Late last month, Japanese blog Mac Otakara sparked particular interest in a set of photos of an assembled front panel from the iPhone 5 by claiming that a square feature near the top of the part was likely to be related to near field communications (NFC) capabilities. That interest was quickly tamped down when The Loop reported later in the week that there would be no NFC in the iPhone 5.
Despite the fact that the square feature is slightly off-center with respect to the device, we've assumed that it must be the earpiece speaker, and consultations with experts at RepairLabs have suggested the same.
Assembled front panel with earpiece bracket removed – bracket and speaker at right
Sonny Dickson has now posted a new set of photos of the assembled front panel that shed some additional light on the situation. A couple of the photos show the square bracket having been removed, and one photo in particular contains a partial view of what does indeed appear to be an earpiece speaker.
Closeup of front panel with bracket and speaker removed and front camera folded back
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 ...
Good grief. People, it is entirely possible that a woman might actually be involved here.
And for the record, I'm a girl, my fingernails are about that long, I never wear nail polish, and one of my nails broke this morning, so while it is filed nicely, it is shorter than the others.
The truth is, as much as NFC is a buzz word among new tech, especially for "geek ware" like the Nexus 2 phone, NFC still has a long way before getting off the ground.
Companies are still fighting over the standard in payment (much the same as the old Mondo vs. Monster vs. Interac vs. Visa vs. Mastercard fight when it came to debit cards) and retailers are wary to get involved with NFC until a standard is met. In fact, many are reluctant to invest money into something a bank will just offer for free in the future anyway.
Without a standard, NFC is simply a nice thing to boast about to technophiles.
I think you are greatly underestimating how useful NFC can be and how widespread it is outside of the United States. Just to give you an example: NFC is used in multiple European counties for the public transport (think about a bus, train, metro, etc.).
In Asia it is used for even more things. It's really the US who is lagging behind in this case.
I am absolutely shocked that some people have automatically declared NFC a useless technology because you haven't SEEN it being used, and you'd never use it yourself merely because you don't even understand what it is capable of.
1. Travel outside of your country, particularly to Asia and some countries in Europe where it is used for everything from vending machines to public transportation.
2. Just because you think it is useless doesn't mean it is. How can you not be comfortable using it to pay for something?
3. I've seen it used myself in my area, where it is available at grocery stores, clothing retailers, and gas stations. I've seen people who I wouldn't label as a techie use it as well.
I love Apple but some of you apologists/loyalists are getting ridiculous. There was once a time when Apple had ALL of the cutting edge features, and their phones were HANDS DOWN the best for both their features, performance and for the software. Unfortunately, they've fallen behind on nearly all counts.
If the iPhone 5 doesn't impress me, my current 4S will sadly be my last iPhone.
