It's definitely looking like a micro-USB connector with MHL for HD video out, much the way it works in other phones and devices. Between Air-Play, iCloud, and OTA updates, other than charging, the need for a connector is dwindling these days anyway, unless you're clinging to your old iHome stuff.
I'm curious why you say this and why everyone is assuming that it's micro-USB. The odds are completely against Apple dropping the 30 pin connector.
It seems that people are seeing it and deciding on size alone that it's going to be micro-USB, when it's far more likely to be simply a smaller 30 pin connector.
Apple has even officially let us know that they are working on a smaller 30 pin connector.
I think there is an assumption being made that there is no protruding front glass, so it's flush with this part, which would make it significantly thinner than a 4/4S.
I'm curious why you say this and why everyone is assuming that it's micro-USB. The odds are completely against Apple dropping the 30 pin connector.
The odds are against (read: 0%) a MicroUSB connector. You'd have to be a real… something… to think that; agreed.
But a new Dock Connector is needed. Smaller allows for greater flexibility in future designs, and if they can push data through faster or if a redesign can offer some other feature that the current one cannot, it should be done.
People should stop whining about a the smaller connector. We'd all be stuck with 8-track if technology didn't move forward. It has to change sometime and the current connector looks like a Soviet Union era connector. There will certainly be an adapter available likely in the box and at low cost otherwise.
And, yup, it's not micro-USB. Apple likes proprietary connectors and it's well known they are working on a smaller 30-pin.
The part is real. Machining this just for fun would have been one huge and time-consuming PITA for no gain. As for whether this is the new iPhone part that Apple will use who knows as Apple always has many different prototypes that they test. Apple doesn't even know which on they are going to use until they do all their prototyping and testing.
I would have liked to have seen the same form factor even if it was the same weight and thickness as the current iPhone but I guess Apple determined in it's testing that the best way to accomodate a larger screen with same the width as the current iPhone (therefore enabling one hand operation) was to make it thinner and longer. The same width and thinner does of course have the side benefit of actually making it easier to use with one hand as your hand can wrap around it easier. This is better for those with smaller hands (and bodes well for all the buyers in China, whose population is typically smaller framed than a lot of the rest of the world).
Moving the headphone port to the bottom, which was likely a necessity to increase the screen size, is way better for not having the headphone cable flop over the front of the screen and also for putting it in your pocket and retreiving it with the screen facing you in portrait mode and not having to flip it around. But then the world is slowly moving to bluetooth headsets and other wireless technologies for getting the iPhone audio and video transferred so that will begin to matter less and less as time goes on.
The SIM tray is slightly smaller but the phone likely uses the same micro-SIM. They did this because it was possible to make it smaller in order to save space. It seems to me it would be way smaller if the new SIM standard that Apple spearheaded was being employed. Also, the approval of this standard probably came a bit to late for Apple to employ it in their new iPhone.
Magsafe? Nope. Many have enumerated the reasons why. But, this doesn't mean that inductive charging won't come at some point. It will for sure. Cables are a hassle. It just won't be the current Magsafe standard.
As for increasing the length of the iPhone while keeping the width the same, one has to think about how these electronic devices are built. IC's and circuit boards are oriented basically in two planes and as such are layered over one another. Therefore space the 'Z' plane is not as important as room in the 'X' and 'Y' planes. If there is not enough room in the Y plane extra space can be used in the X plane. Layering these IC's and circuit boards therefore requires more X and Y space than Z space. To pack everything that Apple needed to into the phone in order to make the screen size larger they simply had to make the phone longer. Making it thicker was not an option, given their previous thicknesses, nor would it have helped as much given the X and Y space matters more. I am not sure how battery technology affected this, likely not too much, but the fact that batteries have been developed that can be molded into any shape and thickness for use in such a phone bodes well in the future for such a thinner and longer phone.
Now that we have a pretty good idea of what the future iPhone might look like (or not) I can't wait to find out what new features the phone will have other than the givens of larger screen size, smaller connector, better speakers and better camera. I don't really care much about NFC. It just means I wave something different other than my credit card in front of a reader which doesn't really make my life any easier or less expensive, plus opens up a new host of fraud problems (and possibity of problems paying for something if I lose my phone).
