[DBMandrake]

The following article has pictures and video of what are claimed to be the case and some of the inner parts of the next iPhone:

http://www.9to5mac.com/46075/are-these-verizon-iphone-4-parts

Although they suggest that it might be a CDMA version of the iPhone for Verizon, which many rumours are saying will be announced this month or possibly even this week at CES, I think it's reasonable to believe that even if the revised case is used first in a CDMA iPhone, that this will also be the case design of the GSM iPhone 5, presumably released in the normal June/July time frame.

Do I think it's real and not a hoax or Chinese knock-off ? Yes.

The photos don't show much, but the video is very enlightening, especially when viewed in 720p. The fact that there is hi-res video of the pieces being held and manipulated immediately dismisses the idea of hoax photo-shopped pictures - it's far too difficult to hoax video like this to make doing so worthwhile.

Having studied the similarities and differences between the iPhone 4 parts and claimed iPhone 5 parts with the eye of someone used to working on the insides of electronic equipment, I feel pretty confident in saying that it is not a Chinese knock-off. Such clones inevitably only try to clone the outside appearance, there is no way the insides would follow the existing design so closely and precisely in some areas, and yet deviate substantially in others.

My conclusion is that it is indeed a genuine revision of the iPhone 4 hardware. Whether it is just one of the prototypes that got loose, (and therefore may not be THE prototype that represents the next iPhone) or whether it is the genuine finished article stolen from a production line we don't know. (I think the latter though)

So if we assume that it's real and if not the exact design, very close to it, what can we learn from it ?

The single biggest takeaway is that the next iPhone will have the same form factor and case design as the current iPhone 4, (aside from the ringer switch being repositioned slightly) but that the details of the antenna have been revised. To be honest this is not in the least bit surprising, and exactly what I expected.

Many people that criticized the external antenna design of the iPhone 4 were probably hoping for Apple to abandon it completely with the next release, but I think they won't for two reasons - one is to save face, if they were to bring out the next model with a completely different case design it may be seen as a vindication of "antennagate", and therefore an admission of their failure.

The other reason is I don't think they would want to throw away the amount of R&D effort that has gone into the design and start from scratch again, and that they believe they can "get it right" this time. There is some precedent for keeping the same form factor - the 3G and 3GS had exactly the same case and form factor, as well as the same screen, switches, speakers, etc.

The 3G -> 3GS upgrade was all about performance and features, not form factor. I believe the iPhone 4 -> iPhone 5 upgrade will again be about performance and features, with the form factor staying the same. I think we'll also see the same Retina screen in the iPhone 5, although they may revise the choice of glass used on the front and back...hopefully... ;)

So what of the antenna ? Essentially the change is that the break in the outer antenna next to the headphone socket is gone, replaced by a break on either side near the top. This means a change from 2 active antenna elements to 3, if the break at the bottom right is still shorted together as it is in the iPhone 4, or 4 elements if it's not. (It's not clear from the video which is the case)

It doesn't sound like much but it could be all the difference between an antenna that is very sensitive to being touched in an inconvenient position, and one that is far more robust. If they have actually changed it to 4 antennas by also separating the shorting bar on the bottom right gap, they may even be going for a diversity antenna system - for example short top and bottom antennas for Wifi/Bluetooth, Long Left and Right sides for GSM/UMTS - 2 antennas for each.

An electronically switched diversity antenna system would be an elegant way to get around an antenna with sensitive spots - if you touch it in one bad spot, it just switches to using the antenna on the other side of the device, and visa versa. This is just speculation on my part but is well within the realms of feasibility, and I believe some phones already use diversity antenna systems.

What else do we see ? Quite a lot of minor detail changes in the location of screws, cables and so on, about the only thing of interest is the person making the video comments on the removal of the "camera hole" implying that there isn't a place for the rear camera, however if you look closely the plate that has a hole for the camera on the iPhone 4 but not the iPhone 5 is actually on the front side of the case - thus the hole is just a clearance hole to give the maximum amount of depth possible for the camera and lens.

