Apple to Launch Six New iPhones with Matte Finish? Sorta…
iLounge reports that they’ve been told the next generation iPhone will come in two storage capacities (we’d guess 16GB and 32GB) and three radio flavors, 3G, 3.5/3.75G, and China CDMA. Consumers won’t be able to choose which radio model they buy, each carrier in each local region will simply offer the one that best suits their network. Some choice in color — black or white? — should remain.
The design is said to be roughly the same with the exception of a new, more scratch-resistant matte finish for the back plate, which has been rumored for a while now.
And no, unfortunately, Chinese CDMA won’t run on Sprint or Verizon in the US. Different frequencies.
May 26th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Hopefully they won’t be prone to the cracking issues that the current generation is suffering from. I should know, I’m on my 9th one now due to cracks in the casing.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Tell me about it. I’m on my 4,397th iphone due to cracks in the case. And I still haven’t found one that’s good at pounding in nails…
May 26th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
I have had my iPhone 3G for 3 years now and havent had a crack yet
May 26th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
@Rene I think it’s bs too, but you never know maybe it is his 9th…
May 26th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
hahahahahhaha at goin thru 9 iphones shut tha bullcrap up
May 26th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
if it cracked that many times, wouldnt you consider a case after the 3rd or 4th time that happened? lol…maybe its just USESR ERROR xD. my 3g is still mint, had it since december
May 26th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I’m on my 6th iPhone overall (2, 1st Gen 4, 2nd Gen). I have yet to crack the back of any of them! I’ve drop all except the current one. I know I should get a case but none are **** enough!
May 26th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
9th due to cracks ? Stfu
May 26th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
You guys are crazy…I’ve had my iPhone since 2002 and yet to see a crack!
May 26th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
my buddy has a black one that hasn’t suffered from cracks but I’m on my 3rd one due to cracks and I sport a case and never drop my phone. The cracks show up by the camera lens and the headphone jack.(mine is white) I don’t mind it but it’s a great reason to exercise warranty and get a fresh unit.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
You people.. The iPhone has only been out almost two years… And yes it’s does crack.. But only without a case, if you drop it hard.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Im on my 5th because of cracks. I keep it in a case and have never dropped any of them.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
I have had an my 3G since I skipped going to the theatre with ol’ Honest Abe to go wait in line- and it can still kill Cylons like it was brand new! Thanks, Cupertino!
May 26th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
I’m on my ninth vial of CRACK
May 26th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Gentleman. The slot on the bottom is not a crack. That’s where you plug in the cable to sync to iTunes.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Im wondering if the cracking that is happened on undropped iphones is because of cold and heat, or is those small cracks along the side of the glass you can only see in the dark.
May 26th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Mine white 3G is all cracked up, but I could care less, the phone works flawlessly, I didn’t buy this thing cause it was cute and pretty. Its a phone! It gets dropped, tossed around and keeps on ticking! I did manage to break off the chrome part of the mute switch and that kinda sucks. As long as it still works as intended, I don’t care how it looks.
May 26th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
@Chris Oldroyd The iPhone 3G hasn’t been out for 3 years…
May 26th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
The Rene Ritchie above is a spoof. Removed. Sorry.
May 26th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
No seriously I bought my iPhone in October of 2007 and I bent in the aluminum backing where the silent switch is. That’s the only thing after almost two years. But it still works as intended but looking foward to upgrading hopefully in September!
May 26th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
I am not liking that look…….
May 26th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
i really do.. beautiful back cover.. no scratches on the back, lovely.. my aluminium back cover is covered with it, so new hardware in the new iphone is always welcome..
May 26th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Wow. All the typical intelligent comments from the Douche bag fan boys. Love them. It’s a known issue with Apple and even they admit that there is an issue with it.. I’ve had them on both the White and Black versions, (Whites show the hairline cracks easier). I’ve had these cracks show up within a few weeks of replacement to five months (the longest span that has passed had before developing these hairline cracks). The first generation iPhone did not suffer from this. Then again, I have had mobile phones since the mid 90’s and never had an issue with weak plastic. So keep up with the comments. I just picture you geeks, sitting at your ‘office’, in your moms basement typing this inbetween WoW sessions.
