More pictures of purported 'iPhone Lite' shell surface with new blue color

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Coming two days after the last batch of images showing Apple's supposed "iPhone Lite" hit the Web, another set shows the plastic rear casing against a white background, including a new blue color.

iPhone Lite


The images, which come courtesy of Nowhereelse.fr, are of slightly higher quality than the previous pictures, but reveal nothing in the way of new information.

As seen before, the shell appears to be constructed out of a hard, slightly shiny plastic or polycarbonate, with a metal substructure for fastening internal components and EMI shielding. In this case, the parts are covered in a protective plastic covering, suggesting they are near final production models.

While the photos don't include anything by which to gauge size, the overall shape of the casings are consistent with leaked schematics provided to AppleInsider by a major accessory maker in June. Subsequent 3D renderings made based on the specifications showed a design similar to the iPhone 5, but slightly thicker and with rounded corners.

Although the new blue shell is difficult to see in the image above, the color lines up with a May report that claimed Apple's rumored low-end iPhone will come in navy, gold, orange, white, and gray varieties.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 159
    feynmanfeynman Posts: 1,087member


    Hideous. They look like cheap knock offs.

  • Reply 2 of 159
    suddenly newtonsuddenly newton Posts: 13,819member
    Oh look. This picture is properly lit. No way they learned photography this fast. It needs to look grainier to look like a proper spy photo.
  • Reply 3 of 159
    palegolaspalegolas Posts: 1,361member
    feynman wrote: »
    Hideous. They look like cheap knock offs.
    He he, I agree on cheap.
    Wondering when the "Designed by Apple in California, assembled in China" and those other logos are printed onto the back, as with all other iPhone models.. Wouldn't it make sense to print this at the same time as printing the iPhone logo? Perhaps it's an early prototype, not yet approved.
  • Reply 4 of 159
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member
    Maybe this is just the iPhone 5s.

    It's the only leaked phone we've seen so far and all the leaked "5s" parts fit in this shell. I find it illogical that no one even seems to be considering the possibility since it's just as likely as anything else at this point.
    Or maybe this is the new iPhone and there will never be an iPhone 5s at all.

    Either way, where [I]is[/I] the evidence of the iPhone 5s if it's coming out so soon now? :)
  • Reply 5 of 159
    glubengluben Posts: 21member
    I just wish they would take inspiration from the full range of colours from the iPod nano 4th and 5th generations and make it nine, or maybe ten: black, white, silver, pink, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red.
  • Reply 6 of 159
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member


    They look fine to me, not that I'm in the market for a budget iPhone.


     


    Even though I'm not crazy about the idea of Apple making budget versions of devices, I am not going to argue that there is not a huge market of cheap people out there, so I'm not going to blame Apple for making such a device. It's almost impossible to read a single thread about Apple anywhere on the internet without at least a few cheapskates eventually chiming in and whining about the cost of something, so maybe this will shut those people up, but probably not.


     


    If Apple has decided to release a version of the iPhone for more budget minded people, then it would be pretty dumb to expect the same quality materials found in the regular iPhone to be present in the budget iPhone. And there will no doubt be other compromises made, but if anybody has any complaints at all about this budget iPhone, then you can simply pay more and buy the regular iPhone and quit your whining.


     


    I think that these budget iPhones will actually sell rather well. I can see kids having these (or rather, parents buying them for their kids) and we all know that there are plenty of people out there who would love to have an iPhone, but don't yet because of the cost, and this cheaper model would enable many of those people to finally join the premiere ecosystem on the planet and step up from the miserable existence that they currently find themselves in. I'm looking at you Fandroids and other people who are not Fandroids, but simply ended up with a crappy Android phone because it was cheap. Many of those people are surely regretting their decision.


     


    The thing that is most interesting about these phones that we don't know yet, is the price. And even though I've always argued against cheap devices and cheap people in general, if Apple is first going to do it, then they should do it proper. Price it pretty cheap and destroy everybody else. I want to see Android companies and other companies going out of business, dropping like flies. I want to see many thousands of people lose their jobs. Who would buy a cheap, crappy Android phone if the alternative is a budget version of an iPhone? Very few people (mostly hardcore Fandroids and the mentally insane) would choose the former.

  • Reply 7 of 159
    Should be offically called the iPhony for obvious reasons. This one should say "Designed in China" on the back because that's what it looks like.
  • Reply 8 of 159
    irnchrizirnchriz Posts: 1,616member
    Maybe Apple are just screwing with Samsung hoping to see them copy and release a line of day glow galaxy S4.
  • Reply 9 of 159
    jusephejusephe Posts: 108member
    gazoobee wrote: »
    Maybe this is just the iPhone 5s.

    It's the only leaked phone we've seen so far and all the leaked "5s" parts fit in this shell. I find it illogical that no one even seems to be considering the possibility since it's just as likely as anything else at this point.
    Or maybe this is the new iPhone and there will never be an iPhone 5s at all.

    Either way, where is the evidence of the iPhone 5s if it's coming out so soon now? :)

    So.... This is iPhone 6 ?
  • Reply 10 of 159
    murmanmurman Posts: 159member
    "While the photos don't include anything by which to gauge size" Camera and the lightning port size are indicators.
  • Reply 11 of 159
    frykefryke Posts: 217member
    Article: "Although the new blue shell is difficult to see in the image above, the color lines up with a May report that claimed Apple's rumored low-end iPhone will come in navy, gold, orange, white, and gray varieties."

    Errh.. The photo doesn't show any navy, gold and gray varieties. Whether the red one could count as orange.. Ok. But the others? "Lines up" is the wrong term.
  • Reply 12 of 159
    I will believe it when i see all the FCC marks etc on it.
  • Reply 13 of 159
    phone-ui-guyphone-ui-guy Posts: 1,019member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by palegolas View Post




    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Feynman View Post



    Hideous. They look like cheap knock offs.


    He he, I agree on cheap.

    Wondering when the "Designed by Apple in California, assembled in China" and those other logos are printed onto the back, as with all other iPhone models.. Wouldn't it make sense to print this at the same time as printing the iPhone logo? Perhaps it's an early prototype, not yet approved.


     


    I'm wondering how much of the "cheap" comes from the plastic they are wrapped in. The phone itself may not be so glossy which may help. I agree it is odd that they do not have the standard placeholder text for the certifications. All prototypes to date have included placeholder text/icons and the iPhone name. Of course, those are device prototypes with electronics that must be marked as such. These are just outer shells at this point, but still odd for the iPhone to be there.


     


    I think there will be quite a few of these things sold with the iPhone 5 screen in them. Not everyone need the most up to date internals for every spec, or the fancy enclosure since they stick them in cases anyway. Having that screen with properly sized specs and a nice price will drive sales around the globe. 

  • Reply 14 of 159
    constable odoconstable odo Posts: 1,041member
    I'm dreading what the analysts and iHaters are going to say about an iPhone with a plastic casing. I'm not happy with Apple having to use plastic to hold profit margins, but I don't think there is much of an alternative. I hope Apple is using some sort of plastic that won't develop cracks from aging or cold weather. I know Apple already used plastic in the iPhone 3G but I don't remember if it was prone to cracks or not. I just hope it's undergone rigorous testing because there'll be hell to pay if anything goes wrong. The plastic casing should improve manufacturing and assembly speed, so Apple should be able to get them out the door faster than the higher-end iPhone.

    I think Apple's back is up against the wall if it needs to sell iPhones to BRIC nation consumers. I suppose as long as Apple sticks to the high-end users it will be alright if Apple only takes 20% to 30% market share in China. There's just too much low-priced competition to hope for more than that percentage. I've got my fingers crossed for a China Mobile deal within the next few months.
  • Reply 15 of 159
    These phones to me seem like they will be replacing the 3GS / 4 series. Apple will probably continue the trend of having 3 models to choose from.

    I too think these colors look okay and will probably sell well. Remember, Apple is trying to pull more people into the eco-system. Once people use and like their iPhones - most people will continue buying iPhones.
  • Reply 16 of 159
    herbapouherbapou Posts: 2,228member
    These phones to me seem like they will be replacing the 3GS / 4 series. Apple will probably continue the trend of having 3 models to choose from.

    I too think these colors look okay and will probably sell well. Remember, Apple is trying to pull more people into the eco-system. Once people use and like their iPhones - most people will continue buying iPhones.

    I am hoping this is the low end phone, the 5s will be the high end of the middle range, and that we will see a bigger screen phone at the high end.
  • Reply 17 of 159
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    Looking at this photo it's obvious the case is in some protective wrapping. You can see bubbles on the red and white one. This is what's causing the case to look glossy.

    Oh and if Apple is going to go the low end plastic route the price it to gobble up share. Android OEMs won't know what hit them.
  • Reply 18 of 159
    solsunsolsun Posts: 763member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by palegolas View Post





    He he, I agree on cheap.

    Wondering when the "Designed by Apple in California, assembled in China" and those other logos are printed onto the back, as with all other iPhone models.. Wouldn't it make sense to print this at the same time as printing the iPhone logo? Perhaps it's an early prototype, not yet approved.


    delete

  • Reply 19 of 159
    gazoobee wrote: »
    Maybe this is just the iPhone 5s.

    It's the only leaked phone we've seen so far and all the leaked "5s" parts fit in this shell. I find it illogical that no one even seems to be considering the possibility since it's just as likely as anything else at this point.
    Or maybe this is the new iPhone and there will never be an iPhone 5s at all.

    Either way, where is the evidence of the iPhone 5s if it's coming out so soon now? :)

    I agree, this is the "5S" as it's been termed, essentially a 5 re-engineered in a less expensive casing and probably a few other places to cut some costs. Considering how obviously scalable iOS 7's UI is, I would expect these leaks are being controlled to hide the existence of a larger, next-gen iPhone "6" which will launch simultaneously. Then the lineup would consist of a 4.x"* high-end iPhone in black and white with a 4" mid-range available in a spectrum of colours.

    * For some math, 720p at the existing 326 ppi would make a 4.5" screen.
  • Reply 20 of 159
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    I'm dreading what the analysts and iHaters are going to say about an iPhone with a plastic casing. I'm not happy with Apple having to use plastic to hold profit margins, but I don't think there is much of an alternative. I hope Apple is using some sort of plastic that won't develop cracks from aging or cold weather. I know Apple already used plastic in the iPhone 3G but I don't remember if it was prone to cracks or not. I just hope it's undergone rigorous testing because there'll be hell to pay if anything goes wrong. The plastic casing should improve manufacturing and assembly speed, so Apple should be able to get them out the door faster than the higher-end iPhone.

    I think Apple's back is up against the wall if it needs to sell iPhones to BRIC nation consumers. I suppose as long as Apple sticks to the high-end users it will be alright if Apple only takes 20% to 30% market share in China. There's just too much low-priced competition to hope for more than that percentage. I've got my fingers crossed for a China Mobile deal within the next few months.
    IF Apple is going this route I hope they price it aggressively. But if they're going to charge $450 for a color plastic phone I think it has FAIL written all over it. Will be interesting to see where this is sold and how they market it since its so different than the flagship phone.
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