News - Apple's iPhone 5 to go on a serious diet?

[Spud1]

If I was Apple I wouldn't change the design much, it's a classic look, just try and make it thinner and include a bigger screen and include features like NFC. I'm sure Apple will follow the Porsche Car Design model and just nip and tuck.

There isn't going to be any revolution here in the iPhone 5.

I'm not so sure - especially after the huge backlash for the iPhone 4S when all they did was up the spec a little bit (which made no difference for 99.9% of users) and include a software update for Siri so that they could claim it had new features (it didn't). I know that they still had record sales, but there were many hundreds of thousands of previous iPhone owners like me, who's reaction was more "wtf, that's just lazy apple..im saving my £500 for a real iPhone 5".

The 4 has a great design, and it does feel the highest quality out of any phone on the market due to the glass finish and total lack of cheap plastics, but it can be improved and changed in many ways and still keep that iPhone image. Liquid metal rumours make sense as there is a strong rumour of them including a [partly] metal back again (like with the first iPhone) which would be a great move imo.

We shall see what they do..but I for one am hoping for an exterior redesign this time around rather than a lazy spec bump.

[bobfoc]

Didn't HEAD use Liquidmetal in their tennis racquets a few seasons back?

Pretty sure I've got one in my cupboard somewhere.

As for other people using this in their phones.... depends on how good their lawyers are as Apple will very likely sue them for copyright infringement as they have the habit of doing

Agree with Spud1 though, the iphone needs to move a bit with the times now as the screen is tiny against modern standards.

I would also hold out on buying a 5 though and wait for the 5S, as Apple aren't the best when it comes to new iterations of their products. I have numerous friends who have had / are having issues with iphone 3G, iphone 4, and ipad 3. None with 3GS, 4S, and ipad 2 though

[saltyzip]

I'm not so sure - especially after the huge backlash for the iPhone 4S when all they did was up the spec a little bit (which made no difference for 99.9% of users) .

Thing is the 4S still sold in their millions, hence why Apple only need to tweak to make a sale. I know quite a few friends who upgraded their 4 to 4S just because they wanted the latest and greatest Apple product. Apple consumers apparently have pots of spare cash to splash out on the latest gadget, so Apple will always get huge sales from the trade up market without even trying hard. At the end of the day a smartphone appearance is just a screen and a case, long gone are the days when a new phone is released and your heart will skip a beat because of its looks. Perhaps when Samsung release a clamshell smartphone utilising a full HD flexible screen my heart may actually stop for a while. They already have some cool screens although not bendy enough yet for a clamshell Implementation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJEHp15Hoo0

Apple know that once you've bought into the Apple eco system its hard to get out as your investment in iTunes and everything you've purchased via it doesn't come with you when you jump ship, so you just upgrade your phone to the latest Apple product and ignore what the competition is up too as it has no relevance. It is one major reason I stay clear of Apple products, but it's not something that enters ones conscious mind before buying an Apple product.

If you had mega bucks or wanted to stand out from the crowd you'd probably buy a nice Tag Heur Android smartphone to compliment your nice Tag Heur watch, one can dream.
http://www.tagheuer.com/int-en/home#...le-phones-link

[Funkstar]

What's all the fuss about liquid metal?

I have a few tubs of it at home and use it at work to fill in corrosion pitting on steel work before encasing it in carbon fibre.

It's not as cool as you would imagine.