The iPhone 5 frame has additional screw mounts in the same area, so I think all that's happening is that the iPhone 5 camera will be thinner - thin enough that a clearance cut-out in the backplane is no longer needed. So I think from that we can say that there will be a revision to the rear camera, if not in raw specs, in brand or model.

So there we have it, possibly a sneak peek at the next iPhone :)

[Ben]

I'm definitely expecting the next iPhone to have a very similar form factor too, so this is believable to me.

I do think the iPhone 4 is an absolutely fantastic design, if flawed. I'm not entirely sure what improvements I'd ask for this time around!

[DBMandrake]

"This Video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Apple Inc" now appears when trying to play the Youtube clip. I guess that pretty much confirms it that it's genuine Apple hardware, whether a prototype or the real thing! :p

Sometimes these companies like Apple should learn to just let it slide, to keep people guessing...there is nothing earth shattering in this video, compared to the Gizmodo leak last year which showed an entirely new design. By pulling the video they just give it legitimacy...

[Ben]

I guess they'd argue that they try and get everything pulled. That said, the video had quite sound legitimacy with or without their intervention!

Lets hope it's a wink towards the leak being real, it all looked quite promising to me.

Better antenna design, better glass, and better battery life would probably be my asks on reflection. The front facing camera is a bit naff, I suppose they could update that. I'm still worryingly content with iPhone 4, though... I guess everyone reaches a point where their phone just does what they want it to! No doubt Steve will show me the err of my ways and be ready to rock my world with the next release ;)

Edit: Oh, and support for 3G in loads of bands... though I'm not sure what bands it supports already. Roll on 3G 900/1800!

[DBMandrake]

On a day to day basis I'm still perfectly content with my 3GS - it does everything I want.

Yes I'd like a Retina display, but I don't need it. Yes I'd like a front facing camera, but how often would I use it, even now that Skype has video ? Ok, I might use the front facing camera occasionally to Skype back to NZ. :)

Yes I'd like 512MB of ram instead of 256MB, but if 256MB is good enough for the iPad, it's good enough for my 3GS.

Yes I'd like HSUPA, especially when tethering, but I so rarely tether (partly due to being at home most of the time at the moment) that upstream speed isn't a big deal. Yes I'd like the 5Mp camera, but the 3Mp camera in my 3GS does a pretty decent job. Yes I'd like 900Mhz 3G support, and that would be a big deal if I was back in NZ where 900Mhz 3G has been rolled out for several years now, but the reality is even though it has just been given the go-ahead here in the UK, by the time there is any wide spread roll out, my already 1.5 year old 3GS will be obsolete anyway.

If anything, 900Mhz 3G support, when it becomes a necessity and/or discontinuation of iOS updates is what will probably force my hand in upgrading from the 3GS. (Or dropping it, but it's well protected in a Switcheasy Colours case :) )

[DBMandrake]

So, the Verizon iPhone has been officially announced :)

One of the many quick first looks, this one by Engadget:

http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/11/verizon-iphone-first-hands-on/

From what I can see, there are two interesting revelations from this that are relevant to us in the UK.

The first is, the case and design of the Verizon iPhone has exactly the same changes to the black bands (insulator gaps in the antenna frame) as those in the leaked video - eg, no gap at the top, instead two gaps near the top of the left and right side, with the ringer switch slightly moved down. However there is no SIM slot at all, due to it being a CDMA phone, and apparently not a world mode (dual mode CDMA/GSM) phone.

