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.
Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app.
Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action.
Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website.
Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50.
We have outlined some examples below:
Device
New Value
Old Value
iPhone 15 Pro Max
Up to $630
U ...
Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features.
Notification Summary Changes
Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines.
For...
Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr.
The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models:
iPhone 16
iPhone 16 Plus
iPhone 16 Pro
iPhone 16 Pro Max
iPhone 15
iPhone 15 Plus
iPhone 15 Pro
iPhone 15 Pro Max
iPhone 14
iPhon...
Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by Joe Rossignol
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory.
A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June.
The original AirTag was announced...
Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by Juli Clover
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon.
Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, 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.