iPhone 5 Rumors Suggest iPhone 4 Shape, Metal Back, Larger Display

A tipster in China recently contacted 9 to 5 Mac to share an alleged an iPhone 5 prototype, which was reportedly been spotted at Foxconn and is almost ready for mass-production.

The prototype, reports 9 to 5 Mac, looks similar in design to the iPhone 4, but with a metal back and slightly larger display.

"The iPhone 5 will keep a relatively similar size and shape as the iPhone 4 but Apple has decided to move away from the back-glass enclosure found on the fourth-generation device and move to something similar to the back of the first-generation iPhone from 2007," 9 to 5 Mac writes, "Although some reports claim the iPhone 5 will adopt a curved metal back, our source says models have been floating around with a flat metal back. The material of this metal is unspecified."

Recent rumors have stated that a fifth-generation iPhone would sport an aluminum back, which is likely to appease users who complained about the iPhone 4's glass back scratching and even cracking. The upcoming handset may even get a redesigned antenna and a faster CPU.

The rumor mill has been split about whether Apple will equip iPhone 5 units with "wave and pay" Near Field Communications technology (aka NFC), which would allow the user to make purchases by scanning the handset over a sensor.

Visit 9 to 5 Mac to learn more about the rumored iPhone 5 prototype.

Comments

[Gabriel Ursan]

06:52 PM on 04/09/2011

I have posted on GSMRo.ro http://gsmro.ro/2011/04/zvonuri-iphone-5/ som rumors about iPhone 5 in Romanian language.

[zeiben]

02:04 PM on 03/22/2011

metal back would be nice. That glass back made me skip the 4 altogether.

[YoureSoShain]

12:37 AM on 03/22/2011

Anyone who budgets $400-800 a year for a phone is either rich or a rube.

[J0E1]

12:33 PM on 03/21/2011

The upcoming handset may even get a redesigned antenna and a faster CPU
 
You don't say.  They might fix the big antenna problem from the iphone4 and make it faster?  In only a year?  no way... I'll believe it when I see it.

[Hakeem Kareem]

08:22 AM on 03/21/2011

I have been using iPhone 4 for over 7 months and prior to to that I had the 3GS. I really do not see the issues the iPhone haters are expressing. The phone does what is expected to do--make and receive calls, retrieve my emails and take me online. As far as I am concerned, the iPhone is the best phone on the world. To the iPhone haters: get a life !

[J0E1]

12:35 PM on 03/21/2011

I haven't met an iphone hater yet that owns an iphone.  You must be confused.  Anyone complaining of a cracked glass back and dropped calls are iphone OWNERS.

[eilish]

03:48 PM on 03/21/2011

I bought my iPhone 4 the night Verizon offered them online. It has the best call clarity of any phone I've ever owned, and although my kids constantly drop calls to me from their AT&T lPhones, I've not once had that problem and I live in the back and beyond of nowhere.

Love this phone, love having a great GPS when I travel to the big city, love the apps & watching vids. The screen has amazing resolution, it is a joy to watch TV & movies on.

Almost makes me wish for a iPad.

[stuckintraffic]

06:43 AM on 03/21/2011

I have a 3G and it has been failing slowly but surely. The WiFi stopped working for no apparent reason. The volume button just popped off. Apps suddenly stop working and have to be reloaded. t sucks.

[ohsoslimshady]

07:39 AM on 03/21/2011

What do you expect from a phone that is three years old?

[Kahill]

08:10 AM on 03/21/2011

Actually the iPhone 4 is 3G. So that’s not quite a year old yet!

[stuckintraffic]

08:53 AM on 03/21/2011

What other equipment that you own and paid hundreds of dollars for fails after two years? There is a difference between outdated equipment and failing equipment. I'm not a sucker that feels the need to spend $400 just because other people are standing in line for days to spend $400. I'm a little more attached to my money and expect stuff to work longer than the two years I've owned the phone.

[Amalek]

03:22 AM on 03/21/2011

Just when you thought life could not get any better, they tease you with this.

[Robert Hartnett]

02:50 AM on 03/21/2011

Dear Apple:

I like the new designs, but I will be forking my money over to companies that make android phones until you revamp that stale OS of yours.

Signed
A Former iPhone User

[Draekia]

03:54 AM on 03/21/2011

... and then in a couple years you'll be bored with the Android for being "stale."

