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Incredibly sketchy, thin, and unverified next-generation larger iPhone frame photos surface

Screen Shot 2014-01-08 at 1.44.54 PMThe latest iPhone model came out just a few months ago, so that means that rumors and speculation about the next model are already emerging. Sometimes reliable CTech posted the above snaps on Weibo. They and others believe that the above kit represents frames for the rumored larger-screened iPhone. While such a device is due out later this year, the above photos appear to be incredible sketchy in nature. They are also completely unverified by us. The frames also look particularly thin, but in the age of the iPad Air, maybe there is some truth behind the blur.

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Comments

  1. bloggerblogg - 10 years ago

    Size and ratio? The edges have an old style roundedness to them, not very Apple.

  2. mburnet6 - 10 years ago

    Looks more like a Samsung device, S5 or Note 3?

  3. danbridgland - 10 years ago

    Headphone jack at the top? Seems unlikely?

  4. Andree Markefors - 10 years ago

    Not that it matters, but the headphone jack is actually at the bottom of the phone here, since the phone plate is upside down. Room for lightning cable also visible.

  5. aeronperyton - 10 years ago

    New HTC One part maybe, doesn’t feel like anything Apple would commission be fabricated.

  6. Maxim∑ (@MCaudebec) - 10 years ago

    seems to follow the internal design of the 5S a little. Maybe a early trial production model? If this is real I cant wait…

  7. Laughing_Boy48 - 10 years ago

    It could be just one of many prototypes Apple has experimented with.

  8. aleblack161 - 10 years ago

    Not unibody. this is too old…
    It not going to happen…

  9. The way everything is positioned it not Apple. This is not any prototype from Apple or anything for an Apple device. It is a Samsung Galaxy S5 mid plate. This followings Samsung’s S4 design just with a metal mid plate. With this design it would require Apple to basically glue the screen onto the mid plate making repairs nearly impossible at the Apple store, that would then cause Apple to loose a lot of money off of repairs like they did for the iPhone 4 and 4S, hence the design of the iPhone 5 with a screen assembly that comes off first, making repairs quick and easy.

    • RP - 10 years ago

      I agree that it is a mid plate. If it is an Apple part that means it will have a separate back and not a uni-body frame.

      • Agreed. They love the unibody design of the MacBooks and the current iPhones. Why would they go away from it? If they did then they would have more than two screws exposed that hold the phone together unless they glue it together, which they wouldnt do.

    • RP - 10 years ago

      If it is an Apple part, one possibility is they may finally use Liquidmetal for the back instead of glass like on the iPhone 4.
      If it is a Samsung part, it means it will not have a removable battery like all of their other phones.

      • Well that is true, they will use liquid metal for the 6 or whatever they call is but i don’t see them going away from the unibody design and from there gluing the screen on the front like samsung does. They lost so much money when they didn’t fix iPhone 4/4S screens because it is so time consuming (you have to take everything out of the phone to even take a screw out that holds the screen in place). With the 5 you remove two screws and its off. If they glued the screen on you would have to replace the lens only and in a housing/mid plate it is very hard to do that in less than an hour without scratching the LCD. Also, looks at it again, where are the slots in the plate that Apple puts there for service?

  10. Mathias Rios (@Mars478) - 10 years ago

    The year the SIM card dies?

    • Thats what i was curious about too! Apple has been wanted to kill off the sim card but i believe that you need it for LTE on some carriers such as Verizon.

  11. clarkberryman - 10 years ago

    So early in the year, and yet so much prognostication already! Just what we needed more of! You know, theoretically, this could be the year the polar ice caps melt.

  12. PMZanetti - 10 years ago

    Could be the iPhablet is a similar design process to the 5C. It it after all a brilliant manufacturing method.
    That looks like a hybrid of the inside of the 5C & 5S.

  13. rob nienburg (@robogobo) - 10 years ago

    Corner radius is completely wrong. Not an apple product.

  14. Yiu Yin Yau - 10 years ago

    this looks more like a Samsung frame..?

  15. rogifan - 10 years ago

    Why do sites report on this crap? I know 9to5 is just debunking it but other diets should know better.

  16. nieksanderman - 10 years ago

    Soooo… no. It has the headphone jack on the top (it IS the top, because you can see that the camera is also located here) and it shows an internal frame. Apple wouldn’t go back to that, the “unibody” design (where the outer shell is used to secure internal components) is what Apple uses nowadays to maintain a thin device. The frame shown here would make it thicker.

  17. James Mathews - 10 years ago

    Oh, too early to tell, but I hope so. I switched to a note 3 only for size and what a change at first. Now, the iphone seems soooooooo small. But, i miss my ease of use iphone….i would luv to see a 5.6″ iphone. Bring it on!

  18. Agreed- those pics are pretty sketchy. Nothing about this frame looks like an Apple design. Highly unlikely. Possible but unlikely.