At least some design cues in current iPhones probably wouldn’t have received clearance from the design-obsessed Jobs

Feb 9, 2015 11:03 GMT  ·  By

The iPhone 4 was the last iPhone that Steve Jobs personally unveiled, and the 4S was the last version he personally oversaw. Any iPhone past the 4S surely included design instructions from the late Apple co-founder, but with the executive shakeup occurring soon after his death, we can’t be too sure today’s iPhones convey his vision entirely.

In fact, there’s a pretty good chance that Jobs would have never approved some of the designs currently being sold by Apple, such as the protruding camera on the iPhone 6, the huge form factor of the iPhone 6 Plus, or even the minimalistic underlying software.

The bigger iPhone

One of the things I strongly believe Jobs would have never approved on his watch, even with rival Samsung threatening to eat away at the iPhone’s market share, was the iPhone 6 Plus. It sells today because of momentum and hype, but otherwise the normal-sized iPhone 6 has the perfect size for most hands and usage scenarios.

The iPhone 6 Plus was created mainly to give Samsung some competition. While it worked well in the end, I have a strong suspicion that Jobs would have at least made a different iPhone - not just a scaled-up iPhone 6 - had he wanted a third screen size in the lineup. As I noted on several occasions, the iPhone 6 Plus seems rushed out, with the same design simply applied on a bigger scale. Things like the location of the sleep/wake button and the spaced-out iOS 8 don’t make perfect sense on the handset.

Jobs was fanatic about using the device with one hand, but you’d never know when he’d suddenly change his mind about some things. Still, I don’t see the iPhone 6 Plus rolling out under his watch.

The plastic iPhone

iPhone 5c was a flop, no matter what people tell you. At least from a marketing standpoint, it didn’t do very good. It’s basically perceived as a poor-man’s iPhone (a title previously reserved to describe cheap Android handsets), and whoever bought the 5c would have probably bought the aluminum iPhone 5 instead, had the plastic version not existed. Because the iPhone 5c is, by all accounts, just a repackaged and rebranded iPhone 5.

I’m not saying that the design is bad, or that the phone itself is a disappointment. Far from it. I’ve used the 5c and I can safely say that I like it even more than the iPhone 5. But that doesn’t mean that it’s relevant, or that it justifies Apple’s efforts to make it seem as if they’re introducing something new. Jobs would have not done this particularly to keep speculators’ mouths shut. Jobs would have never risked ruining Apple’s image with a cheap product. Market share was not on his agenda.

The protruding camera

Apple made a design compromise when it created the iPhone 6. The Cupertino company wanted a better camera on the new model, but it could only do so much in terms of quality without bulging up the module. So it decided to sacrifice the smooth design and introduce a camera module that didn’t quite flush with the chassis.

Jony Ive calls it design. Jobs would have probably called it ugly.

Jobs would have probably approved of this design: aluminum construction, heavily tapered back, camera aligned with the cassis
Jobs would have probably approved of this design: aluminum construction, heavily tapered back, camera aligned with the cassis

iOS 7 and beyond

Since we never got to see his new ideas take form, we’re stuck remembering Jobs’ skeuomorphic views every time we ask ourselves “what would Steve have done?” However, it’s safe to assume that the guy would have probably loosened up seeing how software can be much smarter if left to speak for itself, rather than through graphics.

So I definitely see him approving iOS 7, but not necessarily without tweaking the color palette a bit. Something tells me that Jobs, for all his fondness towards Jony Ive, would have never allowed his spiritual partner to go haywire with the colors.

Steve Jobs’ iPhone

This being said, we’re left imagining what the iPhone could have looked like today, were Jobs alive and still in charge of Apple. I’ve selected a few concepts I think make more sense under a Jobs-run Apple, but you’re more than welcome to share your own opinions down in the comments section below.

By all means, throw in a design if you’re good with a pencil. Or link an existing model that you think would make more sense than the ones in this gallery.

iPhone concepts (7 Images)

Steve Jobs iPhone event
iPhone conceptiPhone concept #2
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