iPhone 6's release date may be less than a year away. Rumors have been swirling for months regarding features such as the Sapphire glass screen, the Touch Recognition, refocusable camera and many more. The latest information suggests the iPhone 6 will be released in September 2014. Yet perhaps the best insight into what we can expect from Apple's next stmartphone comes from tech designers who truly understand and love the product. Latin Times spoke with designer Adrian Valenzuela about his latest concept design: the iPhone Pro.
Latin Times: As a designer, what is interesting to you about Apple's product design? Adrian Valenzuela: What I love about Apple's product design is the extreme care and high quality of their products. They build products ahead of their time and build them to last. I have a MacBook Pro from 2009 and it is still going strong! I doubt you can say the same about any other PC made from that year. Also those other 2009 laptops look so outdated and bulky, while my Macbook still looks very modern, sleek, and beautifully crafted. The point is that Apple thinks about everything and it shows in their products. I love that they are minimalists and they simplify everything aesthetically and how it all functions.
LT: What is the best part about the iPhone design? What sets it apart from competitors? AV: There are so many things I love about the iPhone design. I love the symmetry of it. I currently have the iPhone 5 and I love that they added the aluminum back to it. Not only does it give it a feel that it will withstand drops better than the all glass models of the 4 and 4S, but it also ties it in with the design of their other products such as the iMac, Macbook Pro, and iPad; The aluminum makes the products feel like a cohesive family.
I think what sets it apart from it's competitors is the way it was crafted. Every single piece of hardware was designed and put together and optimized to work really well with each other. High quality, non-cheap plastic feel, intuitive design, and strong OS all help. iOS is not limited like they say either, just about anything practical and necessary a phone should do, iPhone does it. I think thing like scrolling with your eyes or pausing a video when you look away are gimmicky. Most people turn off such feature in there android to save battery life and such.
LT: What, if any, do you see as flaws in the current iPhone models? AV: I really believe they should be a little more ahead with their design. Don't get me wrong, when they do something they do it well, but when they first designed the iPhone it was five years ahead of their time. Now it is only a year or two ahead. Android along with other hardware phone manufacturers are coming out with neat hardware and software features that make you say wow! I like the new Touch ID on the 5S, as well as it being 64-bit and camera burst feature, but it's still not "Forward Thinking" enough. If it still allows people to say "Well let me see what the iPhone 6 is going to be like" before they use their upgrade or dish out some cash, then you know they aren't pushing the envelope like they used to be.
LT: What inspired you to come up with your own iPhone 6 design? AV: I had owned a Galaxy Nexus right before my iPhone 5. What I really loved about the Nexus was that it was all touch screen. There was no hardware home button of any sort. I felt it made the phone "futuristic" because it was the first phone that had an all touch front, never mind the sleep/power button and volume rockers. I thought why isn't Apple doing this now? So I made my own concept based on those all touch principles and iPhone 5's current design. I only had the Nexus for a couple months and bought the iPhone 5 because of the overall package I got from it. Before the Nexus I had an iPhone 4 for the last couple years so I was already used to the OS and how it worked, plus the iPhone just looks so beautiful. haha.
LT: What new features have you included and why? What is your source for these ideas? AV: Aside from being all touch, a lot of the features I have added to my concept were ideas I have read or thought over time. Over the years here and there I would hear about some sort of new technology or design approach and certain things stuck with me. For example, Jony Ive was interviewed in the documentary about product design called Objectified. In the movie he talks about the indicator light only appearing when it is needed and when it is not it sort of disappears or blends into the aluminum. I was blown away when I heard him say that. I took that concept and added it to my touch volume and sleep buttons. When I first heard about wireless charging on a charging pad I did more research and heard about a new tech or patent that allows our body's electrodes to recharge the phone. It was a small article I read years ago and have no idea how to find it now. But it always stuck with me and thought it was neat. Now that I think about it some sort of solar charging approach can be applied to the phones too, I have to look into that and see how far they are coming along.
LT: The size of the iPhone 6 has generated a lot of talk. Why did you choose the size you did? AV: I made my concept phone a bit thinner, a bit wider, and a tad bit shorter. Even though the phone is shorter there is still enough room to increase the size of the of the screen once the buttons were removed and speakers were moved. I went a bit wider but not so much because Apple brings out a good point that if it is too wide you can't use it with one hand. I remember having my Galaxy Nexus and having to use both hands to text and navigate. I held my iPhone 5 and touch across the screen to see how far I can go comfortably and I went with that size. I went thinner to hold true to Apple's pattern in that aspect.
LT: Do you think Apple will go even thinner with the next model and introduce an iPhone Air? AV: Yes! I think they will go thinner. I hope so. It's too heavy of a pattern that they show to not believe that. And if they name it the iPhone Air I think that would be pretty sweet. I feel that every product labeled "Air" would have a counterpart labeled "Pro" like in the Macbook series. I know this isn't true for the iPad however. Which is why if they implement an iPhone Air they should introduce my iPhone Pro concept! haha.
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