPhone in a range of colours to. More sophisticated colours. I was just reading about the new red HTC One. That looks ok.

If they are going to go with this colour palette in iOS 7 I hope there will be options to modify it to tone down the bright colours. Given how much I use iOS on a daily basis I'm starting to get a little worried about iOS 7 now.

 

[MRU]

A person would have to be a muppet to buy it in that color

maniacal laugh maniacal laugh maniacal laugh


j/k

 

[aerok]

True, yet if both are honed/manufactured using the same methods and energy, all things being equal, plastic is still by far the worse offender as it is takes centuries to biodegrade and uses more energy to recycle.

A man in Japan invented an amazing appliance that uses less energy than a coffee maker that recycles any plastic in any form into usable oil. It's quite amazing and is gaining traction, hoping the steep $10k price falls quickly enough to bring this to the general consumer, not to mention in large scale for large recycling plants. Could you imagine? Finally, recycling plastic without the waste produced. Wow!

I highly recommend this to many techies as it's fascinating to us as well as green initiatives and consumers.

Plastic to oil fantastic

Amazing indeed, I wonder how oil companies will react to this lol

I actually own a pair of gloves that work perfectly with my iPhone. A simple Google search brings up a ton.

I'm a stupid smoker that refuses to wear gloves

 

[kazmac]

true but

Like it or not it's a trendy color right now. Bright, but less than neon colors are in. It will be a good seller with the college and under crowd as well as women.

Yup, the younger set will probably eat this right up. Not quite neon green is not a favorite of this particular woman.

Me, I just want my Apple products to work and be easy to use.

 

[69650]

Like it or not it's a trendy color right now. Bright, but less than neon colors are in. It will be a good seller with the college and under crowd as well as women.

Yes I would agree. I think it's clear who Apple are targeting this at: teenagers who previously would have bought an iPod touch and a cheap mobile phone.

Does this spell the end for the iPod touch? I hope not but I do hope they refocus it away from the kids market and more towards the music lovers market (from 17 to 70) who need a 128GB version to replace their ageing iPod classics.

 

[etrinh]

You need current tech or else people won't buy it. Selling the 3GS isn't a viable option. Same as the 4&4S. Also, Apple has made strides into moving towards the new screen size along with the lightening connection. You need new products to replace the old tech that your trying to phase out.

The iPod mini was smaller, which is a feature. At that time, people perceived the iPod as unbelievably small. So, to release a smaller device was innovation.

I cannot explain the iPad mini. It is a sub-par user experience that doesn't need to exist. I have the same concern about it as i do the cheap iphone. Apple should have reduced the size of the bezel on the full size iPad and continued to promote it as the only viable tablet option.

In the past, apple introduced products at a competitive price by scaling away excess features that legitimately reduced the price, but did not compromise product qualify. Like 20GB iPod down to 4GB mini. However, there are no removable features on the iPhone. An iphone has to have a camera. Old processors run too slow, etc.

Are we waiting on a plastic phone w/o retina display running an old processor with a crappy camera? That'd be cheap, right? It's also the 3GS. A less expensive iPhone just isn't a good phone.