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Most iPhone 6 concept videos are silly, this one could be fairly accurate [Poll]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPY5Bu67iY4]

There are a lot of very silly iPhone 6 concept images and videos around, from convex curves that maximize reflections and vulnerability to damage, to completely transparent phones (invisible batteries and circuit boards are the new black, apparently). This concept by Sam Beckett isn’t terribly exciting, but it is likely reasonably close to what we might expect Apple to do … 

It’s essentially a minor evolution of the iPhone 5s, and minor evolution is what Apple specializes in. Apple’s design philosophy is to get it right in the first place, then refine it over time, taking advantage of new technologies as they come along.

The 4.7-inch display is accommodated partly by an 8 percent bump in size, and partly by slimmer bezels – far more likely than a complete absence of same. The concept phone is just 0.6mm slimmer than the 5s, again rather more realistic than some of the stupidly thin designs we’ve seen. The 1920×1080 resolution is questionable, however.

Assuming the rumors of two different screen sizes are true, however, we might expect to see a somewhat different design tack with the larger of the two – perhaps more inspired by the iPad mini.

Would you be happy with this kind of minor evolution, or are you hoping for something significantly different next time around? Take the poll and let us know your views in the comments.

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Comments

  1. PMZanetti - 10 years ago

    That is probably exactly spot on to what we’ll see, and exactly what makes sense.

    • I really hope it doesn’t *look* exactly like that, though… I strongly prefer the aluminum backing of the iPhone 5 to the glass of the iPhone 4.

      • MaRico NoHands Spikes - 10 years ago

        I doubt it will go glass back again, if it goes glass back it better have solar or another screen on it, even though I love the 4/4s design I just hated being careful all the time with it, but I think this concept is a good idea of what we will see assuming they are under the ‘Steve Jobs’ road map, not too many drastic changes

      • varera (@real_varera) - 10 years ago

        second that

    • PMZanetti - 10 years ago

      Didn’t even notice it was supposed to be a glass back…yea aluminum is way better.

    • Adam Mork - 10 years ago

      I think everything makes sense except for the ppi bump. Changing the PPI only complicates existing apps and for what ? Just so apple can compete in some specs sheet. Doesnt seem likely. I would wager they do something like this but keep the same ppi, by my calculations that comes out to 1280 x 720

      • zubeirg87 - 10 years ago

        Totally agree. I reach the same conclusion- 4.5″ @ 1280×720, 326ppi. Looks like the best way to go considering factors like apps compatibility, one-handed usability, etc. Better not increase ppi and save the power to improve battery life. This is more important than crazy ppi’s which the eye will not discern.

  2. Mark Choi - 10 years ago

    “Accommodated”? It does not mean what I suspect you think it means.

  3. Alex Cox  (@SJobsII) - 10 years ago

    A return to 4/4s design would be nice(glass on both sides) because sapphire would show less wear and tear than aluminum.

  4. My biggest concern with them increasing the resolution is the massive change it will cause to the UI…

    Last time, basically it was just adding ~200 pixels to the height of the display and moving the touch points accordingly.

    This time, the touch points will actually have to change in size, as the screen will be so much larger…

    If they don’t develop an OS-level scaling mechanism for old apps, the App Store is going to be a total mess. Giant buttons everywhere.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 10 years ago

      There’s quite a detailed discussion of resolutions in this piece and its comments http://9to5mac.com/2014/01/17/opinion-what-approach-will-apple-take-to-deliver-a-larger-screen-iphone-6/

      • Marc Plus (@stakwild) - 10 years ago

        Sam has some valid concerns about a possible change to more than 326PPI, and I don’t see anyone in this linked article addressing that. Even actual iOS developers commenting are confused about this issue.

        Auto-Layout in iOS exist to deal with changes in resolution, not screen density. Developers always have to assume a maximum of 326PPI and size their buttons and touch targets accordingly so they are not too small for human fingers. Auto-layout only deal with the placement of individual UI elements, not their pixel size.

