Purported 'iPhone 5' cases show design near-identical to Apple's iPhone 4

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Apple's anticipated fifth-generation iPhone will sport an exterior design largely identical to the current iPhone 4, if new cases from overseas are to be believed.



The picture of case renderings, obtained by HardMac, shows identical button placement and SIM card slot. It also has the same space on the back for a camera and flash.



The report noted that the information is not "confirmed," but dubbed the source "reliable."



"These cases would be prototypes of the iPhone 5 cases, based on the mockup that was provided by Apple," the report said. "There is apparently no fundamental change on the placement of the buttons and the SIM card slot."



If accurate, the renderings would likely disprove an earlier rumor that Apple is looking to abandon the steel outer frame of the iPhone 4 following bad publicity over alleged antenna issues. That rumor also suggested the so-called "iPhone 5" would adopt an antenna back, suggesting a major redesign.



Third-party cases from overseas companies have become a popular -- and sometimes very accurate -- source of potential information about Apple's secret upcoming products. As far back as early December, pictures of an iPad 2 case correctly revealed the device would have a rear-facing camera and a larger speaker grille on the back.







Last week, alleged engineering sketches claimed to show off the iPhone 5 showed a device with a larger edge-to-edge display. Aside from the bigger screen, the rest of the device was shown unchanged externally from the iPhone 4.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 42
    applestudapplestud Posts: 367member
    i don't expect a radical form-factor redesign for the next iPhone. I suspect it will be something along the lines of an iPhone 4-S, like the 3GS upgrade.
  • Reply 2 of 42
    djintxdjintx Posts: 454member
    I would have liked to see a redesign more akin to iPad2, but I guess it likely won't happen just yet. If that is true, then in my opinion there are two things that really need to happen with iP5...



    1. Find a way to decrease antenna issues-



    Even though the reported antenna issues weren't as bad as some reported, I think there is still room for improvement here by either giving the external antennas a special coating, or connecting them differently.



    2. Use a stronger material on back instead of glass.



    The glass is gorgeous and feels really good in the hand, but it is just not not strong enough. Most users don't want to be worried about breakage from dropping, and they don't want to feel forced to put it in a case.
  • Reply 3 of 42
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleStud View Post


    i don't expect a radical form-factor redesign for the next iPhone. I suspect it will be something along the lines of an iPhone 4-S, like the 3GS upgrade.



    Me too. Unless Apple wants to try to make a few bucks with selling cases/covers before the 3rd-parties can make it to market, I?d expect a tick/tock method of keeping a base design for 2 years on average.
  • Reply 4 of 42
    jsk173jsk173 Posts: 42member
    The same design is fine with me. Anything except that strange sliding-keyboard rumor from a few weeks ago.
  • Reply 5 of 42
    jd_in_sbjd_in_sb Posts: 1,600member
    Do people really think that the notoriously secret Apple would give case manufacturers a preview of the iPhone 5?
  • Reply 6 of 42
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jd_in_sb View Post


    Do people really think that the notoriously secret Apple would give case manufacturers a preview of the iPhone 5?



    They don?t give a preview of the next iPhone, they give specs for the dimensions and where cut outs have to be. They did this for the iPad 2 and we had plenty of case designs and mockups, along with speculations about what the cut out areas were for.
  • Reply 7 of 42
    djintxdjintx Posts: 454member
    Now that I think about it...



    if these cases are identical to iPhone 4 cases, and therefore some people are concluding that this means the iP5 will be identical...who's to say that these aren't just a bunch of new iPhone 4 cases? Is there something slightly different about them that indicates that they couldn't be for the iP4 and therefor must be for the iP5?
  • Reply 8 of 42
    kfurykfury Posts: 14member
    When have you ever seen a case that has a slot for the sim slot? Either these cases are fake or that opening in the case is to provide access to something else.
  • Reply 9 of 42
    djintxdjintx Posts: 454member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kfury View Post


    When have you ever seen a case that has a slot for the sim slot? Either these cases are fake or that opening in the case is to provide access to something else.



