Following last week's leak of home buttons claimed to be for the next-generation iPhone, parts vendor SW-BOX.com has just posted information on a claimed iPhone 5 SIM card tray fresh from one of its parts suppliers.
The tray appears essentially identical to the SIM card tray found in the iPhone 4S and 4, and if the part is indeed legitimate it suggests that Apple may retain a similar flat-edged form factor for the forthcoming device. Such a design would be opposed to a tapered or rounded-edge design that would likely require a somewhat curved exterior surface for the tray or at least a thinner tray profile as was seen in earlier iPhone models such as the 3G and 3GS.
Apple has been pushing for its own "nano-SIM" standard, but has so far been unable to win approval as competitors have objected to the proposal and offered their own designs for a smaller next-generation SIM card. Unsurprisingly, it appears that a smaller nano-SIM design will not be ready in time to be included in the next-generation iPhone.
Apple is expected to introduce its next-generation iPhone later this year, with many observers suggesting that Apple will once again target the September-October timeframe for the launch. Many users have been hoping for a significant redesign following Apple's pattern of maintaining a similar form factor for two generations between major design overhauls, but part leaks that might reveal Apple's plans have yet to begin surfacing.
Update: As several observers have pointed out, the SIM card tray does have some subtle differences compared to the tray used in the iPhone 4S and 4, with a slight tapering of metal frame pieces and an extra metal shelf not seen in current trays. Consequently, the part certainly appears to not simply be an iPhone 4S SIM card tray, and while it could be a knockoff part, SW-BOX.com and its supplier seem to believe that it is genuine.
Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today introduced the iPhone 16e, its newest entry-level smartphone. The device succeeds the third-generation iPhone SE, which has now been discontinued.
The iPhone 16e features a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, up from a 4.7-inch LCD on the iPhone SE. The display has a notch for Face ID, and this means that Apple no longer sells any iPhones with a Touch ID fingerprint button, marking the ...
Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:02 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Over the years, Apple has switched from an aluminum frame to a stainless steel frame to a titanium frame for its highest-end iPhones. And now, it has been rumored that Apple will go back to using aluminum for three out of four iPhone 17 models.
In an investor note with research firm GF Securities, obtained by MacRumors this week, Apple supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said the iPhone 17, iPhone...
Thursday February 20, 2025 5:06 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Now that Apple has announced its new more affordable iPhone 16e, our thoughts turn to what else we are expecting from the company this spring.
There are three product categories that we are definitely expecting to get upgraded before spring has ended. Keep reading to learn what they are. If we're lucky, Apple might make a surprise announcement about a completely new product category.
M4...
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker.
In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19.
"Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag.
The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle.
Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
Wednesday February 19, 2025 11:38 am PST by Juli Clover
Following the launch of the iPhone 16e, Apple updated its iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia pages to give a narrower timeline on when the next updates are set to launch.
All three pages now state that new Apple Intelligence features and languages will launch in early April, an update from the more broader April timeframe that Apple provided before. The next major point updates will be iOS ...
Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week.
Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far.
Apple Intelligence for Siri
Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
Friday February 14, 2025 6:03 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the HomePod mini in November 2020, followed by the AirTag in May 2021, and both still remain first-generation products.
Fortunately, rumors suggest that both the HomePod mini and the AirTag will finally be updated at some point this year.
Below, we recap rumors about the HomePod mini 2 and AirTag 2.
HomePod mini 2
In January 2025, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple is ...
The tray appears essentially identical to the SIM card tray found in the iPhone 4S and 4, and if the part is indeed legitimate it suggests that Apple may retain a similar flat-edged form factor for the forthcoming device.
Month 1) Release sim tray "leaked design"
Month 2) Show a glimpse of the internal screen/camera/light sensor cable
Month 3) Leak some funky .plist code to reference a new CPU and also a new plastic molded phone case from china
Month 4) Report that some crap site like BGR says liquid metal will be the casing
Month 5) Show off some blurry image resembling the iPhone 4S but thinner design with blacked out screen that doesn't show resolution nor screen size so people can speculate yet again that it's larger than 3.5"...the source comes from a vietnamese forum.
Month 6) Show an empty shell without a circuit board but should drive people mad because it looks like an iPhone 4/4S but thinner and the screen is THE SAME SIZE.
Month 7) Profit (apple that is) because final design is unveiled and sold out hot cakes.
