iPhone 5 to see 'major redesign' with multi-touch home button, 3.7" screen - rumor - Page 3

An excellent summation.

What would we do with our time if we couldn't waste it looking for new rumors.

Now there's BGR claiming a test version of the iPhone is meant for T-Mobile.
http://www.bgr.com/2011/04/23/exclus...-t-mobile-usa/

I want dual core A5 and 64GB storage but not in that type of iPhone case. I like the iPhone 4 case a lot. This kind of case would make me pause.

Well, there goes the solid feel of the "Leica-like" iPhone 4. Easier to slip through your fingers, just like the iPod Touch.

I think you (and many here) are correct in saying that this rumor is false, however: design judgement is always very subjective. I think that the iPhone1 and iPad2 are significantly better designs than the iPhone4 (never mind the 3G and 3GS) in that you can use them without a case and they maintain their beauty for a long time and are not prone to breaking and scratching too easily. The antenna issue is easily solved with a partial plastic insert (such as iPad WiFi + 3G). The back should be flat, but the curved edges on the iPad are just fine for all ports. I am keeping my fingers crossed for an iPhone5 design that mimics iPad2. Anodized aluminum body ftw!

I dont think the tapered back will ever work since the design of the iphone is all sides are viewable. So having this tapered edge will hold funny if upside down. There is never an upside down in an iDevice.

They'd better serve everyone by first admitting it's most likely Apple testing a phone to extend into the eventual AT&T Family of networks. Right now it's T-Mobile.

T-Mobile and AT&T just filed with the FCC for their merger to commence.

Thought I'd read somewhere that it may be two years away before the merger actually passes muster with the Feds, if it does, and becomes a done deal.

By then it's the iPhone7

Nooo... Please Apple, please change the iPhone design so it'll be really worth it to upgrade..

You base your desire to upgrade your HW on aesthetic changes, not functional changes?

This may or may not be the case for kilimanjaro, but some people do not particularly like the iPhone 4 design. Some disliked it enough to wait for iPhone 5. So for them, the form factor is just as important as the internal components. Personally I take both form and function into account equally.

It seems to me it would be hard to radically change the iPhones look every single year. Besides finding a new aesthetic look every year they also have to work the components into each new build. Then you also have the issue of accessories not being ready for months after its launched.

It seems to me that it might behoove Apple to do a speed bump every other year with minimal shape and size shapes. I also dont see Apple going away from the brilliant external antenna design without having found a way to regain the internal space theyd lose for components.

I'm sure you are right. Apple likely will stick with the same overall design, but it doesn't stop people from hoping that Apple delivers the changes they are hoping for. Eventually they will change the design, as there is always room for improvement, the only question is when. Personally, I think a 2 year redesign pattern makes a lot of sense most years, but after the antenna issues (both real and perceived), I could see them wanting to correct this sooner rather than later. But as I said, I have my doubts that Apple will make the design change this year.

C'mon people. Expect an iPhone 4S. Same form factor as the iPhone 4, bigger proc, bigger/better camera, maybe some internal hardware changes (antenna, more RAM/DASD). No 4G.

The market for the iPhone 4 is still ongoing. As the Verizon iPhone just came out, and the white iPhone is finally shipping soon.

Call me shallow, but yes..
But upgrades inside is always welcome too..
Can I ask, how about you? If Apple don't change the design of the iPhone, are you still going to purchase it?


Thanks
And how about you, will you buy it too even if the form is not changed?



The antenna design is brilliant, but since the "antenna-gate" came out, Apple is like on the magnifying glass to address the so called issue. If they don't change it, then the next iPhone 5 will be automatically labelled with the same issue. But if they do change it, without coming out with a better design (both aesthetically and functionally), then it's like they're saying the issue is there and should be changed..

What do you think Apple should do with the iPhone 5 form design?

I love the current design. I know the rumour was debunked but I do not like the design of the mockup.