This means that the one shown in the leaked video has the same antenna modifications, but still has a SIM slot, meaning it is the GSM version of the updated case/antenna design. Expect to see the revised design in GSM in it's usual June time frame I think. (Or maybe earlier, but I doubt it)

The second thing of note which interests me more is the "Personal Hotspot" feature - the Verizon press release says it's a bundled app but in fact it's an added feature in iOS 4.2.5 which was shown running on the Verizon iPhone, which extends tethering to support Wifi hotspot functionality - the same as you can already do on many Android devices. It even shows how many devices are connected in the pulsating blue tethering bar :) (see the video)

I can see a lot of benefit from this - although Bluetooth tethering is nice, many older devices don't have Bluetooth, (for example this dell laptop I'm typing on doesn't have it) and Bluetooth has limited speed, (a little over 1Mbit in practice - quite a bit slower than a good 3G connection) and has rather limited range - in theory up to 10 metres, but I've found with bluetooth tethering performance drops off rapidly beyond about 2 metres, with the connection lost beyond about 3 metres. (Not quite far enough to sit the phone on a window sill and use a laptop reliably from further into the room)

The Wifi hotspot mode would support a lot more device types, including presumably a Wifi iPad, much faster speeds (at least 8Mbit) and much greater range, allowing you to have the phone and client devices almost at opposite ends of a house. Essentially it turns your iPhone into a Mifi.

It will be interesting to see when iOS 4.2.5 or later comes out for all devices whether this will become a standard feature for all iPhone's - my guess is yes, but that it will be controlled by the carrier settings bundle, so networks have the ability to enable or disable it. Hopefully Three decide to enable it, given their liberal policy on Tethering I can't see why not. :)

[Ben]

Ah ok, I'd just assumed that the leaked pictures were the CDMA one - the SIM slot issue is quite encouraging in that case; as I've already said, I love the iPhone 4 form factor and would really like Apple to keep it in the next revision.

I wonder how that personal hotspot notification bar affects apps? Assuming it stays there when apps open it could lead to some really interesting bugs!

What flavour of 3G do Verizon operate? EV-DO?

[DBMandrake]

ARGH!! Just lost my entire reply for no apparent reason, so I'll try again.


I wonder how that personal hotspot notification bar affects apps? Assuming it stays there when apps open it could lead to some really interesting bugs!

It's the same size and location as the pulsating blue bar we currently get with Tethering turned on, the red bar for background audio recording, and the green bar for background phone calls - 2 lines high in portrait and 1 line high in landscape.

Despite these having been in the OS for at least a year (and the green bar dating back to iPhone OS 1.0) many developers don't seem to test that their apps look and work right with this bar present. Theres no excuse for it really, as there must be API's to notify apps of changes in usable screen size (SOME apps handle it correctly and readjust their UI's) and developers need to up their game, because if we ever see Android style drop down notifications and alerts (please, please, please) then Apple will probably leverage this same mechanism to display the alerts, and Apps need to handle it gracefully, especially if it can drop down more than 2 lines.


What flavour of 3G do Verizon operate? EV-DO?
EVDO Rev A. Not as fast as UMTS on paper, no simultaneous voice and data support, but in the USA Verizon has far better geographical coverage in many states, and also seems to have better network/backhaul capacity. Frequent complaints of iPhone users on AT&T are that even if they get a good signal (and more often than not they don't) many times they can't make a call or access data at all - so clearly there is a capacity problem with AT&T, whereas over the border in Canada they don't seem to have these problems...

I believe one of the big networks in China is also EVDO so this new device may be the key to unlocking more of the Chinese market.

The downsides from a (US) user perspective is that theres no SIM slot making it locked by default, and there are precious few countries where a EVDO phone can roam - less than 30 in total, with only 12 of them providing roaming data. (Obviously the UK is not one of them) This could be a deterrent to jetset Americans who rely on roaming in other countries, many of whom may stick with AT&T.

[DBMandrake]

It will be interesting to see when iOS 4.2.5 or later comes out for all devices whether this will become a standard feature for all iPhone's - my guess is yes, but that it will be controlled by the carrier settings bundle, so networks have the ability to enable or disable it. Hopefully Three decide to enable it, given their liberal policy on Tethering I can't see why not. :)

Well it looks like we could be lucky after all:

http://www.bgr.com/2011/01/12/confirmed-personal-hotspot-feature-coming-to-all-iphones-in-ios-4-3/

Personal hotspot coming to other iPhone's with iOS 4.3. This is presumably a leak from inside one of the international carriers - who no doubt get advance copies of soon to be released iOS versions with major new features so they can test and verify them with their networks.