        An app that currently uses auto-layout would reflow its layout on a bigger screen with no problem if it was the same density (or lower), but going over 326PPI would result in buttons and touch targets which are too small (or way too big if they were going for the ridiculous 4x retina method) and would require a lot of manual work and new bitmap assets since auto-Layout wouldn’t take care of that.

        That’s why I think Apple won’t go over 326PPI, and the vast majority of consumers won’t care or even be able to see the difference. Yes a lot of people want a bigger screen, but having 4K on a 5″ screen is much less of a concern for most people.

      • Ben Lovejoy - 10 years ago

        Yes, I think 4K on a phone screen would be massive over-kill.

    • Stetson - 10 years ago

      As long as it’s a 16:9 resolution they can just upscale old apps.

  5. rrobinson1216 - 10 years ago

    Not bad, it’ll be interesting to see what sizes come. The only thing about this video that bugs the crap outta me is that the Apple logo on the back is much too low.

  6. Joshua Miller (@darsparx) - 10 years ago

    I wouldn’t be disappointed with this one, I mean it’s the bigger screen everyone wants without making it look stupid. Just kinda hope apple does get around to revamping iOS though more than they did with 7. I mean it’s been 7 years since iOS and iPhone first came out, it might be about time to do some refreshing and revamping. I’m not one of the people to complain about iOS especially since I really enjoy using it and don’t really look at my home screen much but thinking about it now it’s been long enough and they need to revamp it soon :-\

    • rogifan - 10 years ago

      Revamp how though? Add live tiles ala Windows Phone or widgets ala Android?

  7. Michael Young - 10 years ago

    I hope this is an accurate guess. This is more 4/4s than 5/5s because of the glass back. The 4/4s was the more beautiful model. But it seems like achieving that reduction in thickness while adding a glossy panel on the back is probably out of reach for the 6?

  8. Jasper Yeung - 10 years ago

    android nerd are going to say its just another 5s with minor tweak , nothin special . But , i do like this concept!!

    • rzozaya1969 - 10 years ago

      I’m an Android nerd… actually, I think both systems have their pros and cons… design wise, it’s hard to beat Apple. The only think I’m not too sold is on small bevels… I have a Motorola Razr i which has small bevels, but when I use a case, it’s kinda hard to slide the fingers on the sides. But, it does help to reduce the overall size of the phone. I think it just depends on how good they finally design it.

      I think this could be a closer to real than several other concepts in that it doesn’t really modify the design, from my humble opinion it just changes the current to make space for a larger display.

      What’s more important is what’s inside.

  9. mpias3785 - 10 years ago

    I wouldn’t mind the 4.7″ screen but don’t make it thinner. A higher resolution screen will need more energy and the current 5S battery life needs improvement. Make it a bit thicker and boost the battery life by 25-50%.

  10. Michael Garnett (@_jorts) - 10 years ago

    If the screen size is bigger I wouldn’t complain if it came out like this. It’s basically the best parts of a 5S and 4/4S in one phone.

  11. James.L - 10 years ago

    If you mean fairly accurate because it most closely resembles the current generation, then sure. But I won’t go as far to call the other designs silly. I would simply call this design conservation at best, really nothing new. If this is iPhone 6, I’d be very disappointed.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 10 years ago

      Not all other concepts are silly, I agree, but the ones I linked to are – are there are plenty more of that ilk.

  12. Robert Brooks - 10 years ago

    If keeping the iPhone width the same size or even a tad thicker meant 25% more battery life I think far more people would appreciate that feature rather than keeping the battery life the same and making it even thinner. I was actually hoping for closer to 5″. At one time 4.97″ was the rumored size. I could live with 4.7″ though but I cannot spend another 2 years with a 4″ display. 4″ is just far too small to be comfortable for viewing. One handed use really became less important once people started viewing the display for longer amounts of time instead of short bursts to glance at the display a few seconds. When you view the display longer than a few seconds, even with the current 4″ iPhone you tend to switch to 2 hands. Also, far more apps are now landscape only or landscape optional now which wasn’t the case years ago where portrait ruled. Landscape will always be easier with 2 hands. Siri, Touch ID, and all those other added features over the years have been nice but a larger display is the killer feature I have been waiting for.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 10 years ago

      I’m also in the bigger battery camp, but sadly what causes oohs and aahs from most tends to be slimness rather than battery-life …

  13. Don’t really want a bigger phone, but I’d rock that. The Apple logo is too low though.

  14. Nate (@NateMalicious) - 10 years ago

    I do like this idea, but I actually hope the back of the case has the more rounded edges of the iPad Air and new iPad Mini, with the aluminum back as well.

