Picture of iPhone 4G with white front panel surfaces
Alleged photos of a next-generation iPhone partially assembled with a white front panel have surfaced online, further suggesting that Apple will offer two colors of its redesigned handset.
The Taiwanese website Apple.pro posted pictures of both a black redesigned iPhone, as seen in numerous leaks, next to a new white model, with the color taking up the entire front panel and home button. The front panel is identical to a leaked part that was revealed online last week.
The pictures show the white panel loosely resting atop the rest of the iPhone, with the home button recessed, suggesting that the website simply placed the component on top of the rest of the obtained part to show what a white iPhone 4G could look like. Previously, the same website had shown pictures of the white panel separate from the rest of the phone.
The white panel has a hole for a forward-facing camera, identical to the components found in assembled prototypes that have been publicly disassembled and photographed. But those prototypes showed the device black front and pack panels.
Apple first began to offer color options with the iPhone 3G in 2008 with the second-generation version of the hardware. Apple gave the iPhone a polished, plastic back, available in shiny black for the 8GB and 16GB models, and offered a polished white option for the 16GB model only. But both the black and white models retained the black front panel surrounding the handset's multitouch LCD screen, while the new part suggests Apple could bring the color to the front side of the device.
The Taiwanese website Apple.pro posted pictures of both a black redesigned iPhone, as seen in numerous leaks, next to a new white model, with the color taking up the entire front panel and home button. The front panel is identical to a leaked part that was revealed online last week.
The pictures show the white panel loosely resting atop the rest of the iPhone, with the home button recessed, suggesting that the website simply placed the component on top of the rest of the obtained part to show what a white iPhone 4G could look like. Previously, the same website had shown pictures of the white panel separate from the rest of the phone.
The white panel has a hole for a forward-facing camera, identical to the components found in assembled prototypes that have been publicly disassembled and photographed. But those prototypes showed the device black front and pack panels.
Apple first began to offer color options with the iPhone 3G in 2008 with the second-generation version of the hardware. Apple gave the iPhone a polished, plastic back, available in shiny black for the 8GB and 16GB models, and offered a polished white option for the 16GB model only. But both the black and white models retained the black front panel surrounding the handset's multitouch LCD screen, while the new part suggests Apple could bring the color to the front side of the device.
Comments
It would be kinda cool to see different colors to choose from.
Make a blue one !!!
It would be kinda cool to see different colors to choose from.
Or all the colours of the nano range
Make a blue one !!!
It would be kinda cool to see different colors to choose from.
This might be the first time we'll see different colours. However, it might behoove them to wait until at least the September iPod/iTunes event when the next iPod Touch gets updated and then release colours for it and the iPhone. Or perhaps do a mid-cycle release in January.
Here are some mockups: http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/3504/picture5df.jpg (image)
I noticed that the two screws, for assembly, are back. Interesting that they were missing from the photos of the last leak.
We don't know what order these mock-ups were produced in.
Here are some mockups: http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/3504/picture5df.jpg (image)
Awesome.
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SJ has got to be p1ssed with these constant leaks - assuming they aren't by design (Froyo?) - wonder how the Keynote will go without anyone being surprised.
This might be the first time we'll see different colours. However, it might behoove them to wait until at least the September iPod/iTunes event when the next iPod Touch gets updated and then release colours for it and the iPhone. Or perhaps do a mid-cycle release in January.
Here are some mockups: http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/3504/picture5df.jpg (image)
Maybe bring out the colors if(big if) verizon gets the iPhone later this year. Add some zazz to the launch. Just a w.a.g.
Thx for mockup link. Those looked really good. I'm usually a basic black kinda guy but if they make British racing green...
This might be the first time we'll see different colours. However, it might behoove them to wait until at least the September iPod/iTunes event when the next iPod Touch gets updated and then release colours for it and the iPhone. Or perhaps do a mid-cycle release in January.
Here are some mockups: http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/3504/picture5df.jpg (image)
Oooo, I'll take that green one.
Here's the Wikipedia link about zirconium dioxide, with mention of Apple's patent near the bottom: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zirconium_dioxide
My guess is that ZD enclosures would be 1. definitely too expensive to produce and 2. possibly too hard to recycle. Apple's patent was filed in 2006, long before they developed their aluminum unibody technology, which looks like it's here to stay.