You can see from the photo that it's clearly not Verizon, as the gap on the status bar that has been erased is too narrow, however the gap also looks too narrow for AT&T to be displayed either, so my guess is a European carrier.

Other interesting differences from the Verizon iPhone and current iOS versions - the Verizon phone screenshots taken by Engadget etc were missing the "Carrier" option from the main settings, (possibly deemed unnecessary, at least while not roaming, due to the lack of a SIM slot or alternative carrier) while these shots show Carrier - suggesting they're from an existing GSM iPhone.

Also the Location Services option, which is currently under General (on the Verizon phone as well) has been moved up front to the first settings page.

So it looks like we will get personal hotspot after all. The questions are, which UK carriers will support it, and will it work on older models like the 3GS and 3G ? I can't see why it wouldn't, as even the 3G supports USB and Bluetooth tethering...

[DBMandrake]

A nice article on the Verizon iPhone from Anandtech:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4125/understanding-the-verizon-iphone-4-announcement

While they do still mention significant signal reduction when held in certain ways, it looks like my hunch on antenna diversity could be right:

"You will notice that there are more external antenna segments on the Verizon iPhone compared to the AT&T model. Specifically, there's a new strip at the very top of the phone that previously was a part of the UMTS/GSM antenna. With the Verizon iPhone 4 that strip is actually for a secondary receive antenna. This dual-receive antenna architecture is something that Verizon refers to as antenna diversity and it's a part of Verizon's spec for devices on its network. This is not something that's present on the GSM version of the iPhone 4."

I wonder if we'll see something similar on the next revision of the GSM iPhone ? I don't see why antenna diversity can't be added on GSM/UMTS so long as the chipset in the phone supports it, if those other pictures of the new antenna band design + SIM slot are valid, I think we will.

Diversity antennas are a great idea for phones, because the truth is no matter where you put a single antenna in a phone, even internally, it will have weaknesses and will not perform ideally in all orientations. For example the internal antenna on a 3GS is near the bottom (as with most phones) and if you cup that area in your hand you'll get significant signal reduction.

Also depending on the orientation of the phone (in 3 axes) you will get signal loss even if you're not near the phone. Mobile phone masts are vertically polarized, so the optimum signal is received when the antenna on the phone is also vertically oriented, (probably when the phone is held vertically) next worst is if the phone is sitting in such a way that the antenna is horizontal (as it would be if the phone was lying down, side on to the direction of the base station) but by far the worst is if the antenna element is in line with the direction of the base station, where you can get a huge signal attenuation.

With diversity antenna systems you have two (or more) separate antennas that, ideally, are positioned in different orientations, for example at right angles to each other. The new iPhone appears to have a vertical one on the right side of the phone and a horizontal one at the top. So without even considering touching the phone, depending on the orientation of the phone the chipset will select on the fly, moment to moment, whichever antenna gives the best signal - as the phone moves around in 3 axes in space the optimum antenna will change. As well as that, if you touch one antenna and detune it, it can switch to using the other one, and visa versa.

Time will tell whether the implementation in the new iPhone works as hoped though...

[DBMandrake]

So, places like ifixit are now tearing down the Verizon iPhone and an interesting fact has been discovered:

http://www.9to5mac.com/51140/verizon-iphone-tear-down-posted-reveals-qualcomm-gobi-chip-gsm-worldphone-compatible

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone-4-Verizon-Teardown/4693/1

The radio chipset is Qualcomms Gobi chipset which is a dual mode chipset that supports both EVDO Rev A (aka CDMA) as well as GSM/HSPA+ up to 14.4Mbit.

Although it appears only one mode is probably being used in the Verizon phone (as there is no SIM slot) could this also be the chipset for the iPad 2 and iPhone 5 ? The current infineon chipset only supports 7.2Mbit HSPA+

[Ben]

This is very interesting indeed. Assuming Apple do decide to create a world-phone, the CDMA iPhone may not be around for long... happy news indeed for all those brand new Verizon iPhone customers. Not.