Id probably get another one. Ive bought a new iPhone each year so far but I will have to see what the changes are. Ill need features that benefit me for the money Ill spend, which I account for a 12 month period since I have been upgrading yearly. For instance, if they can get me another hour of two in data over 3G its a shoe in. I dont care about the cameras, I dont care too much about the graphics and CPU unless I can see a major usability change in the OS and standard app performance since I dont play games on my iPhone. I cant see the display quality (not resolution) getting much better in a way Id notice, and I dont care if its thinner. A larger display but in something about the same case footprint wouldnt be so bad.


Note they stopped the free Bumpers in September without a recall or redesign. Note they continued to release the iPhone 4 in other countries. Note they didnt redesign it for the Verizon iPhone (the triple antenna is a requirement for their network). Note that Apple dols more iPhone 4s in the last two quarters after antenna gate. Note they have sold about 2x as many YoY and sold 18.6 million last quarter which is more than any 2 quarters of the iPhone 3GS sales. Note that Apple make over 50% of the worlds handsets profits due to the iPhone 4.

To the chagrin of their competition, I dont see any signs of the Apple being hurt. It was an overblown and misunderstood issue that ricocheted across the internet like a digital echo chamber, just like this consolidated.db issue of last week.

I can see a desire to change the look and they have done that 3 of the 4 years of the iPhone, but I dont expect the external antenna design to go away. Unless Apple has found a way to make the signal stronger without losing any needed volume I think there are just too many positives for it.

This may sound far fetched but do you think it's possible that these rumors are purposely seeded in an effort to find out who is leaking true/accurate information? I'm sure a lot of the rumors are started by people just trying to get attention/blog clicks but do you think the secret-obsessed SJ is taking a Mafia-type approach to try and flush out a rat?

Totally agree. When I see Android phones with giant screens then I look at my iPhone 4... Well, size *does* matter.

Those mockups are out of this world, no one can make smartphone that thin, not even Apple. Well, at least not now, with current technology..


Everybody loves bigger screen, but I don't think Apple will be heading to that direction, it's more likely that Apple will hold on to the iPhone's screen size for a very long time. The company, especially Steve Jobs, is keen enough to see how device fragmentation disturb Android app ecosystem and causing frustration to developers.

So the last thing they can improve on is making the iPhone thinner outside, and of course faster inside.


Yes I do take note of what happened during the "antenna-gate" issue, and how Apple handled it.

I don't quite understand what's "dols" and "YoY" there, can you be more elaborate?


Yup, it was overblown.


I still believe Apple took Consumer Report's take on the "antenna-gate" seriously, even if the sales and demand for iPhone 4 are soaring up until now, the issue is too much for Apple to ignore for the future of iPhone. I'm pretty sure Steve Jobs will once again stand on the stage and introduce a better antenna design on the next iPhone.

My take on the iP4 and iP5:

I like alot about the iP4, and nearly got one. But, as soon as I heard about the antenna issues I put the plan on hold. I agree that a lot of the antenna issues were overblown, but there are still issues there, even if they are small, and I would like these fixed. I like the idea of an external antenna, but they need to find a way to improve the design to eliminate/minimize dropped calls and signal attenuation.

Then, after waiting to see how the antenna issues went, we started reading reports of the back glass shattering after minor drops. This likely also affected a small number of people, but I don't want to be one of these people. I also don't want to be forced to buy a case as this totally covers up the great design. I think since then some have suggested that the back glass is not as strong as the front, so maybe it is not the same material. I have no clue about this. As gorgeous as the glass enclosure is, I think they need to make it more sturdy. I'm sure they could keep the glass and find a way to strengthen it, and i'm sure they could find another material altogether (aluminum, liquidmetal, or other materials they are experimenting with).

Finally, I really like the tapered look of the iPad2, and would like to see something along these lines. Or maybe just a more curved design that feels better in the hand. The iP4 is a little too rectangular. So far, I think the original iPhone has been the best design, and would like to see a return to some of these elements. I for one do not care about any android phone specs or sizes, and I do not want or need a bigger screen on the iP5. I need it to continue to fit easily into my pocket.

