The single most mysterious aspect of the upcoming iPhone for most of us seems to be how it's going to look. The Internet right now is full of concepts and renders of artists' impressions. But not a single one of them looks plausible to me. Apple wouldn't release an iPhone with asymmetrical bezels on top and the bottom. At the same time releasing a phone with the same bezels as the iPhone 5s but with a 4.5" or 4.7" screen would be a suicide. Apple is certainly going to "cut" some bezels and I tried to take a guess at how it's going to turn out.
Take a look at the back of the current iPhone:
Imagine the same image with a display in the place of the metal plate.
But what about the home button with Touch ID, you ask?
The bezels need to shrink, I don't doubt that. And the home button might need to go and become a touch sensitive area under the screen. This is where all the rumors and facts about sapphire crystal front panels begin to make sense. Apple doesn't need to ditch Gorilla Glass as it's good enough these days. The only really compelling reason to switch to sapphire crystal seems to be implementing the Touch ID under the entire front glass panel. Not as a circle in the home button but as a sensitive area right under the screen and below the glass. Remember that podcast with Rene when he mentioned rumors that Apple would try to implement Touch ID directly under the display? I think we're not too close to that yet but Apple is definitely working on bringing Touch ID under the glass panel.
Right now on the back of the iPhone 5/5s the metal plate is 4.5" diagonally. For a 4.7" the entire phone needs to get slightly larger. Whatever the screen size, this is the only option that makes sense to me. Of all the renders I've seen, some of which done with great talent and resources, I think just taking the back of the iPhone 5 and going from there seems most plausible. Bezels need to shrink and shrink symmetrically. As a result the home button needs to become a touch sensitive area together with the Touch ID and this is where the sapphire crystal comes. It all makes sense to me.
Before you reply to this post, please have a look at the back of your iPhone 5 or 5s. Hold it, think about the proportions, does it look plausible for you? Does it look like something Apple would do? Does it still retain the iconic iPhone silhouette that is so obviously missing from most of the renders out there?
What do you think? I'd like to read your take on this idea of mine.
Take a look at the back of the current iPhone:
Imagine the same image with a display in the place of the metal plate.
But what about the home button with Touch ID, you ask?
The bezels need to shrink, I don't doubt that. And the home button might need to go and become a touch sensitive area under the screen. This is where all the rumors and facts about sapphire crystal front panels begin to make sense. Apple doesn't need to ditch Gorilla Glass as it's good enough these days. The only really compelling reason to switch to sapphire crystal seems to be implementing the Touch ID under the entire front glass panel. Not as a circle in the home button but as a sensitive area right under the screen and below the glass. Remember that podcast with Rene when he mentioned rumors that Apple would try to implement Touch ID directly under the display? I think we're not too close to that yet but Apple is definitely working on bringing Touch ID under the glass panel.
Right now on the back of the iPhone 5/5s the metal plate is 4.5" diagonally. For a 4.7" the entire phone needs to get slightly larger. Whatever the screen size, this is the only option that makes sense to me. Of all the renders I've seen, some of which done with great talent and resources, I think just taking the back of the iPhone 5 and going from there seems most plausible. Bezels need to shrink and shrink symmetrically. As a result the home button needs to become a touch sensitive area together with the Touch ID and this is where the sapphire crystal comes. It all makes sense to me.
Before you reply to this post, please have a look at the back of your iPhone 5 or 5s. Hold it, think about the proportions, does it look plausible for you? Does it look like something Apple would do? Does it still retain the iconic iPhone silhouette that is so obviously missing from most of the renders out there?
What do you think? I'd like to read your take on this idea of mine.