2011年09月16日
iPhone 5 Home Button
From HowToArena.comEarlier photos that purported to show reams of new, larger iPhone 5 screens sporting elongated home buttons has met some fresh skepticism.
iPhone 5 enthusiasts may remember a set of leaked photos from mid August that purported to depict staffers at either Fxconn or Pegatron churning out reams of new screens for the iPhone 5, and that these new screens were decidedly larger than the iPhone 4, complete with an elongated home button cutout. We reported on it — albeit with a healthy bit of skepticism — in an earlier article. These photos became exhibit A in the speculation that the iPhone 5 would indeed feature an overhaul of its current from factor, which would include a 4″+ screen and radical changes to the home button — two iPhone 5 features that have received a lot of attention over the past year or so.
A new revelation today from HowToArena, however, purports to show a leaked component for the iPhone 5 that would suggest the home button will remain the standard, circular button featured on previous iPhone models.
According to AppleInsider, who has helped to perpetuate the story, “The “iPhone 5 Home Button Flex Cable Ribbon Circuit,” found by How To Arena, appears to indicate that the home button of the next-generation iPhone will have a similar shape and size as the one found on previous iPhone models.”
This new piece of evidence, albeit unconfirmed, supports the other end of speculation regarding the next iPhone: that it will retain the overall form factor and hardware characteristics of the iPhone 4. The iPhone 5 News Blog‘s own source from within the consumer electronics accessories industry, who chooses to remain anonymous, has continuously confirmed that the next iPhone will indeed utilize the iPhone 4′s specs, which we have reported in earlier articles. Even as recently as today, he confirmed to us in an e-mail, “By the way, looks like it’s quite clear that what the new iPhone will look like. We are delighted that our old iPhone cases can continue to sell…”
To be sure, the photo of this purported home button component is an easy one to fabricate: you simply have to take an iPhone 4 and start telling people it’s actually from an iPhone 5. At the same time, it can be argued that a small part like this would be much easier to smuggle out of Foxconn or Pegatron than to take a relatively clear photo of staffers pumping out sheets of new iPhone 5 screens admist the draconian security that Apple’s components suppliers and assemblers are no doubt required to maintain.
At best, this new photo is a wash, and simply counters the earlier elongated home button/larger screen claims. It is by no means what we could call a “smoking gun” piece of iPhone 5 evidence.
