With the expected introduction of Apple's iPhone 5S now less than a month away, French site Nowhereelse.fr has shared some new photos [Google translation] of an alleged iPhone 5S rear shell. While the part has been seen a number of times in the past, the site has put together some overlays and iPhone 5 comparison photos to help provide an overview of some of the changes expected for the device.
One example shows an overlay of the iPhone 5S bare logic board, which has leaked several times in recent months. The part contains a number of repositioned screw holes compared to the iPhone 5 logic board, and overlay photos shows how these holes line up exactly with mounting points on the rear shell.
Also of interest is the home button region, as Apple has been reported to be incorporating a fingerprint sensor into the part, perhaps moving to a sapphire-covered convex design to help accommodate the sensor.
Nowhereelse.fr's comparison photos show how the metal spacer shield for the home button has changed from the iPhone 5 to the iPhone 5S, with the previous nearly symmetric design moving to an asymmetric design with altered screw hole locations and an angled edge along one side.
The exact reason for the design changes on the spacer is unclear given a lack of other parts, but it seems reasonable to suspect that they may be related to accommodating the fingerprint sensor.
Apple's September 10 media event is expected to include the introduction of the iPhone 5S and perhaps the "iPhone 5C", a lower-cost model built around a plastic shell. Apple is also preparing to introduce new iPads in the coming months, although those are not expected to debut at this event.
Thursday January 23, 2025 6:41 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 18.3 should be released to the public next week, following beta testing since mid-December. While the software update is a relatively minor one, it still includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes for iPhones.
Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.3.
Notification Summary Changes
Examples of inaccurate Apple Intelligence notification summaries
Apple Intelligence...
Friday January 24, 2025 1:55 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is set to release iOS 18.3 next week, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a couple of neat new capabilities to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 devices, and bug fixes.
While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.3 still introduces capabilities that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've...
Friday January 24, 2025 8:16 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 18.3 is expected to be widely released next week, and that means the first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner.
Apple has previously implied that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, as that is when it promised to make Apple Intelligence available in even more languages.
Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far.
Apple Intelligence for Siri
Siri ...
Thursday January 23, 2025 7:32 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Walmart still does not accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at its more than 4,600 stores across the U.S., and it stood firm on its reasoning for that today.
A spokesperson for Walmart today informed MacRumors that its position on contactless payments has not changed since we last reached out about the matter in 2022. The big-box retailer said it remains focused on its own convenient...
Wednesday January 22, 2025 6:01 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year. In this article, we recap rumored features and changes for the device.
The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, which would be an upgrade over the current Apple TV's standard Wi-Fi 6 support. Wi-Fi 6E extends the...
Tuesday January 21, 2025 4:31 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 18.3 today, and with it comes release notes confirming what's new. While we knew about several of the features that are in the update, there are some lesser known tweaks and bug fixes.
The update adds new Visual Intelligence features for iPhone 16 models, it tweaks Notification summaries on all...
Friday January 24, 2025 9:09 am PST by Juli Clover
The upcoming iPhone 17 models that Apple plans to release this year will not feature a smaller Dynamic Island, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today.
On social media, he said that he is expecting the size of the Dynamic Island to remain "largely unchanged" across the iPhone 17 lineup. His statement is contrary to prior rumors that we've heard about planned changes for the iPhone 17 models.
...
Saturday January 25, 2025 5:07 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple's retail stores will be rolling out "merchandise/floor marketing updates" next week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Gurman did not explicitly say if the store updates are related to any upcoming product announcements, but he did mention that next week is around the time that Apple rolls out its annual Black Unity watch band for the Apple Watch.
In each of the past four years, ...
Thursday January 23, 2025 2:48 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
It's also time for Apple's first product announcement of the year.
Last year, Apple said it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and the wireless earbuds are expected to launch very soon.
Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code
In his Power On newsletter last weekend, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the...
Wow, it looks so much like last years model since we cannot take the phone apart to see the guts anyway. This is very impressive flim flam. Introduce the 5S as new when in reality its so last year. Amazining.:(
wish you had switched to Android a long time ago like you claimed you were going to so we wouldn't have to listen to your complaining.
I'm trying to understand what a fingerprint scanner gives me over just a normal home button. If anything let's get rid the big round home button and reduce the bezzle/size of the phone.
Although really I'm in the "want a bigger screen" camp.
I'm trying to understand what a fingerprint scanner gives me over just a normal home button. If anything let's get rid the big round home button and reduce the bezzle/size of the phone.
Although really I'm in the "want a bigger screen" camp.
This is what I envision, and I am excited for it to happen!
