iPhone 5 may get reworked antenna after all

A newly spotted frame obtained by iPatchiPods has hinted that either the iPhone 5, the 8GB iPhone 4, or both will have a redesigned antenna structure. Where the AT&T iPhone 4 has the antenna breaks on the steel frame on the bottom of its left side and the top left, and the CDMA iPhone 4 has both at the top of the sides, the model shown to MacRumors has two at the bottom.

On the current CDMA model, the antennas were placed to account for the different behavior of the radio. The frame shown here has a SIM slot, though whether it's dual-mode or not is still uncertain.

The design also shows signs that, despite estimates, it may be for the iPhone 5 and not the iPhone 4. Its bottom section lacks the deliberate cutout for the home button that's needed on the iPhone 4 and supports notions that the iPhone 5 may have a wider home button. The absence could hint at a shallower design that doesn't need the cutout or else an internal redesign that has made for more space.

If intended for an iPhone 4, the frame points to Apple trying to avoid a repeat of the public relations fiasco it saw after the current designs were unveiled. "Death grip" issues ended up being much less of a concern than first thought but were enough to spook a subset of potential buyers away, particularly left-handed users more likely to cover up the one bottom antenna break. A second bottom gap could reduce the instances of the signal being heavily attenuated.

By Electronista Staff