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Comment by tpmx | Hacker News Reader

I quite like the return of the iPhone 4 exterior design style.

Me too, although it has two fails:

0. Oval buttons instead of round. In terms of usability a larger target is better, but in terms of design style a loss.

1. It has buttons on both sides so it doesn't have a totally flat side for setting on its edge. Also, the camera sticks out.

Otherwise I appreciate the return to the classic look even if "mini" is still larger than the oversized model 5 body.

Out of these issues,

> Also, the camera sticks out

is the one that bothers me. I loved the iPhone 4/5 "uniblock" feeling.

The phone would be thicker, but they'd be able to stick a lot of battery in there if they made the back flush with the camera bump.

iPhone 4 had a (flush) depth of 9.3 mm.

Iphone 12 tech specs says it has a depth of 7.44 mm. It's unclear if that includes the camera bump, but I'm going to to asssume it doesn't, because Apple.

Yeah. That extra 1.86 mm would probably add quite a lot of battery capacity, like 20-35% more.

Buttons on both sides also completely breaks the ability to use the volume rocker buttons as a camera shutter -- 'oh let me quickly grab my phone and take a pictu--- nope, I hit the sleep wake button, sorry'

I hate that iphone 6 and onward design decision ... (design-wise pretty much everything after iphone 6 has been a regression imo, although this one looks the best that any phone has looked in a long time -- aside from the notch)

I cannot understand how they keep the notch so big at this time. There are android phones that do the same without it AFAIK. I imagine that Steve would have not allowed it to last so long, but the current CEO only cares about money.

I'd say that's regressing yes? When you can't find the road to the future, retreat to the past. Re-live the glory days so to speak.

In a way, yeah, definitely. Perhaps it's a bad sign for Apple, but good for consumers. It's a solid (and imho beautiful) design that works really well mechanically (iirc).

I'm treading into parts I don't know very well here, so treat this as a question: Is this perhaps a part of the de-Ive-ification process?

Hope so, I still miss my skeuomorphism so much.

It's regressing back to a superior design. The hard edges are easier to hold, and also, you can rest the phone on it's edge without stand. I miss being able to rest my phone on it's edge.

And the edges aren't MBP-sharp (beautiful but painful). Looks like an edge radius of maybe 0.5 mm instead of 0.1 mm or so.

This. I hate the lozenge designs of the last several iPhones. They are slick in a bad way.

You interact with the screen. Why does the design matter that much? What exactly is innovative about the rectangles from other companies?

You also hold the unit quite a lot. The feeling matters.

Yes, it does, which is why the iPhone 4 was a terrible design. Pull the phone out of your pocket, and there's a 3-in-4 chance that you're "holding it wrong" right off the bat because the front and back feel the same.

No, thanks. Every surface on a phone needs to feel at least subtly different.

I haven't upgraded since iPhone X. That one doesn't feel different wrt front/back at all. Does iPhone 11 feel different in this regard?

Yes, the 11 has kind of a “matte” slightly textured back. It’s definitely easy to determine which is which just by feel.

The glass front and the metal back always felt different to me... and in any case, the very first thing I did is look for the home button with my thumb.

This is still a one time design cost though. And nothing about it means that you should iterate the design every other year. Materials maybe.

It’s cyclic fashion.

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