Apple Has Been Testing iPhone 5 Parts Inside The iPhone 4 Design [Rumour]

The latest iPhone 5 rumours from the WSJ mention a new iPhone this Fall that will be thinner and lighter, and possibly bring a cheaper model with an edge to edge screen.

This is My Next originally brought up the story of a redesigned iPhone with a teardrop design, and larger screen. This time around, they are providing confirmation from their sources a new iPhone will be launching in the Fall along with a new iPad as well:

Our sources are saying that not only will there be a newly designed iPhone coming in the fall, but there is going to be a new entry into the iPad family as well

They also answered why the rumours of the slightly upgraded ‘iPhone 4S’ were so prominent recently. Their sources apparently reveal iPhone 5 components were just being used inside an iPhone 4 body for testing:

Simply put, as the iPhone 5 components are built for a smaller and lighter device, they can be easily fit into a casing which for all intents and purposes looks identical to an iPhone 4… and that’s exactly what Apple has been doing. Our sources tell us that the company has been testing the new components in old iPhone cases, for obvious reasons. Some of those reports we’ve heard about a larger screen for the old design would make sense too, as a slight tweak of the size (say, to a 3.7-inch display), would be barely noticeable to the eye, but obvious in internal component design.

One would think Apple would still rely on their popular iPhone 4 design as keeping this external shape would make for a cheaper cost via economies of scale and also follow in line with physical iPhone hardware upgrades in the past (think of the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS–the body stayed the same).

This is My Next comments the iPhone 4 design is going out the window because upper level management at Apple are ready to move on to a new design and product. Reasons why could include the iPhone ‘found in a bar’ leak, and the ‘antennagate’ SNAFU.

If Apple were to stick with the iPhone 4 design for the iPhone 5, it would make sense with what they’ve done previously with incremental upgrades. The company has made it clear to deliver a better user experience is through software–iOS 5 is coming this Fall. With the extent of what we use our iPhones for, current hardware specs have more than exceeded our needs. How much power do we really need to have in a smartphone?

A newly designed iPhone 5 this time around would make sense for Apple, to stay one step ahead of their competition, most notably Android. During the iPhone 3G/3GS era, there was almost zero competition to the iPhone. That has all changed now, and relying on the same iPhone 4 design would be a step backwards instead of moving forward (one thinks of RIM as an example). By stretching out the timeline of iPhone upgrades to the Fall, it allows Apple to continue to sell more iPhone 4s, a unit that is still more than capable.

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