Mockup: iPhone 5 loses Home Button, gains 4” Screen

Hmm… Interesting. This mockup video produced by Kris Groen shows a redesigned iPhone chassis with some significant changes. First of all, the screen is increased to four inches from the canonical three and a half inches. Secondly, the home button is gone from the front face of the device. Instead, two new buttons are placed on the sides. Pressing both brings you to the home screen, and pressing either the left or right switches between apps or home screen pages.

It’s an interesting concept, but it’s wrong. Apple won’t be increasing the size of the iPhone’s screen any time soon. Unlike Windows, OS X, and Android apps, iPhone applications are designed to run at one* resolution. Changing the resolution of the display would make apps look distorted unless they make it an even doubling of resolution. The other way around this would be to lessen the pixel density of the display. Not only would that ruin the point of a retina display, but it would also completely change the size of the tap targets. That’s not going to happen.

As for losing the home button, don’t count on it. It’s iconic and consistent. Normal iPhone users aren’t clamoring for removal of the only button on the face. While the side buttons on the video are a clever idea, it isn’t solving any problems the home button isn’t already solving just as well. Apple doesn’t go around changing things for no reason. It has to have a real design reason.

* That said, pixel doubling to the retina display is different because everything is the same size on the screen.

Source: AppAdvice

Note: This was an accidental duplication of work for Macgasm. If you want to see Josh’s take, check it here.

Double the iPad, double the fun! DigiTimes is reporting that they have sources that are claiming that the iPad 3 will launch in March of this year with a Retina display and improved battery life, but not much else. Like the iPhone models, Apple will supposedly be keeping the iPad 2 around after the iPad 3’s launch as a lower-priced entry model. To top it all off, these sources say that October of this year will see the iPad 4 with increased specs and new baked-in apps. The iPad 3 will come with a QXGA (1,536x2,048 pixels) display and longer battery life although its other hardware specifications may not be so amazing as expected, said the sources. But Apple will take the advantage of the iPad 3 launch to slash the price of its iPad 2 to US$399, the sources claimed. But a true battle for market share will arrive in the second half of the year when Apple ships its iPad 4 in October, about the time when Microsoft releases its Window 8 and Intel unveils its Clover Trail-W platform, the sources commented. John Gruber predicted that we would see two iPad models ship last year, but that didn’t happen. While possibly a coincidence, this rumor seems to be borrowing off that idea for the appearance of legitimacy. DigiTimes, of course, has a less than stellar batting average with predicting Apple’s next moves. They’re in the business of spaghetti-throwing. We’re skeptical that Apple will release two iPad in one year, but we’re not foolish enough to rule it out completely. What sends up flags the most about this rumor is that they’re discussing software along with hardware. Most successful leaks are from the Asian manufacturers. The people at Apple high enough to know about the future of the iPad should be smart enough to never talk about that publicly. It also doesn’t make much sense as an intentional leak because rumors of an iPad 4 in October could hurt sales of an iPad 3 in March. This seems like a flimsy rumor at best. Take this with a tablespoon of salt. Source: DigiTimes Note: This article was written for Macgasm, but there was accidental duplication of work. I didn’t want to let this article go to waste, though. If you want Josh’s thoughts on this, read them here.
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Double the iPad, double the fun! DigiTimes is reporting that they have sources that are claiming that the iPad 3 will launch in March of this year with a Retina display and improved battery life, but not much else. Like the iPhone models, Apple will supposedly be keeping the iPad 2 around after the iPad 3’s launch as a lower-priced entry model. To top it all off, these sources say that October of this year will see the iPad 4 with increased specs and new baked-in apps.

The iPad 3 will come with a QXGA (1,536x2,048 pixels) display and longer battery life although its other hardware specifications may not be so amazing as expected, said the sources. But Apple will take the advantage of the iPad 3 launch to slash the price of its iPad 2 to US$399, the sources claimed.

But a true battle for market share will arrive in the second half of the year when Apple ships its iPad 4 in October, about the time when Microsoft releases its Window 8 and Intel unveils its Clover Trail-W platform, the sources commented.

John Gruber predicted that we would see two iPad models ship last year, but that didn’t happen. While possibly a coincidence, this rumor seems to be borrowing off that idea for the appearance of legitimacy. DigiTimes, of course, has a less than stellar batting average with predicting Apple’s next moves. They’re in the business of spaghetti-throwing.

We’re skeptical that Apple will release two iPad in one year, but we’re not foolish enough to rule it out completely. What sends up flags the most about this rumor is that they’re discussing software along with hardware. Most successful leaks are from the Asian manufacturers. The people at Apple high enough to know about the future of the iPad should be smart enough to never talk about that publicly. It also doesn’t make much sense as an intentional leak because rumors of an iPad 4 in October could hurt sales of an iPad 3 in March. This seems like a flimsy rumor at best. Take this with a tablespoon of salt.

Source: DigiTimes

Note: This article was written for Macgasm, but there was accidental duplication of work. I didn’t want to let this article go to waste, though. If you want Josh’s thoughts on this, read them here.