Uh, yeah. That thin glass block you’re looking at above is supposed to be an iPhone 6 concept design. Before I rip into it as you might have expected, let me at least explain what it has to offer.
Designer Abel Verdezoto mocked this up to release his own concept for what the iPhone 6 could look like. It has a larger display than the iPhone 5 it appears, squared corners on the front and back with the top and bottom curved, a very slim form factor, and what seems to be the return of a glass back casing.
I guess it looks cool in its own way and futuristic, reminiscent of something Sony might design for an Xperia phone. Unfortunately, this is an Apple concept, not a Sony one, and much of this concept does not even remotely follow any of Apple’s design principles.
First of all, let’s talk about the larger display. All rumors up until now have suggested that if Apple was going to release an iPhone with a larger display than 4 inches, it would be alongside the 4-inch model, not replacing it. It would be pretty stupid on Apple’s part to market a 4-inch iPhone 5 as “just the right size” and then scrap it a year later with the iPhone 6.
Next, for some reason the designer chose to revert back to a glass back — which was clearly removed for a reason in the iPhone 5 — as well as move the front-facing camera next to the speaker like with the iPhone 4 and 4S. There’s also no noise-cancelling microphone in between the back camera and LED flash. Those are three steps backward, not forward. Oh and where the hell is the mute switch on this thing? Make that four steps backward.
Lastly, when is the last time you’ve seen a major Apple product without rounded corners?
I appreciate and admire the effort and creativity here, but this iPhone 6 concept simply is not realistic. I’m not even sure why we’re talking about an iPhone 6 anyway. Putting whatever Apple chooses to name it aside, the 2013 iPhone will most likely keep the iPhone 5’s external design.