Like your iPhone 4′s slinky glass back and built-in antenna? Tough luck – the iPhone 5 is set to scrap both, according to a recent rumour.
The
iPhone 4‘s striking looks have been a mixed success. On the one hand, it’s probably the best-looking and most distinctive smartphone ever made. On the other hand, it makes for a pretty fragile device that doesn’t always work as it should.
Because of this Apple is rumoured to be considering dropping the glass back in favour of a return to aluminium, as seen in the very first iPhone. This would make it tougher, lighter and easier to paint white.
Indeed, it’s been suggested that the iPhone 5 will look more like the current iPod touch than the iPhone 4.
That’s not the only change that will be made for the next-gen iPhone, either. Responding to the iPhone 4′s fairly disastrous (from a PR perspective, at least) edge-based antenna design, reports from China claim that Apple will completely overhaul how the iPhone 5 handles the matter of signal reception. The new aluminium back will reportedly feature a resin Apple logo that will handle all signal reception, from Wi-Fi to network activity.
