You are looking at Apple’s next iPhone. It was found lost in a bar in Redwood City, camouflaged to look like an iPhone 3GS. We got it. We disassembled it. It’s the real thing, and here are all the details Those were the opening lines of Gizmodo’s monster-hit post at the beginning of this week.  […]
" />

Now We’ve Seen The Next iPhone, What Do We Think?

Apr 23rd 2010 by

2010 New iPhone

You are looking at Apple’s next iPhone. It was found lost in a bar in Redwood City, camouflaged to look like an iPhone 3GS. We got it. We disassembled it. It’s the real thing, and here are all the details

Those were the opening lines of Gizmodo’s monster-hit post at the beginning of this week.  It’s a huge and shocking story because it’s the first time ever under Apple’s current ultra-secretive, old school East European defense ministry PR style, that a major upcoming product has been outed before they wanted it to be.   And it is the next iPhone model – the new one we expect to see released in June / July – that was revealed.  The fact that it is the real deal has been pretty much confirmed by Apple formally requesting the return of their property from Gizmodo this week.

Now that we’ve seen the next iPhone and learned so much more about its hardware specs, I thought it would be fun to share our team’s thoughts on the new iPhone, and hear what yours are.

A lot of what Gizmodo revealed about the next iPhone is more along the lines of a confirmation of what was widely expected, rather than a shocking new discovery.  Here is their section on what is new and what has changed in the upcoming new model:

What’s new
¢ Front-facing video chat camera
¢ Improved regular back-camera (the lens is quite noticeably larger than the iPhone 3GS)
¢ Camera flash
¢ Micro-SIM instead of standard SIM (like the iPad)
¢ Improved display. It’s unclear if it’s the 960×640 display thrown around before ”it certainly looks like it, with the "Connect to iTunes" screen displaying much higher resolution than on a 3GS.
¢ What looks to be a secondary mic for noise cancellation, at the top, next to the headphone jack
¢ Split buttons for volume
¢ Power, mute, and volume buttons are all metallic

What’s changed
¢ The back is entirely flat, made of either glass (more likely) or ceramic or shiny plastic in order for the cell signal to poke through. Tapping on the back makes a more hollow and higher pitched sound compared to tapping on the glass on the front/screen, but that could just be the orientation of components inside making for a different sound
¢ An aluminum border going completely around the outside
¢ Slightly smaller screen than the 3GS (but seemingly higher resolution)
¢ Everything is more squared off
¢ 3 grams heavier
¢ 16% Larger battery
¢ Internals components are shrunken, miniaturized and reduced to make room for the larger battery

For more detail and pics, see the full Gizmodo post here: http://gizmodo.com/5520164/this-is-apples-next-iphone

Given the short number of weeks left before this latest iPhone model is expected to be released, it seems unlikely that much of what’s listed above will change in any major way.  From what I’ve heard some of the top Apple pundits saying, the case and exterior of the device are probably the most likely area for any last-minute adjustments.

So given what we now know about the next iPhone, here are the thoughts of some of our JAiB team:

Frank

I am definitely still getting one. I like the new volume buttons, flat back and trim. I am excited about the front camera—iChat finally? 

Dual mics, flash, 5x camera, enhanced screen… What’s not to love? Overall I think it looks great and I look forward to June.

Josh

I agree with Frank. I love the slim, flat form factor, and if the ceramic case rumor is true, that will be so much nicer than plastic. I still prefer the metal back of the first gen, but I do understand how that affects reception. I also really like the front camera, video iChat support would be amazing! 🙂 I’m eligible for an upgrade phone in June so I’ll be looking forward to getting one! 🙂

Brandon S

I’m officially on the fence. I’d be lying to myself if I said I wouldn’t go out and get one today (unlocked) because I love the idea of an improved screen, camera and shape, but I have a major issue with AT&T and their lack of good network service as well as their absolute silence regarding the tethering option that has been available worldwide for almost a year now. It is not the device that isn’t making me want to upgrade come June or July … it’s AT&T. I don’t know if I really want to be tied into another 2 years with this bullshit of theirs. We have three lines with them, totaling about $150/mo and not only can I not get decent service in my home, but I can’t straight answers on features missing on my phone. (Oh, and I’m a premier customer as well).

