It's been pretty low-key, so we totally understand if you haven't heard anything about it yet, but it turns out
there's a next-gen iPhone floating around somewhere outside Apple's sphere of reality-distorting influence. We'll spare you the backstory there, but
Gizmodo saw fit to do a little non-destructive (more on that in a moment) teardown of the device today. There's actually not that much to see or learn from it, but we couldn't help but notice the prominently-placed translucent tab underneath the battery imploring only "authorized service providers" to proceed, which we figure is a pretty strong sign that Apple will continue its nefarious legacy of blocking owners from managing their own juice -- a fact that's corroborated by
Giz's claim that it takes the removal of two screws and a suction cup to get in there anyhow. As for the delicate, decidedly un-iFixit-like nature of the teardown, the site explains that it didn't want to "damage the connections beyond repair," and since the silicon is all buried under a tightly-manufactured metal plate, we don't get to learn whether the phone's rocking an
A4 processor right out of the
iPad parts bin. Of course, worst case, we expect to know that tidbit at the launch event -- or, failing that, mere moments after the suckers go on sale when the first retail units donate their bodies to science. Hang on tight, everyone.
posted April 20th 2010 7:26PM
Let's hope that battery is a significant improvement. I would *love* to be able to use my iPhone for more than a day without re-charging! An A4 processor would be nice too....
@BE77Y
I still get 2 days out of my year-old 3G due to not having 3G+Wifi on at the same time... but yeah most of the time that's pushing it.
@BE77Y
Doubt it, better specs means lower battery life
@OCEAN CLAK True, of course - but the purported 16% increase in physical battery size has to mean something!
@BE77Y
Amen to that. I love my iPhone, but I really wish I didn't have to worry about battery life.
@BE77Y
That would make about the same as iPhone 3GS
@BE77Y
It looks like apple wants there phone back lol.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_gadg/ytech_gadg_tc1694
and
http://gizmodo.com/5520479/a-letter-apple-wants-its-secret-iphone-back
Now that people know its official all the apple fanboys who called it "to ugly to be an apple product "when it was believed to be a fake will now call it cool and sexy cause theres an half eaten apple on the back.
@OCEAN CLAK Not true: 3GS vs. 3G
http://www.apple.com/iphone/compare-iphones/#battery
@Dsi2play Now now. Let's all just play nice, shall we? None of this trolling, please!!
@BE77Y I'd say its more like they didn't want to get their asses sued by apple for leaking proprietary and prototype information to the masses.
@screasey
It dosent state battery size or capacity
@Dsi2play
At first, I was like "That is ugly!!"
but then after looking at it some more, I realized it would be a real cool device to have around, and pretty sleek to with aluminum and gloss back finish.
@OCEAN CLAK My 3GS gets a lot better battery life than my friend's 3G, and I'm rocking WiFi, 3G, and half-brightness.
@Dsi2play
Pretty sure it's not Half Eaten.
@BE77Y
this device isn't even booting anymore, right? what more can we even learn at this point? i say tear it apart.
@BE77Y
Quoting the original Gizmodo article;
"The battery is 5.25 WHr at 3.7V, compared to the 3GS battery, which is 4.51 WHr at 3.7V."
@BE77Y first reaction from the ruins of that iphone suggest that it may have a removable battery, but after seeing this post from giz, it may prove otherwise. http://bit.ly/fourth-gen-apple-impressions
Anyway it'll be returned now to Apple.
@jzetz
pfff...after you had no choice but to except what it is.
@OCEAN CLAK The a4 chip uses almost no power on the iPad. The screen is what kills it. That's why it lasts ten hours nonmatter what. Having a battery that size on a phone running an a4 would mean that this phone could last almost a whole day without charging with heavy use. Makes me super excited... Oh should of stopped talking, anybody got a tissue, got jizz all over me.
@smi1ey I get 2 days from my 3GS. Wifi and 3G on, email fetch 30 minutes w/ 3 accounts, notifications off (they're silly).