As usual, we can see that Apple does a lot of thinking when they design new devices.
Some of you said it's great design, I have to disagree. Mainly because of shiny top and bottom, it looks cheap. Cheap looks are reserved for Samsung, and I would love to stay that way.
I think you would notice several other people objected to that name.
If recent changes are any indicator, "iPhone" will be the formal name of the product. That each iteration was named is an abberation. Personally, I like having the identifier, as it's easier for people to communicate the model in question. For example, if I'm talking about a MacBook Pro, I'd need to figure out which generation it is and communicate it in a way others understand it. It makes identifying parts and such easier too.
Re: the two different textures/colours on the back ...
I'm pretty sure it's not. If you look at the very beginning where he shows a good close up of the inside, the top and bottom parts of the back appear to be clearly separate pieces that have been attached. This also explains the "lines" on the sides that separate these pieces that look a lot like the antenna separator bands on the 4 and 4s.
I still think this is about manufacturing savings. This new "single part" is a unibody back that the workers can easily screw things in on an assembly line giving all the advantages (and a lot less steps) of the manufacturing process used on the 3 and 3s, but even though it's a single part, it's obviously constructed out of multiple parts. I would guess that this part is entirely "robot made" up to this point and then shipped to the assembly plant as a single part.
The really, really annoying thing about this video is that this is the crucial difference between this part and other parts, and the one thing we really don't know much about, but despite turning it around in his hands for five minutes(!) the guy never really takes a close look at the seams and the "glass parts" moulded into the back.
Are they glass? Are they (as they look to be), separate parts? This dufuss doesn't bother to let us know.
I see what you mean. I still think a difference in finish can easily be just a difference finish of the same material, though maybe not the same part, but I can see where it can be a different material. In this case, a dozen high quality stills from different angles might be more informative than that five minute video.
Bigger screen = fail. The current size is optimal. 16:9 makes no sense on desktop, and even less sense in a phone.
You do understand that developers only have to add real estate if they find it appropriate, right? If they want to stay the same, then its exactly the same as before.
looks nice. But i think the aluminum will be more likely dent or ding if dropped than compared to the steel and glass of the 4. My original iPhone with aluminum back dented quite easily from hitting objects as hard as my shoe while I was sitting.
I really don't like the idea of moving toward that smaller dock connector. I have a number of iPods, peripherals, and car stereo gear that would necessitate carrying around some adapter and/or more than one cable. And that's just my personal stuff. I'll have to carry the darn cable/adapter around whenever I go to someone's house or ride in their vehicle and vice versa...when someone brings their new iPhone to the beach and wants to drop it in my portable stereo it isn't going to work. This is a headache in the making if they're doing that.
And you still insist that all your desktop and laptop computers have a SCSI and VGA connector, right? Must be costing you tons to keep those running as well.
I prefer that Apple keep improving instead of getting stuck in backwards compatibility like MS.
With AirPlay, Bluetooth, wifi, and 4G, aside from charging the thing, there's no reason to ever plug it in. If inductive charging is included, then there you go ... Completely wireless.
The 30-pin connector has been around for almost 10 years ... It seemed outdated and clunky to me then. It consumes too much space for such a small device and frankly is no longer needed. Yes, millions of dock connectors will be rendered useless this year by the latest products, but there will be adapters for permanant home and car use. And you can bet the after market industry will step up quickly to offer new products (with backward compatible adapters).
If you just bought a 4S and a new car specifically to dock it, too bad for you. But seriously do you remember the years before the iPhone? Every time you bought a new cell phone, you had to buy a completely new set of accessories because every manufacture had a different set of standards, sometimes even between their own models ... and you do know that all of Apple's 30-pin dock connectors are not compatible with every dock, right?
Be grateful for the decade of consistency Apple offered for their portable devices ... You realize that Apple didn't have to make the entire family of iPods, iPhones and iPads compatible wi each other at all right?
Believe me, I do my fair share of complaining about apple, and some of it is even justified, but this my friend is not one of them.
Comments
I like the "smoked gray" sides.....looks like the back will be less slippery. Nice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by thataveragejoe
It's definitely looking like a micro-USB connector with MHL for HD video out, much the way it works in other phones and devices. Between Air-Play, iCloud, and OTA updates, other than charging, the need for a connector is dwindling these days anyway, unless you're clinging to your old iHome stuff.