With all that said, my 3Gs is getting older slower and the battery less usable by the day, so I really need a phone. I will almost definitely get an iP5 (or iP4s) when they come out, unless it looks like crap, and/or if it turns out to solve none of the problems above.

Only time will tell.

It just doesn't make sense - to go backwards on Retina Display and gain so little in screen real estate. I think all the iPhone 5 features are very well argued here: http://bit.ly/ful1Xr

To those wondering if there will be people buying iPhone 5 if the changes are internal rather than cosmetic. Well, more people bought 3GS than 3G! Can you really tell them apart so easily?

I know you are more open minded than most about it, but every time this antenna issue comes up it simply amazes me because from most people's point of view, there is simply nothing wrong with the iPhone 4 antenna at all. That was the whole point of there not being a recall, and of the demos that Apple gave at their press event.

But the really funny part is that if you live outside the USA, it's virtually impossible to find anyone who's even experienced the issue. So whenever us "foreigners" hear you guys talking about "antenna-gate" it comes off the same as if you are talking about the "dead alien" they just found in Russia or the Loch Ness monster. I've seen some videos of it happening at the Apple press event that debunked the idea, but I'm seriously starting to believe that the videos are fake and that the whole idea of there being something wrong with the antenna is just an illusion.

I've never had a reception problem with iPhone 4 nor ever seen one, nor ever met anyone who's had a problem, or even seen a problem in someone else's phone. I know hundreds of people with iPhones and I help people with them on an almost daily basis (setting up email accounts and learning the basic ins and outs of the interface), and I've never even heard a third-hand rumour of someone having a problem with reception on an iPhone 4.

If it wasn't already, I really think the onus is really on the "believers" in this phenomenon now, to prove that it even exists.

Josh: "Look! Look! I'm still relevant! I may have left Engadget, but I'm still here! Look! I found new information about the next iPhone! Please remember me! "

Actually, he is still relevant. Because only relevant people would get potshots like the ones you're taking. Envy is an emotion that drives you to show the worst side of yourself, isn't it?

I am open minded, especially since I never experienced the so called "death grip" on iPhone 4, nor heard the issue from friends or relatives who own iPhone 4.

What you want is like many iPhones users wish list, including me. And I honestly believe that's also what John Ivy and Steve Jobs have in mind, beauty in simplicity that just works.

im sure i'm not the first one to say this, but this new rumor/mockup is so blatantly fake it's not even worthy of putting it up for discussion. it should never have been repeated by any of the various apple blogs, particularly AI.

If tapered, one hand would have more grip area, the other, less. Typing, gaming, any use of landscape mode would become awkward. If Apple let this design through their gates, they will have regressed very far indeed.

Not liking this mockup. It looks like a mini-iPad.

The iPhone 4 is more attractive. Just give it a 4-inch screen, better cameras, dual-processors, NFC, Voice Actions, and 4G and I'm on board.

If the design is that thin,the battery life would be awful.

I don't think Apple would abandon the IP4 design for this. Which is not to say they won't have a new design for the IP5 (most likely with an external antenna since that simply works better), but I don't see it going in this direction. One important consideration is how well the IP4 design works as a camera, and this rumored design would be a big step in the wrong direction, making the phone difficult to hold as a camera. Then there are all the other issues like battery life, and so on.

If this is anything real, it's most likely an iPod Touch. It's also possible that some parts of the rumor are true, or that details of several devices have gotten mixed into one, and that this rumored phone is really a chimera phone.

You make a good point about the camera usability. I have a 3Gs, and iPhone 4 is definitely easier to hold and use as a camera. So I hope they retain this, but still make some changes. I think they can find a way to keep the external antenna, and improve it somehow (with a coating?) to minimize dropped calls and signal attenuation.

I do hope they they improve the back panel though. Glass is pretty, but it is just a bit too fragile. Now maybe they have found a way to strengthen the glass, and if so, then this would be great. If they can't, then I think they have to explore new materials for the back panel. There has to be something that is pretty and strong, and still radio signal-friendly. My only other concern is that they round out some of the sharper edges. I just want an overall improvement in how it feels in the hand.

The current design does work.