Quite a few technical challenges in this one. Not least, that microphone hole up at the top of the screen. I'm no expert, but that looks like it would be the number one source of cracked screens from the gentlest of knocks.

I'm not really a fan of concept designs for apple products, which are quite a popular past time it seems.

I don't know why the designers don't simply stand by their own work and say "this is my concept design for a phone".

"Not least, that microphone hole up at the top of the screen.I'm no expert, but that looks like it would be the number one source of cracked screens from the gentlest of knocks."

Minor point, but I guess it would be a speaker, not a microphone.

I enjoy seeing completely original concept designs, but I also like seeing what designers can do when restricted to an established design style as well. I feel like it can be equally difficult to itinerate on an establish design as it is to come up with something more original.

I remember seeing a really cool design concept last year for an iPhone 7 with a slide out physical keyboard while keeping the overall iPhone design language.

My Lumia 920 has a hole for the speaker in the glass at the top of the screen. Anecdotally at least, cracks are not a problem. There's a few chips of glass missing by now on the sides, mostly from dropping the phone, but it doesn't seem to be a point that is more prone to damage than others.

As far as the speaker, I'd like to see Apple try something like the bone conduction tech that Xiaomi uses in their MIX phone. It'd give them a seamless, all-glass front with the only holes in the phone the speaker grille and charging port at the base of the device.

I bet they'll remove all analog inputs / outputs, i.e. no microphone or speaker and even the charging connector. To talk on the phone you'll need to use AirPods + AirMics[1]. To charge the phone you'll place it on a charge mat[2] and Tim Cook will hail it as an Apple first.

People will complain, talk about how they've jumped the shark and won't be buying any more Apple products, and then proceed to by them in droves.

[1]: AirMics will have a new ad campaign featuring Michael Jordan.

[2]: The phone will come with one and additional mats will cost $59.95 from Apple or $19.95 from third parties.

Looks nice to look at, but I wish the designer gave more thoughts on usability.

For example, the images show different icons on the home button. One image shows the home button works as a crop button. How does a user supposed to go back home? Cancel? Done? Crop? Then in music app, which one to press for home? Is it the hamburger menu, square icon or press the hardware home button?

I would imagine it's tap the button for the secondary control, push the button always means home.

Every time I see one of these, it reminds me of the story about how Apple's official policy on rejecting unsolicited ideas made a little girl cry: http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/mac/apple-legal-makes-little-...

Would be nice if they provided the actual contents of the letter

It's probably the same sort of thing you see from authors rejecting plot suggestions unread, but a lot harsher, because Apple's lawyers are the sort who file their teeth to points.

Fine for an adult, but it might not have been a bad idea for someone to ask whether it was necessary for a nine-year-old girl. I'd have responded in a much more courteous and informative fashion, explaining why unsolicited ideas can't be reviewed or accepted. But I'm a software engineer, not a teeth-filing lawyer; like Bruce Boxleitner, I fight for the users.

I'm expecting design without any ports or buttons, just solid piece of glass with tiny holes for speaker and microphone. May be not for iPhone 8. Apple believes in wireless feature, they are known to work on wireless charging, they already removed audio port, so there's no much reason to keep single port and it would make iPhone somewhat special.

Looks pretty but not quite realistic. Expect the iPhone 8 to be very similar to the Galaxy S8 in design. i.e. no physical home button, curved screen and no bezels at sides but keeping small bezels top and bottom.

I currently have a Nexus 6P and I'm not sure how I feel about the trend of having curved screens. It doesn't seem to add much utility and comes with some significant drawbacks like a more easily broken screen. I'm also not sure how well you can get those tempered glass screen protectors to work. I would be somewhat surprised if Apple goes down that route. If they do then I'm sure the curved screen fad will be taken to a whole new level and I doubt I'll be able to buy a non-curved screen phone for much longer.

I'm sure having smaller bezels, especially on the top and bottom, will be a welcome improvement though.

The samsung edge family has a real wow factor to it. On the street they really stand out among the generic rectangle-with-rounded-corner design everyone else are holding.

I don't think it's the most ergonomic design, but it really looks cool. And let's face it, that's as important to many,

I agree. My experience with the curved Galaxy phones is limited to in store demos so I don't know how valid my ergonomic concerns are if I used the phone daily and got accustomed to it. I do agree they look very nice.

The Xiaomi Mi Mix is another phone with tiny/nonexistent bezels that looks great but has ergonomics that concern me.

Stand out? The only thing I see are slightly rounded edged of the screen. And that took me a close look.

That small detail really stands out when all other phones look so generic.

I don't think they'll get rid of the physical (or at least in the case of the iPhone 7 kind-of-physical) button. It's part of their design language. If they do it would have to be a prominent, always on part of the UI.

That is of course unless they completely redesign the phone.

Still wont be getting one though

technically the iphone 7's don't have physical home buttons...they're part of the screen and the "click" feeling you get is actually haptic feedback. try clicking the button when the phone is off and you'll find it does nothing (which is quite sad feeling, actually)

still can't get over the placement of the iphone 6/7's lock button -- directly opposite the volume up button. derp!

ask me how many times i've locked my phone trying to turn up the speaker volume. newton's third law anyone?

The most annoying thing about this for me is locking the phone when trying to use the volume as the shutter button. Particularly frustrating when you're at a concert and don't want to obscure people's view for too long or need to wait for the stage lighting to be bright enough for a decent shot. It's such an obvious flaw they must have discovered it during testing and decided it wasn't a big enough deal to change.

Looks a bit like an HTC/Pixel/Android phone doesn't it?

If a Pixel and the Xiaomi Mi Mix had a child, this is how it would look like.

I'd like a solution that doesn't require a case so you can lay your phone flat and not have the protruding camera make it wobbly on your desk.

It's like 1 mm or something, does anyone really notice/care if the entire housing was 1mm thicker to provide a flush back? How much more life would 1mm of battery provide?

Finally, is there some design consideration I am not thinking of that this protruding camera is an advantage in scenarios?

I thought the reason for the small protrusion was to make it easier to attach third party camera lenses to the phone (not that I've ever seen one)

A nice touch would have been to include a "Fall 2018" slide like you see in a lot of movie trailers. I'm presuming that the iPhone 7s is probably already in physical mockup if not preproduction.

Anybody recognizes what's the track behind the video? I like it.

Pista Oldies Hip Hop / Beat Rap Oldies/(Prod: Ema Beatz)

thanks!

It says it at the end.

I really hope Apple squares off the sides of the next iPhone. The current 6-era design is a slippery mess.

You mean like on the SE? God please no. Having the device taper at the edges makes it feel less bulky.

It feels less bulky, sure. But it's so slippery you basically have to use a case.

It's freakishly looks like, production-ready. Good job.

Yet another site that cannot show text, images and video, none of the three, without uploading bloatware into my text-image-video viewer.

That's exactly what we need: a touch bar on the iPhone, too. /s