iPhone 5 Details: 3.7-Inch Screen, Home Button with Gesture Area [Updated]

171122 iPhone5 mockup

Former Engadget editor Joshua Topolsky has revealed possible new information on the upcoming iPhone 5, but that information seems to contradict other recent claims. Topolsky reiterates from his previous Engadget report that the next iPhone is to be completely redesigned, and that it looks more like the iPod touch than the iPhone 4. The new phone will be thinner and have a "teardrop" shape which goes from thick to thin, similar to the MacBook Air.

Meanwhile, the home button will be doing "double duty" as both a button and and a gesture area.

this falls in line with testing weve seen for gestures on the iPad, and our sources say that gestures are definitely coming in a future version of iOS. The home button will likely be enlarged, but not scrapped altogether.

He also details that the screen will occupy nearly the entire front of the phone leaving almost no bezel. This information is consistent with some earlier rumors that suggested an "edge to edge" screen. In addition Apple is said to be doing very "interesting things" with bonded glass technology and even exploring designs where the earpiece and sensors are behind the screen itself.

Topolsky is also hearing that the screen may go up to 3.7 inches while keeping the same resolution. This would keep the DPI within the "Retina" display moniker at 312dpi. Finally, there are some hints that there may be some form of inductive or touch charging but this seems unconfirmed.

Joshua Topolsky is the former editor-in-chief of Engadget and is well connected with his previous rumors being published to Engadget. This information, however, contradicts some previous reports from Reuters which suggest the iPhone 5 will carry a very similar form factor as the iPhone 4. Notably, in the same original Engadget report that detailed the "completely redesigned" iPhone 5, Topolsky/Engadget had previously predicted that the iPad 2 would carry a higher resolution screen and SD card slot, neither of which came true.

Update: We've received a tip (that we believe is reliable) that this redesigned iPhone 5 report is untrue.

Top Rated Comments

redchannel Avatar
171 months ago
That is one ugly mock-up :eek:
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chriseybear Avatar
171 months ago
I hope it's not drastically thinner and lighter. The 4 at the minute is just right, nice to hold feels right.

Maybe It's just my man handling sausage fingers but I wouldn't like to see it similar to the iPod touch.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adztaylor Avatar
171 months ago
I can't see them making the iPhone look like the iPod Touch.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mdriftmeyer Avatar
171 months ago
Too Thin

The iPhone 4 had just the right thickness. Tapering everything to a weak point is bad engineering.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rever3nce Avatar
171 months ago
this looks fugly
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kolax Avatar
171 months ago
I'm guessing Josh is just after some hits.

iPhone 5 will just be the iPhone 4 with a better antenna design and faster internals. iPhone 6 will probably have a re-design.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17

Troubling iOS 17.5 Bug Reportedly Resurfacing Old Deleted Photos

Wednesday May 15, 2024 5:29 am PDT by
There are concerning reports on Reddit that Apple's latest iOS 17.5 update has introduced a bug that causes old photos that were deleted – in some cases years ago – to reappear in users' photo libraries. After updating their iPhone, one user said they were shocked to find old NSFW photos that they deleted in 2021 suddenly showing up in photos marked as recently uploaded to iCloud. Other...
General Apps Messages

iMessage Down for Some Users [Update: Service Restored]

Thursday May 16, 2024 3:00 pm PDT by
The iMessage service that Apple users to send messages to one another appears to be down for some users, and messages are failing to go out or are taking an extra long time to send. There are numerous reports about the issue on social networks and a spike of outage reports on Down Detector, but Apple's System Status page is not yet reporting an outage. Update: Apple's status page says...
CarPlay Sound Recognition

Apple Previews Three New CarPlay Features Coming With iOS 18

Wednesday May 15, 2024 9:18 am PDT by
Apple today previewed new accessibility features coming with iOS 18 later this year, and this includes some new options for CarPlay. Apple highlighted three new features coming to CarPlay: Voice Control: This feature will allow users to navigate CarPlay and control apps with just their voice. Color Filters: This feature will make the CarPlay interface visually easier to use for...
maxresdefault

Hands-On With the New M4 OLED iPad Pro

Wednesday May 15, 2024 10:40 am PDT by
Today is the official launch day of the new iPad Pro models, and these updated tablets mark the biggest feature and design refresh that we've seen for the iPad Pro in several years. We picked up one of the new 13-inch models to check out everything new. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. When it comes to design, Apple is still offering 11-inch and 13-inch size options ...
iphone 15 pro max vs iphone 16 pro max

iPhone 16 Pro Max Looks This Much Bigger Beside iPhone 15 Pro Max

Thursday May 16, 2024 4:51 am PDT by
This year's upcoming iPhone 16 Pro Max is expected to get a boost in overall size from 6.7-inches to 6.9-inches, and a new image gives us a good idea of how the current iPhone 15 Pro Max compares to what could be Apple's largest ever iPhone. The image above, posted on X by ZONEofTECH, shows a dummy model representing the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ Max alongside an actual iPhone 15 Pro Max. Dummy...
Delta Hands On Feature

iPhone Emulators on the App Store: Game Boy, N64, PS1, PSP, and More

Thursday May 16, 2024 12:45 pm PDT by
In April, Apple updated its guidelines to allow retro game emulators on the App Store, and several popular emulators have already been released. The emulators released so far allow iPhone users to play games released for older consoles from Nintendo, Sony, SEGA, Atari, and others. A list of some popular emulators available on the App Store so far follows. Released Delta Delta is...