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This week’s iPhone 6 concepts seemingly inspired by iPod Nanos

martinhajek

One of our favourite concept designers, Martin Hajek, has been busy again – this time with an iPhone 6 concept reminiscent of the iPod Nano design, commissioned by Dutch site iPhoneclub.

The iPhone 6 is widely expected to be launched in two different sizes, with Bloomberg and Nikkei specifically suggesting 4.7- and 5.5-inch sizes. Hajek’s design shows the 4.7-inch model, though thinner bezels and reduced casing top and bottom mean that the exterior dimensions don’t increase too dramatically.

Three of the images contrast the new concept with the iPhone 5s, shown in the gallery below … 

The concept is perhaps a little too thin to be realistic, but the larger dimensions would allow the battery to be longer and wider, and thus thinner, so we can likely expect something between the 7.6mm depth of the iPhone 5s and the 5.5mm depth depicted in Hajek’s concept.

Check out the rest of the images over at iPhoneclub.

Meantime, Japanese magazine MacFan has posted what it claims are drawings of an iPhone 6c in both 4.7- and 5.7-inch sizes.

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The claim doesn’t appear to make a great deal of sense, suggesting that the larger of the two 6c models would be bigger than the larger flagship model, and that the 6c would get Touch ID but not the dual-flash camera, which seems a little random. It’s also not entirely certain that Apple will continue with the Xs/Xc model approach after sales of the 5c appear to have been lower than expected.

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Comments

  1. PMZanetti - 10 years ago

    The single piece of anodized aluminum is nice, but not the crazy square edges.

  2. I think that design alone would instantly turn Apple around. Good.

    • jrox16 - 10 years ago

      “Turn Apple around”? You mean make them go unprofitable and post below record iPhone sales for the new model?

    • Alex (@Metascover) - 10 years ago

      If someone who believes that Apple needs to turn around thinks that this looks good, that means Apple absolutely doesn’t have to do something like this. And in fact, this concept looks terrible. If the iPhone 4’s and 5’s where less rounded than the previous 3’s, this takes it to a whole new level. Not going to happen. Apple loves smooth, rounded products, because people want products that feel good. And hard edges are the worst thing in most design.

    • robertvarga79 - 10 years ago

      Seeing their freshly announced quarterly revenue, i don’t think they need it

    • Tallest Skil - 10 years ago

      Turn them around and crash them to Earth, yeah.

  3. lycius84 - 10 years ago

    I’d just like a Black and Gold.

  4. It’s great as a concept. Lousy as a phone. All that aluminum on the back means you’ve got yourself a brick that can’t get a signal out.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 10 years ago

      Hajek has enlarged the Apple logo as his approach to allowing signals through, but that may be optimistic …

      • jrox16 - 10 years ago

        I’ve considered this before, although it would greatly complicate the internal layout since the battery is so large inside. Maybe that would work if they made the entire bottom half the battery, up to the logo, but then would you have a very unbalanced bottom heavy device?

      • Apple logo doesn’t look any bigger?

      • @jrox16 – That doesn’t explain the placement of the SIM tray then…

      • Matt (@_Matt_Lang) - 10 years ago

        Definitely really optimistic, but I’m not an EE so maybe it’s possible.

  5. Steve Ballen - 10 years ago

    Please, please don’t let them look like that.

  6. @BenLovejoy always a good article from you.

  7. robertvarga79 - 10 years ago

    It is very much Lumia design, and for that alone won’t happen. I’m very curious to iPhone 6, i really want back to iPhone, it needs to be my companion again with my Mac and iPad, but therefor it needs to be larger than 4″

    • Adam-1D - 10 years ago

      We can’t be the only ones noticing it looks like a “high-end” Nokia Lumia, surely? It’s very blatant…

    • rahhbriley - 10 years ago

      You do realize that the Luminas you’re referring to look like iPod nanos, right? I don’t like the look of this mock up but I’m surprised people don’t make the connection.

  8. 찬열형 (@Siri42_xx) - 10 years ago

    It kinda looks like a Sony product to me :))
    And I think it’ll not feel comfortable in our hands.

    • jrox16 - 10 years ago

      Agreed, there’s no way Apple would put such sharp corners on an iPhone. It’s had essentially identical radius corners since 2007. The next design is already around us (should be at least) in the iPad Mini and iPad Air. The new iPhone should simply look identical to an iPad Mini, just in iPhone size proportions. That would be perfect. Shiny beveled chamfer cut body edges around the glass, smooth rounded back edges. Easier to pick up from the table and more comfortable to hold. iPhone Mini and iPhone Air!