The vast amount of time my phone is around wifi to the 3G isn't killing it.
Still try to charge it every night.
@BE77Y
So, yeah, is Apple actively seeking the person(s) that Gizmodo is protecting with the "stolen" iPhone 4? If this is, as they are saying, a "lost" phone, and they happen to know who OWNS the phone (which they do! -- you know, posting the facebook account, posting the guy's name, etc.), then there is no justification for having it in your possession. There is less justification for disassembling said device. You are in possession of a stolen phone because you did not return it when you know who it belongs to.
When I was a kid, we always tried to return things like money/wallets/keys etc to the rightful owner rather than steal them. It is called integrity. You sacrificed yours the instant you stole that phone.
Go right ahead and down-rank me. It will not repair your integrity. That's gone.
And if this is just a stupid Apple publicity stunt, screw 'em.
@BE77Y A4 + Better battery = Same battery life as iPhone
@BE77Y So your saying you want to be able to swap batteries on the fly then? Sorry!
@biggbrother
Love the opening line! :)
@benny90
that and, the thing is freaking stolen, i mean, legally gizmondo have no right to do that, just pulling apart someone's phone (i know, its a prototype, but its still someone's phone)
although i love gadget leaks (heck, even apple leaks) when its a stolen piece of equipment being pulled apart, makes me sick knowing what some gadget fans have become, almost crazed to get their next fix of leak
If this had a physical keyboard, I would have been 99% on this but now the market is still open for my second phone replacement (currently a Nokia E71) to go with my Nokia N900.
@Abubakar At this point I think hoping for a physical keyboard on an Apple touchscreen product is completely and utterly pointless. It's just not gonna happen. Move on.
@Maniacfive lol I guess it was a pipe dream but they did seem to be ticking all the boxes that prevented me from getting one before.
- Copy+Paste
- Multitasking (Somewhat...)
- Higher resolution screen
- Facebook contact integration (I have an OCD about contacts not having pictures among other details)
- Customisable homescreens (I know there are no widgets but I'm not really bothered about that considering they only mostly display information you don't need to see all the time)
- Among other problems that were fixed
Sure there isn't any Flash support but I have my Nokia N900 which has the most complete browser among any mobile device on the current market but the killer for me is a physical keyboard. Hopefully with bluetooth keyboard support someone will make a keyboard for the iPhone that doesn't obstruct the connector port.
@Abubakar i hate physical keyboards so much, why do you want one??
@Abubakar I hear where your coming from. It would be nice, some of my female friends with long nails either hate their iPhones because of it, or don't have one because of it. Seems like though Steve Jobs hates keyboards like he hates styluses though.
It'll never happen while he's in charge
@Fantastadon Much easier to type with and I'm a heavy texter.
@Abubakar You know what, I'm a heavy texter too. I routinely do at or over 11k messages/month, so I know what you mean.
That said, for the longest time I was convinced I'd never be able to text as fast or easily on the iPhone as I did my HTC Apache/Mogul/Touch Pro. With OS 3.x, however, the landscape keyboard in the messaging application basically changed the game for me.
I erased my preconceptions about how good/bad virtual keyboards were (since my only frames of reference were Palm OS and Windows Mobile) and tried it. I found I could type just as fast, if not faster, on the iPhone keyboard as I did my Touch Pro.
Now I can do 81 WPM in WPM benchmarks on the iPhone. Just saying. You can shrug me off as an apple shrill or whatever, but I'm saying that I was where you are now, gave it a chance, and found I actually took to it pretty well.
@Abubakar
Sounds like there is more than an OCD issue here.
@Maniacfive
I just want custom, shuffling text sounds!
I'm wicked happy that Skype will finally be totally useable!
