It’s looking increasingly likely that this year’s iPhone may adopt a predominantly glass design, with glass replacing aluminum for the rear casing. A report today suggests that Apple may also be switching back to a stainless steel frame, a design last seen in the iPhone 4 and 4S.
What’s less clear is whether that means a return to the flat-sided design used in the iPhone 4 through to 5S, or a curved edge like the iPhone 6 onwards …
Personally, I’ve always been a fan of the flat-sided design. It’s one of the reasons I switched from the iPhone 6s to the iPhone SE.
Flat-sided iPhones have been criticized for being uncomfortable to hold for long periods of time, but I suspect this is now a somewhat out-dated issue. The complaints I’ve encountered have all related to long phone calls. While some of course still make them, I’d hazard a guess that the typical iPhone owner these days spends far less time using it as a phone than they do using apps.
Why is this important? My personal experience is that we hold phones differently when using apps – so complaints about sharp edges are less of an issue. Plus any future iPhone will be slimmer, again helping the fingers wrap around it more comfortably.
I’m not alone in really liking the flat-sided look: there are comments to this effect every time it’s discussed. But others prefer the rounded edges of the iPhone 6 and up, so we thought it would be interesting to see the majority preference.
Let’s assume the design is, as expected, glass front and back with minimal bezels and a stainless steel edge. Should that edge be flat, as with the iPhone 4, or rounded, as with the iPhone 7?
Please take our poll, and share your thoughts on this in the comments.
An earlier poll on features found that you were most excited about the possibility of long-range wireless charging, OLED display and all-glass design.