      • Alex (@Metascover) - 10 years ago

        Not sure about that. I certainly would welcome a new bold design from Apple, and that’s what I’m expecting from them this time around. I’m not saying something completely exaggerated, but there is a lot they can do with a bigger form factor. And I don’t expect them to use the same design as the iPad Mini, which itself used a variation from the design of the iPhone 5. For the iPhone, they need something definitely new that you last two years.

  9. Justin Latham - 10 years ago

    Just give me the 5c with the rumored larger screen and the 5s specs and I’ll be happy. Could really care less about the aluminum, the 5c is incredibly solid feeling.

  10. Jesse Supaman Nichols - 10 years ago

    It is a beautiful design! But, it would not be a pleasure to hold in your hand. I have the iPhone 5 (waiting for the next generation when I will be eligible for an upgrade), but, despite wanting the best specs in my device, I would have been tempted (though I wouldnt have given in) go with the iPhone 5C over the 5S because it just felt so GOOD in your hand! It was a pleasure to hold. =)

  11. Drew (@gettysburg11s) - 10 years ago

    Wow, more wild rumors based on very little fact. Apple always gives us less than the wild rumors, as does any mobile phone OEM.

  12. awful. sorry, but . . . no . . .

  13. Matt Sims (@Mercifull) - 10 years ago

    They look slippy… like it would drop out of your hand if your grip was loose.

  14. o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

    The concept is awful. Apple would do that in a tiny device which is an iPod, they would never do that for an iPhone. As others have said, you need rounded corners. I have seen maybe 1 concept so far, that wasn’t completely awful, and was something that Apple would do, and is likely working on.

  15. rzozaya1969 - 10 years ago

    I’m not too fond of it… It just looks too much like the LG Optimus series… th

  16. riverjao - 10 years ago

    Looks to me like it’s inspired by Nokia.

  17. I’m not crazy about this design.
    But it’s funny that Apple fan-designs are better than many manufacturers actual designs.

  18. yuniverse7 - 10 years ago

    I’m sorry, but that design isn’t attractive at all for me. It looks a bit like Lumia, but worse.

  19. Pierre Calixte - 10 years ago

    I like it. best concept to date.

  20. Park - 10 years ago

    Gross, no.

  21. Dave Thornton - 10 years ago

    All very nice speculation. Good for Apple, they can keep a secret. Anyway, thinking about the future iPhone device, anyone thinking what happens when lighter, thinner, faster hits it next real physical limits? That headphone jack, sim card slot are in desperate need reinvention. Watch this space…

  22. Alex (@Metascover) - 10 years ago

    Actually, the designs of MacFan (without looking at details like flash, ecc…), look great. It’s rounded to the back like the rendering of Hajek but the 4 corners are round as well. This creates a ring around the phone that could be very pleasing to look at. I’m sold for that design.

  23. krikaoli - 10 years ago

    These concepts reminds me of the Nokia Lumia.

  24. unitedelectronicsgroup - 10 years ago

    Reblogged this on United Electronics Group and commented:
    What do you think of the square corners that harken to age-old design schemes? To some, the iPhone 6 may appear rudimentary without its signature rounded corners, but the hard corners might suit a purpose that is not readily apparent. Apple is known for its beautiful product designs combined with utility.

  25. zubeirg87 - 10 years ago

    Apple is surely not ditching its rounded corners on the iphone because it forms part of what defines the iphone. An iconic feature of the iphone is the rounded rectangular shape.

    Probably if one day there are many different models of iphones, just like there are of ipods, then this could be an option for one of those models. Perhaps then called the iPhone nano.

  26. rahhbriley - 10 years ago

    Those of you the say this looks like a Lumina, while you aren’t wrong, you’re being kind of dense. Nokia, via Microsoft, has licensed design patents from Apple. The Lumia looks like a freaking iPod nano. How do you not see that?!!

  27. dino (@justy1310) - 10 years ago

    @BenLovejoy What do you think about a same-size or just slightly bigger iPhone but with a bigger screen?

    • Ben Lovejoy - 10 years ago

      Apple is conservative in its approach to design, The 5c aside, we don’t generally see more than gentle evolution between generations, so personally that’s pretty much what I’m expecting to see: slightly thinner bezels to constrain the exterior dimensions while increasing the screen size(s), a little thinner, a tweak or two.

      • Paul Kerr - 10 years ago

        @BenLovejoy It might be designed for use with a case/sleeve, which I think could lead to a new breakthrough product. A high-end camera case, a sleeve built into your car stereo or home theater. In that approach, rounded corners waste usable space and limit display real estate.

  28. it looks like a sharp aquos crystal

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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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