I'm curious why you say this and why everyone is assuming that it's micro-USB. The odds are completely against Apple dropping the 30 pin connector.
It seems that people are seeing it and deciding on size alone that it's going to be micro-USB, when it's far more likely to be simply a smaller 30 pin connector.
Apple has even officially let us know that they are working on a smaller 30 pin connector.
Why would anyone think it was USB?
Still looks either fake or disguised to me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
I'm curious why you say this and why everyone is assuming that it's micro-USB. The odds are completely against Apple dropping the 30 pin connector.
The odds are against (read: 0%) a MicroUSB connector. You'd have to be a real… something… to think that; agreed.
But a new Dock Connector is needed. Smaller allows for greater flexibility in future designs, and if they can push data through faster or if a redesign can offer some other feature that the current one cannot, it should be done.
People should stop whining about a the smaller connector. We'd all be stuck with 8-track if technology didn't move forward. It has to change sometime and the current connector looks like a Soviet Union era connector. There will certainly be an adapter available likely in the box and at low cost otherwise.
And, yup, it's not micro-USB. Apple likes proprietary connectors and it's well known they are working on a smaller 30-pin.
The part is real. Machining this just for fun would have been one huge and time-consuming PITA for no gain. As for whether this is the new iPhone part that Apple will use who knows as Apple always has many different prototypes that they test. Apple doesn't even know which on they are going to use until they do all their prototyping and testing.
I would have liked to have seen the same form factor even if it was the same weight and thickness as the current iPhone but I guess Apple determined in it's testing that the best way to accomodate a larger screen with same the width as the current iPhone (therefore enabling one hand operation) was to make it thinner and longer. The same width and thinner does of course have the side benefit of actually making it easier to use with one hand as your hand can wrap around it easier. This is better for those with smaller hands (and bodes well for all the buyers in China, whose population is typically smaller framed than a lot of the rest of the world).
Moving the headphone port to the bottom, which was likely a necessity to increase the screen size, is way better for not having the headphone cable flop over the front of the screen and also for putting it in your pocket and retreiving it with the screen facing you in portrait mode and not having to flip it around. But then the world is slowly moving to bluetooth headsets and other wireless technologies for getting the iPhone audio and video transferred so that will begin to matter less and less as time goes on.
The SIM tray is slightly smaller but the phone likely uses the same micro-SIM. They did this because it was possible to make it smaller in order to save space. It seems to me it would be way smaller if the new SIM standard that Apple spearheaded was being employed. Also, the approval of this standard probably came a bit to late for Apple to employ it in their new iPhone.
Magsafe? Nope. Many have enumerated the reasons why. But, this doesn't mean that inductive charging won't come at some point. It will for sure. Cables are a hassle. It just won't be the current Magsafe standard.
As for increasing the length of the iPhone while keeping the width the same, one has to think about how these electronic devices are built. IC's and circuit boards are oriented basically in two planes and as such are layered over one another. Therefore space the 'Z' plane is not as important as room in the 'X' and 'Y' planes. If there is not enough room in the Y plane extra space can be used in the X plane. Layering these IC's and circuit boards therefore requires more X and Y space than Z space. To pack everything that Apple needed to into the phone in order to make the screen size larger they simply had to make the phone longer. Making it thicker was not an option, given their previous thicknesses, nor would it have helped as much given the X and Y space matters more. I am not sure how battery technology affected this, likely not too much, but the fact that batteries have been developed that can be molded into any shape and thickness for use in such a phone bodes well in the future for such a thinner and longer phone.
Now that we have a pretty good idea of what the future iPhone might look like (or not) I can't wait to find out what new features the phone will have other than the givens of larger screen size, smaller connector, better speakers and better camera. I don't really care much about NFC. It just means I wave something different other than my credit card in front of a reader which doesn't really make my life any easier or less expensive, plus opens up a new host of fraud problems (and possibity of problems paying for something if I lose my phone).
As usual, we can see that Apple does a lot of thinking when they design new devices.
why does everyone insist on saying "iPhone 5"
its unlikely they'll name it any number at all, but if they do, its the 6th iPhone model.
iPhone 1 = iPhone
iPhone 2 = iPhone 3G
iPhone 3 = iPhone 3Gs
iPhone 4 = iPhone 4
iPhone 5 = iPhone 4s
iPhone 6 = ??????????