    Agreed. No way a case needs sim card access. And there is no way Apple would put a memory card slot in a phone.
  • Reply 10 of 42
    Isn't it more likely that these are just a new round of iPhone 4 cases?
  • Reply 11 of 42
    Yep, these are about as accurate as those iPad 2 cases that showed an SD card slot
  • Reply 12 of 42
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cramyor View Post


    Yep, these are about as accurate as those iPad 2 cases that showed an SD card slot



    Weren?t those case forms quite accurate? It was the assumptions as to what the cut outs were for that were inaccurate.
  • Reply 13 of 42
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DJinTX View Post


    I would have liked to see [?] a stronger material on back instead of glass. The glass is gorgeous and feels really good in the hand, but it is just not not strong enough. Most users don't want to be worried about breakage from dropping, and they don't want to feel forced to put it in a case.



    Has the glass back of the iPhone 4 really been a big issue? I've never had any problems with either face of my iPhone 4 and I don't recall reading anything about users having issues with the rear glass.
  • Reply 14 of 42
    macslutmacslut Posts: 514member
    1) If these show the design to be the same, then these are iPhone 4 cases.



    2) Why are there no 3rd party iPad 2 cases? I'm dying over here with my iPad 2 being exposed with nothing more than the Apple cover (which offers no real protection). All these guys showing off their cases back months ago, but none are shipping now. Grrrrrr...



    3) I suspect that the next iPhone will be generally the same design as the iPhone 4, and that makes me happy.
  • Reply 15 of 42
    I'm not sure it disproves the theory that Apple is going to abandon the steel outer frame, but it certainly looks like they're keeping the same form factor.



    @DanaCameron

    Supposedly the glass back will be replaced with aluminium to reduce the weight of the device due to customer feedback. I kindof wish Apple were not so obsessed with reducing the weight in things like iPhone and iPad. I love the design of the first iPad and the iPhone 4. Sometimes you want a bit of weight to a device to feel like you've got something in your hands.
  • Reply 16 of 42
    I can clearly see that these cases imply that the edges of the iphone's back have a round bevel shape... am I the only one?
  • Reply 17 of 42
    djintxdjintx Posts: 454member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DanaCameron View Post


    Has the glass back of the iPhone 4 really been a big issue? I've never had any problems with either face of my iPhone 4 and I don't recall reading anything about users having issues with the rear glass.



    I think this depends on who you ask. I have 3 friends with iP4 who haven't dropped their phones and therefore have had no issues (two of them use cases, one does not). But, I have had two students come through my office that have dropped theirs and had cracks, one pretty badly. I don't have an iP4 so its not a current issue for me. But if I were to get one, I would either be forced to buy a case, which I don't want to do, or I would just have to deal with being more worried about dropping than I should have to be.
  • Reply 18 of 42
    iedsriiedsri Posts: 26member
    As jamescouley pointed out, these case designs indicate a *changed* back, *not* a "largely unchanged" back! Why are the article and the majority of commentors oblivious to the striking difference? It's as obvious as the change to the back of the iPad 2!
  • Reply 19 of 42
    kfurykfury Posts: 14member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jamescoulee View Post


    I can clearly see that these cases imply that the edges of the iphone's back have a round bevel shape... am I the only one?



    I agree. There's definitely a tapered edge. My guess is you'll see the same curved aluminum style you see in the Macbook Air and iPad 2 incorporated into the iPhone 5, with either a black antenna band at the top or antennae incorporated into a plastic Apple logo in the center of the back.
  • Reply 20 of 42
    mbmcavoymbmcavoy Posts: 157member
    I guess the author meant that the design would feature a large screen and the usual array of buttons. So, the overall design is just like the iPhone 4! And 3GS, and 3G, and original iPhone before it, too!



    This does looks like the edges would be curved in iPad 2 style, no more "ice cream sandwich"...
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