May 26th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
BTW. I have two cases, an Incase hard shell and a leather belt holster. Doesn’t make a difference.
May 26th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
I don’t think that a cracked is a problem, but what if few drops of water get into those cracks?
May 26th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
I am unsure how this will pan out. We had an Apple Rep come by our school to preview some HD content we created. When he was making some notes on his iPhone I noticed the back had a red matte finish and yes, I ruled out a case. I thought maybe he did this as a post-bought thing… or maybe not…
May 26th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
The iPhone 3G has been out a bit over ten months. Canuck says he went five months at the longest without a crack. Therefore, he developed cracks on eight different phones within 5 months. He said it took “a few” weeks at minimum to develop cracks. Thus, eight of his phones must have cracked like clockwork – one every three weeks – to work in nine phones. That doesn’t leave any time to live with the cracks, like say waiting for the weekend to get a replacement.
If I were Canuck, you better pencil in a visit to an Apple Store next next weekend when your tenth phone cracks.
May 26th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
I call BS on CDMA. If they made a CDMA version it would be quad band like all other CDMA phones. So if they did make such a thing we would be hearing rumors of it coming to VZW and Sprint by now.
May 26th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
OTOH, a China only model keeps their exclusivity with ATT intact and prevents gray market phones from entering the US.
May 26th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Man I’m almost happy I’m still using my old 2G iPhone….its pretty crazy to think the 3G iphone ends up having so many cracking problems.
All the people I know with the 3G haven’t had any problems with cracks and I’ve always thought the phone’s back felt very solid so its a bit hard to believe all these cracking stories.
May 26th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
My iPhone received it’s first crack a few months ago. I think it looks cute, like a scar or something. I pet it, feed it, and make love to it, just like I do with my cat.
May 26th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
“we read that some one told some one else there will be 6 new iPhones, but by six we mean 1 with the same color options that exist now and 3 radio choices we have no choice of”. Wow biggest waste of blog ever!
May 26th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Stop Krakin’ It’s plastic!
May 26th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Sloppy says that I should pencil a date for next weekend. Well, Sloppy maybe I should considering that my current one is about three weeks old and it has a crack from the silencer switch to the bezel (which is a common point of cracking) that developed a week after I received it. And it is showing signs of hairline cracks around the headphone jack, ( yet another common spot). But that doesn’t matter any more since :APPLE: is refunding my $300 upgrade fee and stated that I should still replace my phone with another refurb. Am I typical in that I have cracks in my iPhone? No, this is a known issue.
Am I atypical for going through 9 of them? No. There are a few that have gone through 5-6 of them, but I have yet to match my record (not that I’m proud of it).
Apple went through this same issue with their 2nd Generation Ibook. In that the plastic would develops hairline cracks. Apple was covering these after the 1 yr warrenty. I have spent tens of thousands of dollars on Apple products since I switched back in ‘98. I am a loyal consumer and have never had any ‘real’ problems. I even defend Apple when my idiot Windoze associates give me grief about being a Mac Guy. But you know what. No matter how much you like a company or a product. You have to call them out when they make a product with a lot of bruises in it. I really like my iPhone and still think it’s one of the best phones out today, I don’t like the quality and Apple really dropped the ball in that department.
May 26th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I’m on by 1st and only iPhone 3G and it’s been dropped SEVERAL times. AND my friend ran it over after I dropped it getting out of his car..the only thing that happened was my case popped off…thank god. I’m very grateful mine is still in great condition after all the pain it’s been through
May 26th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
@Jesh: Actually no the iPhone 3G gets hairline cracks or “stretchmarks” just from being used for a while. It’s really pathetic actually. I haven’t seen my iPhone 3G naked since I got it in the mail because the last one I got got dirty a lot so I’m not sure if this one has stretchmarks yet but the other one had TONS of them. Actually around the headset jack there were so many that a piece of the phone between the headset jack and the chrome ring just fell off. PRETTY PATHETIC.
