What will the iPhone 5 be made of?
The iPhone 4 has had its share of design-related issues. First, the external stainless steel wraparound antenna caused reception hiccups that resulted in the famous "antennagate" Apple event.
Now that a much larger number of the phones are in the wild, there was a brief to-do about the relative likelihood of the iPhone 4's glass back scratching or breaking when the device is slipped into a slider case. Gdgt's Ryan Block later noted that Apple is preemptively working this issue from the engineering side, but that didn't stop the Macalope from chastising his eagerness to declare a new -gate scandal involving the phone's reliability.
What could Apple possibly do with future iPhones to prevent similar hardware issues -- widely prevalent or once-in-a-blue-mood as they may be -- from cropping up once the devices are out of the corral?
Blogger Raymond Wong at SyFy's Dvice site gave this question some thought in a post this morning, and he makes some suggestions about what materials the next and succeeding generations of iPhone might be made of. First, he thinks there could be a move back to plastic, since the material was used in the first three generations of iPhones, is transparent to cell phone signals, and is much more resilient to impacts.
Next, he thinks that aluminum is "off the table for good," considering that it is opaque to cell phone signals and can be scratched, but he thinks there is a good chance that the materials made by Liquidmetal Technologies could be used. They remain scratch-free much longer than aluminum or steel, and could be used in an external antenna like that on the iPhone 4.
Wong thinks that titanium and carbon fiber are also out of the question due to cost. Carbon fiber is extremely light, but can crack under shock, while titanium is strong and light, but tremendously expensive.
What do you think the next generation of iPhones will be made of? At TUAW, we're still waiting for the new models made from unicorn tears and rainbows, but we'd like to hear your ideas in the comments.
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The iPhone 4 has had its share of design-related issues. First, the external stainless steel wraparound antenna caused reception hiccups...
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I would guess not "what new material?", but "what are they going to do with the glass?"
My guess is that you'll be able to use the glass back as an input surface. Probably some light grated out areas for visual tracking. Already proof o concept from that guy that hacked wii remotes on youtube. The only real problem with a touch screen is that you can't see the screen while inputting info...
Lost hope and failed dreams are just for the white iPhone....
October 26 2010 at 2:37 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI haven't had any reception issues with my device...at all! I live in a country where coverage is excellent and the geography flat (Kuwait) and used a case only to protect the back panel. Apple should stick to the same design concept & material for ip5, it's the internals I'm interested in: Larger screen, better stereo sound, more IOS functions.
October 26 2010 at 8:55 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replylost hope, puppy dogs and failed dreams
October 26 2010 at 8:33 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyiPhone 5 ingredients: kerosene, propylene glycol, artificial sweeteners, sulphuric acid, rum, acetone, red dye no. 2, scumm, axle grease, battery acid, pepperoni
October 26 2010 at 8:13 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyBut they are out of rum. Jack drank it all.
October 27 2010 at 12:50 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyWhat about an LED backside that would emit colors according to the desires of the user or in cunjuction to the app in use at the time. Like the phone pulsing when silent or turning red when the battery is low etc etc.
October 26 2010 at 4:06 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyWhen the antenna issue first came to light, there was a cat blogging somewhere that a 'simlle' treatment to the steel would act like you had a bumper on and fix the problem. It is invisible and didn't add weight or thickness to the steel, just a slight sheen (perhaps it was a dulling of the steel, anyway) I agree that there will not be a complete overhaul. I got why they overhauled from iPhone to iPhone 3G, price, and oh-my-how-ugly the original iPhone looks after a few caseless months. Besides, the current iPhone is absolutely beautiful.
October 26 2010 at 3:47 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyIt will be a new material that Apple announces in March '11. Then in June, at the launch date, Apple will realize that It can't make WHITE OR BLACK work this time, and the launch date will be pushed back, eventually leading to the iPhone 6, made of ABS plastic.
October 25 2010 at 11:38 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replyin addition to Rainbows and Unicorns, I'd throw in Sugar, Spice, and everything (else) nice... with a dose of Chemical OSX.
Will we get the cute, naive blondie, or the tough-as-nails chick?
It'll be made of Vaporware...
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TUAW (or The Unofficial Apple Weblog) is a website devoted to tips, reviews, news, analysis and opinion on everything Apple.
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