14 DAY TRIAL // A new set of images based on leaked blueprints from Apple’s assembly partners would suggest that the company has settled on the final design of the iPhone 6. The images are by no means any confirmation that this is the final design, though we have every reason to believe that it is.
China’s Fei Weng shares a total of five 3D renders that were reportedly achieved using genuine iPhone 6 blueprints/schematics from Apple’s assembly partners (i.e. Foxconn or Pegatron).
The photos show the case design lacking more detailed parts, such as the logic board (or any other internal components). But the case is obviously the best indicator regarding the end design of a smartphone, and it seems Apple has settled on the rumored iPod touch-like appearance with rounded edges, ultra-thin form factor, and elongated volume buttons.
Like similar leaks before it, this one shows the relocation of the Sleep/Wake button to one of the sides (the right-hand side when viewed from the front) and the rounded speaker grills (as a result of the new design adoption).
Despite resembling the fifth-generation iPod touch, the iPhone 6 will be considerably taller and wider than the popular players, or the iPhone 5s for that matter.
iPhone 6 will reportedly employ a 4.7-inch Retina display, but there are rumors of a 5.5-inch version being planned for launch at a later date. Apple has never been fond of phablets, but then again the company has also been reluctant of making an iPad mini, and look where we are today.
From the renders, it appears the company will retain the antenna “windows” on the back of the phone, suggesting that most of the enclosure will be made from metal (likely aluminum again). For comparison, the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s have these signal windows placed at the top and bottom of the device, where two black stripes of plastic are found.
The dark stripes double as a design element, though some people would argue they have run their course. Basically, by reusing this design element Apple would suggest it is making yet another incremental transition to newer hardware, rather than performing a radical redesign of its hot-selling handset.
As far as the launch date is concerned, some said it would happen at WWDC, while others were betting on a September unveiling. However, according to the latest chatter in the mobile industry, the launch of the first iPhone 6 model (4.7-inch) will occur in August.