@Nerdtalker @Nerdtalker
I've thoroughly tested the iPhone keyboard on my friends' iPhones many times before. The portrait keyboard is a no no for me. I have found it to be the best virtual-portrait keyboard in that it gave the fewest errors but it still wasn't a pleasant experience. I do believe it is just me though, my thumbs are too big for tactless keys. The landscape keyboard on the iPhone was better because the keys were bigger, but I find that it obscures most of the screen estate.
Also in the UK, during the Autumn & Winter seasons, you get some days where it becomes painfully cold, and the last thing you want to do is take off your gloves, in that scenario a hardware keyboard beats any keyboard on screen regardless of it is capacitive or resistive.
Just sayin', hardware keyboards triumph over virtual keyboards in my situation. Probably different story say in sunny California and that's probably why Jobs doesn't see a need for them.
My upgrade is due in August, so come June we will see whether I will be picking up one of these or something like the Evo (I know that doesn't have a keyboard either) if they decide to sell it here.
@Abubakar
Come OS 4 you'll have the option of using a bluetooth keyboard, not much consolation, but just thought I'd mention it.
@Abubakar You can use Bluetooth keyboards now! You think apple added that option to haul around your Mac keyboard? He'll no! Apple is smart and with OS 4.0 they are basically answering all the gripes people had/have with the iPhone and reasons people won't buy it.
No multitasking, no customization, short battery life, no physical keyboard, i won't get an iPhone, wah wah wah cries the crybaby.
Steve says "We give you multitasking that won't kill your battery, yes may not be true to desktop multitasking, but you won't tell the difference.
We give you home screen wallpapers.
Your battery dies fast? A4 bitches! A is for apple, asshole.
No keyboard, cry me a river. Take our Bluetooth case, snap it to the iPhone's back and wahla, physical keyboard, you don't like a physical keyboard, snap it off. Is how it's done bitches." Steve proceeds to yell "Fuck Android" and crowd surfs for an hour.
@Abubakar Everyone is trying to convince you otherwise..I think physical keyboards are great. I also live in a cold area, minnesota, and know what you mean about the glove situation. Blind texting is also a lot easier when you have some physical to touch.
What I'm waiting for is an update to my current phone, the nexus one, with a keyboard. Google said they would be releasing a phone with a keyboard didn't they? I want the N1, same size and all with a keyboard.
Now that would sell me.
wait, so it isnt sodered on, so all this will do is void useless warranty? or did i miss something. I think i did.
@IvanP91
it sure looks like it isnt soldered but to replace it you need to remove some screws. So what's the point, you're not gonna carry around a screwdriver all times just in case you'll need to swap the battery.
For me this is a non-issue, and I still carry an iPhone 2G which lasts about 2 days on moderate use and i never felt that i needed to swap the battery. Definitely not the same feeling that i have for my Pre. I really love WebOS but sometimes i'm afraid to open some app just because i know i wont be able to get back from work and plug it in before it dies on me.
Bring on EVO!!!
@ddddd
All your friends are doing it, so it must be cool. Heard they was jumping off a bridge next week, maybe you know...
@HighestRanked2 What the hell are you on about?
@Dr Jones If this were an Android article and someone said "Go iPhone!" I wonder what would happen.
@MrAffrox The usual, Dr. Manhattan would magically appear do that little trick where he flicks his hand at them.
@HighestRanked2
...Why is the EVO 4G, THE most advanced smartphone in America, a bad idea?
Unless you can find a phone with better specs.
@Mike10010100 if you have good sprint in your area, it should be awesome. For me it has to be on big V to consider ditching my iphone.
hardware wise though, the thing is radical.
@Mike10010100
It comes down to specs vs. usability. The product with the longer spec sheet is usually the inferior product, at least for the average consumer. I understand why techies like Android, as they know how to use them to their full potential, but the iPhone is the best consumer phone. The iPhone allows for the better experience, provides better support, supplies more applications, and IMO has the better design (especially the "new" iPhone).
Ok...
@DSquared
I know right. I'm trying to figure out the purpose of this article too. A whole post to say they don't know anything. Stunning.