iPhone 5 coming autumn, wearing rubber

By Joe Svetlik on 28 December 2011, 11:45am

If you're looking forward to the iPhone 5... you may be in for a bit of a wait, we're afraid. The latest rumour says it'll come in the autumn, a year on from the iPhone 4S, BGR reports. And it'll be wearing rubber.

Yes, you read that right. It'll use rubber or plastic, according to BGR's sources, similar to that used in the bumper cases Apple gave away following the iPhone 4's antenna debacle. So what's it there for?

The rubber or plastic will most likely be used as a bezel surrounding the front edge of the phone. It'll join the glass screen with a new aluminium back plate. It'll also cover a redesigned antenna that'll surround the handset, allowing Apple to use an aluminium back without needing a large plastic insert above the antennae, as it does on the iPad 2.

Presumably the rubber or plastic would also help protect the device, acting as a cushion if dropped on a hard surface.

Like all Apple rumours, we'll naturally take this with a pinch of salt. But it would make sense: the iPad 2 features an aluminium back, so why not standardise across the range? And rumours of an aluminium back surfaced as long ago as March. The iPhone could do with some better protection too: we've heard stories of the screen shattering from being dropped on surfaces as innocuous as grass.

Other rumours reckon the handset will have a bigger screen that'll be made of curved glass. Check our full round-up of rumours right here -- but if you're sick of waiting, you could just make your own.

What do you want from the next iPhone? Let us know in the comments below, or over on Facebook.

Comments 10

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Mark Anderson 28 December, 2011 12:34

Ah, the iPhone. As individual as you.

*Snicker*

anonymous 28 December, 2011 12:49

Ha - I still remember their extremely ironic slogan "Think Different" !!!

anonymous 28 December, 2011 15:59

iPhones are great devices. Its like anything, people that have chosen another device or OS mock all the rest to justify their choice to themselves. Don't be so insecure. All of the latest phones i have tried iPhone, Windows Phone and Android are freaking amazing. Technology rocks and they all fit different needs. I hope they all thrive and continue to improve. Although it sucks how Apple keep suing companies it may have the side effect of increasing innovation, so lets see how things pan out.

anonymous 28 December, 2011 16:45

Anyone else really, really tired of iPhone rumours?

anonymous 28 December, 2011 18:43

rubber? yeah, right. in a state of the art upper segment phone! lol.

iam a wp7 29 December, 2011 02:14

Please Cnet dont start these iPhone romours they are boring and normally wrong so whats the point?

Mark Anderson 29 December, 2011 09:15

"iPhones are great devices"

I know. I have a 3GS just as I have an Android ZTE Blade. The point is iPhones are so ubiquitous and static in terms of UI development - although Siri is a good idea - that they've become boring.

anonymous 29 December, 2011 13:06

I agree mark anderson but most people are happy with an OS that works efficiently not always looking for new features but ways of using existing ones more efficiently. iPhones are nicely integrated with iCloud so you take a picture and its there on your PC, SIRI ect I have used android since the G1 and still do, but i think Apple are advancing in a different way.

Mark Anderson 29 December, 2011 16:40

True. My most recent phone is a Nokia Lumia 800 which is not perfect but is absolutely gorgeous to look at, has a really fresh UI and a nice tight ecosystem with Marketplace, Nokia Music and SkyDrive.

I guess it's the endless speculation about the next iPhone which, although revolutionary in its day, is no longer a standout product, merely one of a number of excellent alternatives, that baffles. The next iteration - which we know will have slightly better hardware and an improvement on an existing software feature that's been around for a bit (like video calling and voice command recognition) - just seems pointless. It's just another mass market product now. No more, no less.