A video that surfaced on the Internet a week ago has resurfaced. With today"s announcement of the Verizon iPhone, the video finally makes sense that it isn"t the next version of the iPhone, but the CDMA version.
The video, which was originally pulled by Apple Inc., has resurfaced on YouTube, showing an updated design of the internals. Although the video questions if this is the iPhone 5 or CDMA version, the answer is now clear that this video shows updated internal hardware for the Verizon iPhone. Although the video shows a MicroSIM slot, the Verizon iPhone does not contain a sim card slot, which could mean Apple may release an iPhone 4 hardware refresh soon.
Based on photos of the Verizon iPhone from today, with a new mute button placement with a black separation bar, it matches up to the model in the video. The video shows that the charging cable has been changed and the audio flex cable has been greatly changed - a design update that may improve video chat. The video also shows there is a missing camera hole, but doesn"t give reasons as to why. The next noticeable difference is the added screw holes, which could be to increase structural integrity of the device.
Updated designs like this are not uncommon for Apple, or any hardware manufacturer for that matter, to change during a products lifecycle. The improvements in the hardware could mean Apple has fixed the "antennagate" problem, without issuing bumpers to correct the fault.
In other news, MacWorld.com noted that existing iPhone 4 cases will not fit the Verizon iPhone, due to the movement of the mute switch. Such a simple design change, likely to conform the iPhone 4 to the CDMA chipset, and possibly other antenna designs, has made such a simple thing, like an iPhone case, a minor annoyance. This means you won"t be able to pick any case off the shelf in the Apple store and will have to wait for a modified case to hit the market or a specially designed case to release.
Image Credit: Slashgear