Metal backing for the win..
May 26th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
I had my iphone 3g 4 a year and don’t have no cracks
May 26th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
A 3G and a 3.5G? That doesn’t sound right.
May 26th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Sounds like a bogus rumor. Radio type depending on area you’re in? LOL
May 26th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Oh My User! Just three words. Plastic! Plastic! Plastic!
May 26th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
I think it looks awesome, very good looking device witch is typical at Apple I just can’t wait to they launch it.
May 26th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
@Joe McG. You crack me up man… LOL!
May 26th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Mine has a crack on the bottom by the dock connector I would take it back and get a replacement but I should probably wait til 3.0 comes out
May 26th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
@Adam Im on my third iphone, but i didnt need to replace it the first time it turns out. I hate cases and only actually had a crack from dropping it hard on the concrete once. I have never had stretch marks.. But i live in Colorado 7000 feet above sea level with almost no humidity.. idk
May 26th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
I’m on my second 3g due to dirt under the screen because my first one ha a hardware issue wit the metal ring not on properlly I’ve had it since July.
May 26th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
@ Jesh. I live in Denver. So lack of Humidity has nothing to do with it.
May 26th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
hey canuck canada is ghey fvck you!!!!!!!!!
May 26th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
wow. Even though the Chinese CDMA won’t work on any American network, i think since Apple is making different radios it is sort of a sign that apple might continue through with this in the future.
So Verizon 2010 ?
May 26th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
So lemme get this straight: You’re arguing against people who are implicitly saying the cracking is your fault by pointing out how it only happens to a few people, but keeps happening to the same people over and over again?
Brilliant!
May 27th, 2009 at 12:15 am
@CHRIS OLDASS WTF IPHONE HASNT BEEN OUT FOR 3 YEARS YOU IDIOT NOT EVEN A YEAR YET!!! HOPE ITS NOT LIKE THE PICTURE NO FLASH???
May 27th, 2009 at 1:38 am
I would like if my iphone had a matte finish on the back. It would be a better feel and a greater hold when messaging on the device. Less stylish though.
Or maybe now it’s optional. And your able to remove the back of the iPhone. Put a new battery within it when it’s drained. Place a diferrent preferred color rather than black or white back covering.
May 27th, 2009 at 5:10 am
Uh, so, all these hairline cracks, do they make it stop working? Fall apart?
My car has scratches from rocks hitting it because the clearcoat isn’t strong enough, but I don’t piss myself with anger over it. I just drive it around.
I don’t care what the back of my phone looks like. So what if everyone else looks at it all the time? I look at the FRONT, where the actual useful parts are.
May 27th, 2009 at 6:25 am
I would love to win this I have a old samsung phone and my boss hasn’t updated my phone. Please enter me I really could use a new one. I posted on facebook, twitter
May 27th, 2009 at 8:17 am
Everythingicafe had this excact same picture like more than a month a go. I’ll try and dig up the article.
May 27th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
To Canuck if you went through as many phones as you posted…. why not get another phone altogether???? No reason to hate “david beating up goliath”, Microsoft who? I’m a home improvement contractor and my 3g iPhone works great….. no cracks….. looks like new and is 11 months old! Apple Disclosure: Please don’t use your iPhone as a hammer…… it’s not intended to break big blocks of crack …… as this may lead to cracks developing in your phones case!
June 8th, 2009 at 12:53 am
@Chris Oldroyd:
I’D LOVE TO SEE WHERE U BOUGHT YOUR iPHONE 3G 3yrs ago!!! considering it was only released on July 11th 2008!!! Is it 2011 now? I musta been in a coma or something… fool.
June 8th, 2009 at 12:55 am
@Chris Oldroyd:
Infact the iPhone first generation hasn’t even been out for three years since it was released on June 29th, 2007.. Maybe you bought yours from “Blake 2″ who claims to have had one since 2002!!!! Lol..