So, long story short – my contracts (all three) are due to expire within the next year. I can say for dammed sure if AT&T doesn’t start looking at lower rates, improved network service and being open about how they fucked up the iPhone tethering issue AND when they are going to fix it – I will be the first one to jump ship to another carrier when Apple tells them to take a short walk of a long cliff.

Brandon K

In terms of hardware, I am quite pleased with what we now know (or at least "think" we know).  There are two things that I don’t like:  the smaller screen and the fact that it’s a bit heavier.  But other than that, I give it a thumbs up.  The design/feel change sounds nice, especially the idea of a flat back.  I also like the fact that the battery is bigger and the screen is sharper.

Given that we are a few months away from release, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Apple change a few things, including the aluminum border and what the side and top buttons will do.  But overall, I think this gives us a great idea what to expect.

Taking price and potential contract issues out of the equation and judging the phone on its merits alone, I would be inclined to purchase this iteration come this summer.  Nothing sounds groundbreaking, but enough has changed that leads me to believe an upgrade would be worth it.

Michael Leger

"I’ll buy that for a dollar!"  or $500…whatever.

I’m an early adopter – for better or worse – and will be picking it up.  I’m sure my wife will be excited for the 3GS hand-me-down (like with the 3G and OG).  🙂

Patrick

I’m with Michael L.  Nearly always an early adopter for anything iPhone platform related.  Also, I think we are getting a good number of significant upgrades with this model – much improved battery life on its own is a very big plus, The greatly improved screen resolution is another big one. Front-facing camera for video chat and an improved standard camera are not too shabby either.

I wish we knew RAM and processor details – and really hope we will see RAM doubled up again to 512MB and the same or similar processor as the iPad has.

I also wouldn’t mind if just to spite Gizmodo Steve whips up some super sexy new feature by launch time – a built-in toaster or similar would be great.

Michael Clements

I’m definitely still getting one although the big question I still await an answer to is what’s under the hood.
I’m disappointed Giz didn’t check the processor, RAM etc. by opening the metal case.

Ah well, guess we’ll have to wait till June. 

Thomas

Anyway, long story short: I’d freaking love to own a new iPhone. The only matter is budget. I love the idea of a higher resolution screen now that I’ve read that it just requires pixel doubling to recreate. iChat cam sounds intriguing, but not super exciting. I’m assuming we’ll see another speed increase of some sort, and hopefully a bit more graphical power to handle all of those extra pixels.  The design that we saw looked amazing, though, and if it really is that scratch-resistant, I think it’ll be Apple’s best iPhone yet (no surprise there, though).
I think we’ll probably see a bit of a change in the casing style on the sides (those strange breaks in the metal might go), and I do wonder why they wanted to make the screen even smaller still. I’m hoping it stays at least as big as the 3GS in the final build.

The last super mini wish I have for an Apple phone is to lead the way on a better way to do audio. Better BT audio (I know that’s software-wise) or some sort of MagSafe-type system for earphones. I’m tired of earphones getting yanked out of my ear when wires get snagged on something.

Devon

The new iPhone looks awesome and i could actually see myself buying it
if i wasn’t saving up for an iPad.

Brandon S – in response to Devon’s take:

If I was ‘saving’ for one or the other – I think in all honest I’d go for the iPhone. The iPad is a great little couch surfer, but i get a lot more usage from my iPhone on a daily basis then I ever get on the iPad.

And You?

What do you think of the next iPhone?  What are your favorite / least favorite changes and additions? What’s missing for you?  Will you be upgrading to it? Let us know in the comments.

Continue reading:

TAGS: