Apple has been rumored to be building a new, cheaper iPhone 4 ("iPhone 4S") alongside the iPhone 5, for an October launch. This iPhone 4S is believed to use different components and less storage to lower manufacturing costs. It appears Apple may have also taken this opportunity to make changes to the antenna design as well.
New "iPhone 4S" part images we've received from iPatchiPods suggest that the iPhone 4S will look much like the iPhone 4, but with some notable differences in the frame.
The mid-frame images above show that this so-called iPhone 4S will have two antenna breaks at the bottom of the casing. This differs from both the AT&T (GSM) iPhone 4 and Verizon (CDMA) iPhone 4. In AT&T's iPhone, the antenna breaks are in two spots, along the lower left side and top left sides. On the Verizon's model they are both at the top sides of the casing.
The reason for the movement of the antenna breaks is to accommodate different frequencies of the different mobile technologies. This "iPhone 4S" appears to have a slot for a SIM card, suggesting that at a minimum it will support the GSM standard like the original AT&T iPhone 4. It is believed the iPhone 5 will support both GSM and CDMA, but we haven't heard anything definitive about the band support for this iPhone 4S.
Also, of note, the mute switch and volume switches are on the same side of this casing, just like the iPhone 4.
The bottom portion of the frame is shown here. As noted by iFixIt's Scott Head, what's most interesting about this part as compared to the iPhone 4 part, is the lack of any defined "Home Button" area. The corresponding iPhone 4 part shows a cut-out area for the Home Button. It's hard to draw an conclusions from this, but there has been a lot of speculation that Apple could be changing the Home Button area on the iPhone 5.
There still may be some confusion in the parts supply chain about what pieces are intended for what devices, but iPatchiPods' source does believe that these mid-frames are intended for the cheaper revision of the iPhone 4.
Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie.
"Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by Juli Clover
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Monday February 9, 2026 6:24 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps.
The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future.
To set up the...
New MacBook Pro models with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips could arrive as soon as Monday, March 2, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the release of new MacBook Pro models is tied to the release of macOS Tahoe 26.3. The launch is said to be slated for as early as the week of March 2. He added that the M4 Pro and M4 Max models on sale today...