  15. Shon - 10 years ago

    I agree, size MUST increase. And, pretty dramatically, too. I’m ready for that, myself, as well. But, not to the absurd sizes that some of these phablets are getting to. I have a friend who has a Note, and it’s humorous to watch her try and figure out where to put the thing when we walk away to somewhere. Downright comical.

    I also think they need to modify the design quite a bit, too. I LOVE my Gold 5S! But, Apple is under fire for “lacking innovation” (sneezing-bullshit!). But, if they stick pretty close to a previous design, it’s just going to fan those flames.

    The only other thing I’m actually “jealous” of Android for, are the home screen widgets. I do LIKE being able to see the time, weather, and other important info at a glance. And, allow me to customize what I choose that info is. I don’t need to see my home screen full of icons right off. I want to see pertinent info at first glance. This one issue seems very un-Apple like, if you ask me. For me to find that info, I have to DO something else. Very un-Apple.

    And, I’m sure Apple can figure out a way to keep from draining the battery in the process. And, I’m SURE they could make it look gorgeous, too!

  16. borntofeel - 10 years ago

    Yes, almost all concepts take it too far. I think this doesn’t dare enough, even if it may be the closest to the final product we’ve seen. One thing I expect to change are the bezels. They look great now, but changing those a little would change a lot the overall look of the phone, and I think that’s what Apple is going to do. The front will probably be like this.

  17. zubeirg87 - 10 years ago

    A completely bezel-free iPhone looks unrealistic. But this is the year when Apple completely redesigns the iPhone. That’s normally when they bring new features that looked impossible before. The retina display on the iPhone 4 might be an example. Or the thinness and lightness of the iPhone 5. So while indeed a bezel-free display looks far fetched, I do keep some hope they’ll make it happen. I’m personally a fan of one-handed usability. Apple themselves took pride on it while launching the iPhone 5, I hope they don’t betray themselves this time. And as it turns out, a 4.5″-4.7″ bezel-free display will retain the about same width as the previous iPhones.

  18. The Technology Titan - 10 years ago

    Yep. This is more realisti, but i don’t know if they will jump the screen to 4.7. Maybe 4.3, they are afraid of change

  19. MGREXX (@MGREXX01) - 10 years ago

    HUH? This looks just like the 5S…..only bigger! Steve Jobs, where are you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  20. drtyrell969 - 10 years ago

    Extremely well done video, but to the degree the prediction is accurate, Apple needs to dismiss all revenue forecasted from phone sales.

  21. Jefferson Leal Souza - 10 years ago

    It’s obvious that the screen is going to be bigger but not that bigger, will be like 4.5 or 4.2, but the body will be the same size, just the bezzel frame will be reduzed to fit the bigger screen, and they will keep it classic design with a higher screen resolution, processor might (or not) be a quad-core 64 bits but probably not yet, maybe 6C version will have this processor.

  22. It doesn’t need it’s thickness reduced. If anything it needs to be expanded slightly for improved passive heat transfer, addition of structural frame support against torsion [lateral and transverse sheering] and general ergonomics.

    No comment on the sapphire.

  23. rettun1 - 10 years ago

    wtf is that thing in the “no, major redesign” section

  24. Jason Piebes - 10 years ago

    Nice rendering, the guy has some skills and good taste. But I tend to favor the leaked shell design over this mash of iPhone4 and 5s. The leaked shell showed a rounded bezel very similar to the iPad Air. This makes sense to me considering the growth in form factors. 12″ (rumor), 10″, 8″, and now 5″ (rumor). The rounded bezel design ties them all in to a sweet and loveable family :-)

  25. sonnymattera - 10 years ago

    Everyone is like “I want to argue with the specs” and I’m like “The cinematography was great in that video.”

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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