

The front of the iPhone 5 is not flush with the frame - fxm4139
http://fayezmoh.tumblr.com/post/32098525069/the-iphone-5-front-is-not-flush-with-the-frame

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structAnkit
Neither side is flush on the 4/4S. By making only one side flush on the 5 it's
easier to tell which side you grabbed as you pull it out of your
pocket/purse/bag so you know to flip it the correct orientation before you
ready the device in front of your chest/face.

Every Android phone I've owned is similar in this respect (as are the 3GS and
below) but my 4S not so much. This move is for the best.

~~~
fxm4139
I never had an issue figuring out the front or back. Usually my fingers run
over the home button or the ear piece which is what tells me what the front
is. Honestly, I didn't even feel the edge till I repeatedly turned the phone
around quite a few times, which is when I looked at it. Not sure this would
let me determine what the front was, but that might be my personal opinion, or
my insensitive fingers.

~~~
runjake
I have calloused hands. I always have a hard time telling front from back, top
from bottom on the 4/4S.

~~~
CamperBob2
Very annoying problem for me as well.

I think the iPhone 4/4S is a revoltingly bad industrial design, and am utterly
flummoxed by the acclaim it's received. The iPhone 5 looks pretty good but I
haven't actually held one yet.

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lucisferre
Sigh, a nickel for everyone who owns an Apple product suddenly thinks they are
a world class designer.

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fxm4139
In fact, I did say in my blog that "I’m no industrial designer and I’m not
saying that both sides must be flush, because of some kind of design
philosophy that I might not know." The purpose of writing something like this
is to spur a discussion, in which I express a personal opinion, hear counter
points, and maybe learn something along the way. Your "sigh" does neither, and
I don't need your judging skills to tell me whether I think or am a designer.

~~~
lucisferre
Your making the nit-pick of all nit-picks and then vigorously defend it by
ending with the outlandish claim that this wouldn't have happend if Jobs was
there, which would be the part where you _do_ in fact claim to know more than
the people who did actually design the iPhone. People who in fact _are_ world
class designers.

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kamechan
> Kind of like when you see a fake Rolex from 20 inches away and it looks
> pretty good, but then you look up close and suddenly one little flaw makes
> the whole thing fall apart.

The crystal on a Rolex sticks up above the bezel as well.

~~~
fxm4139
Maybe they do, but I wasn't literally comparing the glass sticking up above
the bezel when it came to the Rolex.

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jblock
Blaming issues (which most would consider a non-issue) like this on Steve Jobs
not being around is insulting to all of the hard-working designers and
engineers at Apple that worked 80-hour weeks to get this thing into your
hands. They didn't do something wrong--you just don't like a decision they
made.

~~~
LnxPrgr3
Besides, if I could ask anyone today what Steve Jobs would've thought of a
design, it'd be the people who worked with him for years.

…and I'd still take their answers with a grain of salt.

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dj2stein9
That's there to make sure the screen completely shatters if you bump it
against anything.

~~~
ricardobeat
Not this time: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M5q5TRuAsY>

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dave1619
I was at the Apple Store yesterday and also noticed the front glass isn't
flush. Was a bit disappointed but reasoned that it's still a beautiful phone.
I think it's a stretch to say Steve Jobs would have not allowed it. There
could be other factors doing into the design.

On another note, the four iPhone 5 commercials Apple just released were
horrible IMO. I definitely think Steve Jobs would have been pissed off at
those commercials. The just don't communicate clearly and border on
tastelessness.

~~~
hop
I can't help but envision Jeff Daniels talk in a dog suit from Dumb and Dumber
when I hear him voice the ads.

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LnxPrgr3
"Now I know everyone must be tired of people asking 'Would this have happened
if Jobs was around' …"

Personally, I hate hearing things like this because "my concept of Steve Jobs
wouldn't have allowed this" isn't an argument. It's an attempt to use a dead
man to bolster an argument's credibility. But how are we to know what Jobs
would and wouldn't have allowed?

Besides, the iPhone 4 came out on his watch, didn't it? Is the iPhone 5's
design a step backwards somehow?

~~~
fxm4139
"But how are we to know what Jobs would and wouldn't have allowed?". Thanks
for pointing out the obvious. My statement of what Jobs would have done was
purely hypothetical. I could have ended that with "Hell yes!" and that would
be an equally plausible scenario. When did I say it was a step backwards? I
just pointed out one thing on the phone that bothered me (and clearly isn't
bothering many people), and that I didn't like it. That's all!

~~~
LnxPrgr3
Fair enough.

I think I (and many others) latched onto the Steve Jobs thing because it's a
bold statement and because it's your concluding paragraph.

I asked if you thought it was a step backwards because you said you liked the
iPhone 4, but not the 5 (and of course also because Steve Jobs was around for
the earlier launch). Neither side of the iPhone 4 is flush with the frame—it's
literally a bit rough around the edges.

~~~
fxm4139
I started the article off with the good things about the 5 and clipped it
because I don't need to rattle off about all the awesome things about it that
folks here know about. I just wrote the article about the one thing I didn't
like about the 5. I like both the 4 and the 5. In fact, I'll be buying the 5
(I didn't just because it was out of stock, and not because of the not flush
glass) :).

Btw, I just now realized that when I said "I didn't like it", the "it" was
referring to the glass sticking out, and not the iPhone 5. Bad wording on my
part there.

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pdenya
This isn't a problem for me. It's still built with extreme precision and not
liking a minor design decision doesn't make it any less finely crafted. And
it's still a big improvement over the previous version.

iPhone 4S side: [http://www.iphone4sreview.org/wp-
content/gallery/iphone-4s-r...](http://www.iphone4sreview.org/wp-
content/gallery/iphone-4s-review/iphone-4s-side.jpg)

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adpirz
Regarding the Jobs would-have-wouldn't-have done this, there's actually a
decent chance that he DID this.

[http://www.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-worked-closely-
on-...](http://www.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-worked-closely-on-the-next-
iphones-redesign-report-2012-5)

~~~
herval
That's one of those things we'll only know if/when Ive or Cook get an equally
informative bio, I guess. Jobs _might_ have decided a lot on upcoming
projects, but it's hard to tell if his decisions held after the new CEO or
were altered/ditched/etc. So I'd say it's a 50/50 chance there :)

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Anechoic
What's the problem with the front not being flush? I noticed this from the
first time I saw the iPhone 5 and immediately thought it was an aesthetic
decision that ties the iPhone 5 back to the iPhone 4/4S. FWIW, I like the
design (ftr I'm a Nokia E6 owner).

~~~
glenra
There are two problems with it. (1) Functional: if the glass sticks up a bit,
it's more likely to shatter when you drop the phone face-down, than it would
be if the glass face were flush or even inset. (2) visual: It destroys the
symmetry when looking at the phone from the side.

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Evbn
SJ was certainly right about one thing: if you don't like the asymmetry of the
look of the phone from the _side_ , _you are looking at it wrong_.

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ronaldj
It's a fucking phone.

~~~
chris_wot
iPhones are pretty amazing, but I don't think procreation is a built in
feature. Perhaps with the iPhone 6?

~~~
Evbn
In France, certainly.

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niels_olson
My fine swiss watch has damn near the same profile.