Enjoy! They're just phones, after all ;-)

[Kahill]

09:01 AM on 03/21/2011

So true! The cellphone companies make it their business to make everything 'stale' in about a year. That way they can keep selling new phones. I should know, I have worked for them for years doing exactly the same thing! :)

[cobobs]

04:35 AM on 03/21/2011

These devices are all truly amazing, both Android and Apple. How quickly we get jaded these days! As a wise person once said, things do not bring happiness.

[eilish]

03:50 PM on 03/21/2011

Ahh, maybe not, but in my family new tech toys have been the thing since my kids were small. They do bring some joy to our world.

[burnseason]

02:03 AM on 03/21/2011

this is 1 of the biggest things i am looking forward to getting when i get back from Afghanistan: the new iPhone 5. still tryna decide - should i leave AT&T and go to Verizon and get a new iPhone or just stay with AT&T? im leaning towards verizon at this point.

[ChristianCooper]

02:36 AM on 03/21/2011

Verizon seems to have slower data speeds. And you cannot talk on the phone and use data at the same time with Verizon.

[J0E1]

12:37 PM on 03/21/2011

Neither of which is true if Apple includes an LTE antenna in the iphone 5.  

[Amalek]

03:23 AM on 03/21/2011

ATT is buying T-mobile, which should really increase its network.

[WingedHelmet]

12:35 AM on 03/21/2011

If there was a product that I had no interest in owning, I would not bother posting a comment about that product, or even read the article.

I wonder if some of these anti-Apple people do that with other products that they have no intention of owning. If they purchase a particular brand of automobile, do they visit dealerships of competing brands to inform them that they bough something else? If they buy a brand of tomato soup do they email the CEOs of the other brands to advise that they made that choice?
It seems like some people don't value their time, or their time is of very little value to anyone.

[Temsi]

12:50 AM on 03/21/2011

Haters gonna hate. Especially iHaters.

[Chicagoperson]

12:24 AM on 03/21/2011

I have an IPhone 3g. Honestly, I thought it would be too much phone for me. It turns out, I love it. I'm waiting for the 5 to come out and hopefully they will have worked out the bugs of the 4 series. No doubt the new version will have bugs as well. My 3g doesn't have video, but I was able to download an app that does video. We have AT&T which works for us. All phones drop calls and have lousy reception in one place or the other. But for the most part, Iphone on AT&T has been great.

I've seen some reviews that say Android is better. Their GPS is nifty, I must admit.

[Amalek]

03:24 AM on 03/21/2011

I am also on the original 3G, and the 5 will be time to upgrade.

[missmary]

11:16 PM on 03/20/2011

I am planning on getting the Iphone. Do you think I would be wise to wait for the new one, or are all the bugs out of the Iphone4?? I have heard the Iphone drops calls.

[WSAY]

11:39 PM on 03/20/2011

All cell phones drop calls.

[wsmcke]

02:46 AM on 03/21/2011

True, but some more than others...

[ChristianCooper]

02:50 AM on 03/21/2011

wait. they should be released in June/July

[Mplsuptown]

10:50 PM on 03/20/2011

I wish they'd make one in the shape of a dill pickle that I can stick in my front pocket.

[mados123]

11:00 PM on 03/20/2011

That would look really weird holding up to your face.

[Amalek]

03:25 AM on 03/21/2011

Not his face.

[moutonnoir]

03:26 AM on 03/21/2011

pretty sure there is a 'skin' for that.

[sole]

01:09 AM on 03/28/2011

Ha!

[Matthew Schneck]

10:50 PM on 03/20/2011

Am I the only one noticing how poorly written the first paragraph was? Grammar is important, people.

"A tipster in China recently contacted 9 to 5 Mac to share an alleged AN iPhone 5 prototype, which WAS reportedly BEEN spotted at Foxconn and is almost ready for mass-production."

[Charismatron]

11:18 PM on 03/20/2011

That paragraph was also from China.

[AnthonyAfterwit]

11:21 PM on 03/20/2011

I'm so used to that on this site I don't even notice it anymore.

[onyourleft]

10:17 PM on 03/20/2011

Me? I'm waiting for the iphone 12. Rumor has it that it can read people's minds, change the oil on your car, and take out the dog. Cool.

[burnseason]

02:04 AM on 03/21/2011

LMFAO

[Mydian01]

10:55 AM on 03/21/2011

yep, and the competition will be falling all over themselves to copy it.

[sole]

01:12 AM on 03/28/2011

Touche'!