A flurry of photographs of the allegedly leaked iPhone 6 parts published Thursday morning by French blog NowhereElse.fr hint at several design choices Apple engineers took in order to make the device more sleeker and thinner than its predecessor.
Internal and external components like SIM trays, the Apple logo, Home buttons, the internal speaker and vibrator motor all appear to be differently designed and engineered than the comparable parts found in the iPhone 5s.
The leaked parts suggest that the next iPhone will be offered in the same silver, gray and gold colorways as the iPhone 5s while featuring an improved vibrator, the embedded logo on the back and possibly an enhanced sound system.
As the NowhereElse post notes [Google Translate], these parts which have been obtained from an unnamed source offer a good indication about certain design elements of the handset. Starting with the embedded logo on the back, something Apple hasn’t done since the original iPhone (iPads have had them from the onset, though).
Contrary to some earlier rumors that claimed the logo would be scratch-resistant, in turn fueling speculation that the part could be made of Liquidmetal, the author of the article notes he was indeed able to damage the logo under regular pressure with a knife, as seen below.
And because it’s not transparent, the Apple logo won’t light up to notify you of incoming phone calls and messages, as speculated before.
Next, we have the SIM trays and the Home buttons.
As you can see for yourself, if these parts are anything to go by, the next iPhone is going to be offered in the same silver, black and gold variants like the iPhone 5s.
An interesting tidbit: as seen on the image below, the outer part or SIM tray shutter is slightly curved, similar to the iPad Air’s SIM tray. This is most likely needed in order to fit the rumored thinner appearance and the supposedly rounded edges of the device.
Then we have the internal speaker…
The component is seemingly larger in physical size than the iPhone 5s’s speaker, pointing to an improved sound quality and maybe a firmer, louder sound.
Finally, we have the purported vibrator motor, pictured further below.
It Features a notably redesigned appearance (it’s now rectangular, not rounded) than that found inside the iPhone 5s. Whether or not this particular engineering change yields improvements to the iPhone’s vibrate function is anyone’s guess at this point.
Apple is expected to unveil two new iPhone 6 models at a media event rumored to be held on September 9.
Re/code reported yesterday that the firm will also announce its ”wearable” at the event, though the report stopped short of mentioning the rumored iWatch device by name.