Interesting that all the teardowns of the 2010 iPhone show that the front and back panels do not mechanically support any of the internal components. As components and batteries get smaller, it will be simple for Apple to make the iPhone slimmer. They just need to make a thinner aluminum chassis as the iPhone's internals get smaller and smaller. (And next year, when the PA Semi system-on-a-chip is finally ready, I expect that we'll see some extremely thin iPhones.)
This might be the first time we'll see different colours. However, it might behoove them to wait until at least the September iPod/iTunes event when the next iPod Touch gets updated and then release colours for it and the iPhone. Or perhaps do a mid-cycle release in January.
Here are some mockups: http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/3504/picture5df.jpg (image)
If the rear casing is a ceramic like previous Apple patents then it would probably be the case.
The only other color that would make total sense is red and I could see it being really popular with women.
Oh well, it looks like the ice cream sandwich look is this year's iPhone fashion statement. Apple patented a zirconium dioxide case technology years ago. It would be very scratch-resistant, possess high fracture toughness, be radio transparent, and more or less seamless. Instead we're probably getting the layered look.
Here's the Wikipedia link about zirconium dioxide, with mention of Apple's patent near the bottom: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zirconium_dioxide
My guess is that ZD enclosures would be 1. definitely too expensive to produce and 2. possibly too hard to recycle. Apple's patent was filed in 2006, long before they developed their aluminum unibody technology, which looks like it's here to stay.
Interesting that all the teardowns of the 2010 iPhone show that the front and back panels do not mechanically support any of the internal components. As components and batteries get smaller, it will be simple for Apple to make the iPhone slimmer. They just need to make a thinner aluminum chassis as the iPhone's internals get smaller and smaller. (And next year, when the PA Semi system-on-a-chip is finally ready, I expect that we'll see some extremely thin iPhones.)
There have been rumors that the back panel is "ceramic", so that could conceivably be zirconium.
And while internal componentry might allow for ever thinner cases, at some point thinness begins to mitigate against functionality, since you still need a place for reasonably operable hardware buttons on the side, dock connector, etc.
I think multi-color iPhones would be a relatively easy way for Apple to add a little "pop" to the lineup, although that would have to be weighed against the costs of adding SKUs. But in a world of ever proliferating Android models, it might not be a bad idea to toss in a little "choice."
god, these are ugly. love apple, but what were/are they thinking?
The white looks really good (better than white 3G IMO). I would get it if I wasn't so dead set against getting any phone in any color other black or silver.
god, these are ugly. love apple, but what were/are they thinking?
They were thinking "we think these look cool." No matter what design Apple chooses, there will be those that find it ugly. That's just the nature of esthetics. So for every person like you who thinks these don't work, there will be plenty who think they're a great update to the iconic iPhone look.
Myself, I was taken aback at first but have come to like the no-nonsense simplicity of the new design. Makes the current model look a little fussy, IMO.
The white looks really good (better than white 3G IMO). I would get it if I wasn't so dead set against getting any phone in any color other black or silver.
I love the new design in black but I think the white version is hideous. It destroys the whole effect of the dark screen of all the previous models.
I've always bought white or grey when I've had a choice of Apple products, but the black one is the only classy option on this model IMO.
Traditionally, Apple only introduces a range of colours in mature designs when there isn't much else to get excited about or the update is so minimal that it needs something more. This new design will be the first iteration, so I think it unlikely we will see any more choice than black or the white this time.
wonder how the Keynote will go without anyone being surprised.
They're doing a stage mock-up of a German themed pub in which Steve walks around "discovering" iPhones in various nooks and crannies.
- wonder how the Keynote will go without anyone being surprised.
They're doing a stage mock-up of a German themed pub in which Steve walks around "discovering" iPhones in various nooks and crannies.
..or, there's no keynote at all, there's no new iPhone at all, that'll surprise everyone.
... The only other color that would make total sense is red and I could see it being really popular with women.
Depends on the woman or the man, and the shade of red, but psychologically, red is not a female colour per se. Women & men tend to choose the same colours with two exceptions and both of those exceptions are male oriented. Men more often choose black because of the connotations of power and strength, and women will sometimes choose pink, which men will rarely pick because of the connotations of femininity.
So in fact women tend to be more rounded personalities and simply choose the colour they like, or the colour that matches their stuff without thinking about much else, whereas men will sometimes strategically choose black or avoid pink out of fear of being perceived as weak.
These are generalisations of course and don't apply to everyone.