Some of you said it's great design, I have to disagree. Mainly because of shiny top and bottom, it looks cheap. Cheap looks are reserved for Samsung, and I would love to stay that way.
I think you would notice several other people objected to that name.
If recent changes are any indicator, "iPhone" will be the formal name of the product. That each iteration was named is an abberation. Personally, I like having the identifier, as it's easier for people to communicate the model in question. For example, if I'm talking about a MacBook Pro, I'd need to figure out which generation it is and communicate it in a way others understand it. It makes identifying parts and such easier too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
This dufuss doesn't bother to let us know.
"What could it be? Hmm, is this a new iPhone 5 component? It looks like it could be... It has an Apple logo and it says iPhone, maybe it is..."
I see what you mean. I still think a difference in finish can easily be just a difference finish of the same material, though maybe not the same part, but I can see where it can be a different material. In this case, a dozen high quality stills from different angles might be more informative than that five minute video.
I hope they just call it "iPhone", like they did with the "iPad" name.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Scrip
. HOW do they get parts early for an UNRELEASED phone?
.
I think the term you're looking for here is 'theft'.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
Why would anyone think it was USB?
I think it is because of the new ITC standard.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pedromartins
I think it is awesome..
i wish i could buy one.
Gee.. I wonder if Apple will ever sell one? I wonder.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yours Smugly
Bigger screen = fail. The current size is optimal. 16:9 makes no sense on desktop, and even less sense in a phone.
You do understand that developers only have to add real estate if they find it appropriate, right? If they want to stay the same, then its exactly the same as before.
looks nice. But i think the aluminum will be more likely dent or ding if dropped than compared to the steel and glass of the 4. My original iPhone with aluminum back dented quite easily from hitting objects as hard as my shoe while I was sitting.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bizzle
I really don't like the idea of moving toward that smaller dock connector. I have a number of iPods, peripherals, and car stereo gear that would necessitate carrying around some adapter and/or more than one cable. And that's just my personal stuff. I'll have to carry the darn cable/adapter around whenever I go to someone's house or ride in their vehicle and vice versa...when someone brings their new iPhone to the beach and wants to drop it in my portable stereo it isn't going to work. This is a headache in the making if they're doing that.
And you still insist that all your desktop and laptop computers have a SCSI and VGA connector, right? Must be costing you tons to keep those running as well.
I prefer that Apple keep improving instead of getting stuck in backwards compatibility like MS.
With AirPlay, Bluetooth, wifi, and 4G, aside from charging the thing, there's no reason to ever plug it in. If inductive charging is included, then there you go ... Completely wireless.
The 30-pin connector has been around for almost 10 years ... It seemed outdated and clunky to me then. It consumes too much space for such a small device and frankly is no longer needed. Yes, millions of dock connectors will be rendered useless this year by the latest products, but there will be adapters for permanant home and car use. And you can bet the after market industry will step up quickly to offer new products (with backward compatible adapters).
If you just bought a 4S and a new car specifically to dock it, too bad for you. But seriously do you remember the years before the iPhone? Every time you bought a new cell phone, you had to buy a completely new set of accessories because every manufacture had a different set of standards, sometimes even between their own models ... and you do know that all of Apple's 30-pin dock connectors are not compatible with every dock, right?
Be grateful for the decade of consistency Apple offered for their portable devices ... You realize that Apple didn't have to make the entire family of iPods, iPhones and iPads compatible wi each other at all right?
Believe me, I do my fair share of complaining about apple, and some of it is even justified, but this my friend is not one of them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mac_128
With AirPlay, Bluetooth, wifi, and 4G, aside from charging the thing, there's no reason to ever plug it in.
You're willing to wait hours to copy stuff to a 64GB device over 802.11n?
Quote:
If inductive charging is included, then there you go ... Completely wireless.
That's such a gimmick, though. It's not wireless at all; you have to put it in exactly the right place. You may as well just plug it in.
Quote:
…but there will be adapters for permanent home and car use.
Absolutely. $10-29, I'd imagine. Apple's being the high end, third parties' being the low-end.