News - Is this Apple's iPhone 5 fully assembled?

[Scribe]

I have a lot of respect for the aesthetic design of apple, they create some really nice things. The change from iPhone 3 to 4 was a nice refresh but their lack of effort here is almost arrogant.

I preferred the 3 shape... just a little thinner and lighter would have been good, the iPhone 4 was like an awkward bar of soap.

[Brewster0101]

The fact that it looks so similar to the iPhone 4/S suggests that it won't be noticed. People won't be going oooohhh, look, the iPhone 5. If people don't notice it, it's popularity will drop.

Wonder if Samsung will create a new TV commercial to highlight this exact fact when launching the Note 2.

[RichieLee]

It does look fairly Sony Ericsson to me. Stick one of those orange walkman logos on the rear and you're done!

[Dave_Panic]

It's a real shame they haven't corrected the major design flaw of the iPhone 4 case. If those metal bumpers extended up to the edge of the glass, instead of exposing the glass to the full force of whatever it lands on when you drop it, a great many broken screens will be avoided.

The glass is stronger than the metal I expect.

The glass is almost certainly more brittle than the metal. Any impact on the metal will deform it where as an impact on the glass will likely shatter it. Ask yourself which you'd prefer.

[watercooled]

Brittleness != strength. But as I said, the frame around the glass does next to nothing to absorb the impact of a drop. However, a protruding it may help protect the screen from small face-down drops or scratches.

[OilSheikh]

Did they ask themselves what would Sony design, again? LOL

That clearly looks like the Sony design now....!

[Spud1]

I hope that this is fairly close to the final design - it looks much more like an amalgamation of the original iPhone and the iPhone 4, which is a great combination.

I really liked the metal back on the original iPhone, so its good to see it return, and its finally bigger..my work iPhone feels so tiny in my hands now that I have a HTC titan, so the increase in screen size is a welcome one to me. Very glad they have kept it with edges/angles too - I hated the look and feel of the 3G/3GS, so cheap and tacky (I skipped those two generations) - gives the impression of a premium product as with the 4.

Unless blackberry sort themselves out and produce a decent QNX based phone by the end of the year I will very likely be buying an iPhone 5, no matter how much unjustified hatred that may generate on this forum

We will find out September 12th though! Not too long to wait.

[Biscuit]

Unless blackberry sort themselves out and produce a decent QNX based phone by the end of the year I will very likely be buying an iPhone 5, no matter how much unjustified hatred that may generate on this forum

Whats unjustified about it, im fairly confident its mostly justified tbh

[Lord Midas]

Looks like this came from the Undemocratic Republic of Meh.
There's nothing inspiring about this design at all.

Hexus Apple hate out in force again I see

My comment said nothing about hate (ignoring my signature of course ). I simply stated that the design was a boring and unexciting one. Very little change from the previous 4S.. which I didn't like either.

I'm with Biscuit on this

...their lack of effort here is almost arrogant.

I personally don't like the design. The reason I own a Samsung Galaxy Note is because I think the design is clean, crisp and pleasing on the eye (and its lovely large screen), AND that it doesn't have a iOS operating system on it. And not an Apple phone for its clunky almost unfinished looking design.

My dislike of Apple is for the company and not for the design of their products. Like the iPad for instance, which I think is a lovely design. Never own one though. Ever.

[Repressor]

I guess we're not seeing NFC if the back is metallic then? unless they've put it in the plasticy-looking parts at the top/bottom?

[kalniel]

The glass is almost certainly more brittle than the metal. Any impact on the metal will deform it where as an impact on the glass will likely shatter it. Ask yourself which you'd prefer.

I'd prefer glass. Glass doesn't have to be brittle at all.

[Dave_Panic]

I'd prefer glass. Glass doesn't have to be brittle at all.

A sheet of glass will always be more brittle than aluminium. Fact. Helicopter glass or not.

[TheAnimus]

I'd prefer glass. Glass doesn't have to be brittle at all.

Look at the polycarbonate of some of the Nokia's. Its incredibly good at taking nocks. falling from my pocket on a bicycle, been run over by a scooter, still ok.

However I did loose one dropping it down a concrete staircase, 2 stories.........

[watercooled]

A sheet of glass will always be more brittle than aluminium. Fact. Helicopter glass or not.

The glass floor I was standing on yesterday seemed considerably tougher than what's currently keeping my sandwiches fresh...

As I said earlier, brittleness != strength, the two are not interchangeable and one does not imply the other. Diamonds are known for their strength/hardness, but are also brittle and can be shattered relatively easily.

Plus, as I also said earlier, the metal case used on iStuff (not sure what they use exactly) isn't strong enough to be a useful shock absorber. Sure, it deforms - right into the glass, breaking it. Nearly everyone I know who's owned an iPhone has broken it, and I don't think any of them were from above waist height. But making them incredibly fragile does help Apple to gain more money when you have to get it repaired, I suppose...

[kingpotnoodle]

If you want your phone/laptop/etc to match your nice chrome/alu/brushed steel kitchen appliances Apple is definitely the place to go... but regardless of the style which matters not to me I still couldn't buy one no matter how tasty the hardware was - I really don't want to be stuck in mono-button, wall-garden, smug-git hell and iTunes remains the most loathsome software I've ever encountered from such a huge multinational company... I just don't get why iTat is so popular... it's shiny - is that it? Oh human race what became of thee

[Dave_Panic]

A sheet of glass will always be more brittle than aluminium. Fact. Helicopter glass or not.

The glass floor I was standing on yesterday seemed considerably tougher than what's currently keeping my sandwiches fresh...

As I said earlier, brittleness != strength, the two are not interchangeable and one does not imply the other. Diamonds are known for their strength/hardness, but are also brittle and can be shattered relatively easily.

Plus, as I also said earlier, the metal case used on iStuff (not sure what they use exactly) isn't strong enough to be a useful shock absorber. Sure, it deforms - right into the glass, breaking it. Nearly everyone I know who's owned an iPhone has broken it, and I don't think any of them were from above waist height. But making them incredibly fragile does help Apple to gain more money when you have to get it repaired, I suppose...

That's exactly the point I've been trying to make all along!!!!!! Surely you can see that not exposing the corners of the glass to impacts (where the stress will concentrate) will quite a few broken screens. Obviously it's not going to make indestructible!