14 DAY TRIAL // We can all agree Apple is really careful in changing the design of the iPhone year over year. The only time the company really went nuts with the design was when it transitioned from plastic (iPhone 3GS) over to glass (iPhone 4). Everybody loved that bold move.
But ever since, Apple has been struggling to fully redesign the iPhone. Either that or they preferred to increment it slowly so as not to upset anyone. Well, if designer Steel Drake has anything to say about it, the iPhone 8 coming in 2019 should mark the biggest departure from the current designs.
All-around black glass
Drake doesn’t care if wrapping up an entire device in glass is next to impossible from a manufacturing standpoint. After all, that’s what CAD (computer aided design) software is used for half the time. And frankly, we don’t care either. We’re just as hopeful that this might one day become a reality.
The author says the device is covered in “black glass,” which would certainly make for an intriguing marketing term, especially if that glass is something along the lines of Liquidmetal. A factory-darkened sapphire crystal, maybe?
The design is, by all means, breathtaking. It’s reminiscent of the iPhone 4, but also takes cues from the latest range of iPhones with curvy edges. Some of the buttons have been shrunken down, while others (like the Home key) have been made more visible. The Home button in this particular concept seems to double as a design element.
Some (rather insignificant) cons
One thing I disagree with is the placement of the rear-facing camera. It should be closer to the phone’s edge. As it stands, it feels primitive. Like the first attempts to put a camera on a phone. In 2019, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the camera module fully hidden beneath a separate strip of glass at the very top of the device.
The metal sides would look even better if they flushed with the glass seamlessly, but even so it doesn’t look bad at all.
Could Apple make this one day?
Maybe. It could take more than just four years to devise the technology to make a seamless band of glass so narrow and strong enough to act as a smartphone case, and work as a digitizer too (for the touch controls). Then again, we never saw the Touch ID coming this fast either.
Check out the gallery below and let us know what you think. Even if you don’t like it, of course.
