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I find it hard to believe they'll take a step back in the design with that metal/glass back. Although I guess it would be their way of admitting an all-glass ba

by cwe 14y ago

I find it hard to believe they'll take a step back in the design with that metal/glass back. Although I guess it would be their way of admitting an all-glass back was a bad idea. I'm still hoping they'll manage to fit the larger screen into the same overall size as the 4s (though still thinner). These longer bodies seem lazy.

grinich 14y ago
Actually, the back of this design is much closer to an early iPhone prototype that was recently uncovered in some court proceedings. [1] Looks like they've ditched the extruded enclosure, but maybe the segmented back plate lives on. [2] [1] http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/26/3191793/apple-iphone-prototype-pictures#3597776 http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/26/3191793/apple-iphone-proto... [2] http://www.buzzfeed.com/mattbuchanan/the-original-iphone-4-design-prototype-from-2006 http://www.buzzfeed.com/mattbuchanan/the-original-iphone-4-d...
- mbell 14y ago
  I find it more likely this is a functional constraint. The "panel" at the top is likely where the antennas live which needed a non-metallic material to avoid blocking reception. After the "external" antenna debacle I doubt they would want to repeat that mistake.
  - 2muchcoffeeman 14y ago
    I don't think they have ditched the idea. You can still see those molded in separators around the sides. I am on a good carrier, so I have never had problems with the 4 antenna design, even though I can get the bars to go down by "holding it wrong". I like the idea of the body serving the roles of the case, the antenna and providing structural support. So hopefully this is version 3 which fixes all the problems they had.
    - mbell 14y ago
      Possible, although there is also NFC now added to the RF mix, not sure if it can share an antenna or not.
    - cwe 14y ago
      Yeah, I was coming back to this thread to mention this. The antenna around the outside works fine, so the back could be entirely metal, no glass needed. Very bizarre design.

by cwe 14y ago

grinich 14y ago

Actually, the back of this design is much closer to an early iPhone prototype that was recently uncovered in some court proceedings. [1] Looks like they've ditched the extruded enclosure, but maybe the segmented back plate lives on. [2] [1] http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/26/3191793/apple-iphone-prototype-pictures#3597776 http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/26/3191793/apple-iphone-proto... [2] http://www.buzzfeed.com/mattbuchanan/the-original-iphone-4-design-prototype-from-2006 http://www.buzzfeed.com/mattbuchanan/the-original-iphone-4-d...

mbell 14y ago
I find it more likely this is a functional constraint. The "panel" at the top is likely where the antennas live which needed a non-metallic material to avoid blocking reception. After the "external" antenna debacle I doubt they would want to repeat that mistake.
- 2muchcoffeeman 14y ago
  I don't think they have ditched the idea. You can still see those molded in separators around the sides. I am on a good carrier, so I have never had problems with the 4 antenna design, even though I can get the bars to go down by "holding it wrong". I like the idea of the body serving the roles of the case, the antenna and providing structural support. So hopefully this is version 3 which fixes all the problems they had.
  - mbell 14y ago
    Possible, although there is also NFC now added to the RF mix, not sure if it can share an antenna or not.
  - cwe 14y ago
    Yeah, I was coming back to this thread to mention this. The antenna around the outside works fine, so the back could be entirely metal, no glass needed. Very bizarre design.