Late last month, Japanese blog Mac Otakara sparked particular interest in a set of photos of an assembled front panel from the iPhone 5 by claiming that a square feature near the top of the part was likely to be related to near field communications (NFC) capabilities. That interest was quickly tamped down when The Loop reported later in the week that there would be no NFC in the iPhone 5.
Despite the fact that the square feature is slightly off-center with respect to the device, we've assumed that it must be the earpiece speaker, and consultations with experts at RepairLabs have suggested the same.
Assembled front panel with earpiece bracket removed – bracket and speaker at right
Sonny Dickson has now posted a new set of photos of the assembled front panel that shed some additional light on the situation. A couple of the photos show the square bracket having been removed, and one photo in particular contains a partial view of what does indeed appear to be an earpiece speaker.
Closeup of front panel with bracket and speaker removed and front camera folded back
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...
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...
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
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...
Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
Good grief. People, it is entirely possible that a woman might actually be involved here.
And for the record, I'm a girl, my fingernails are about that long, I never wear nail polish, and one of my nails broke this morning, so while it is filed nicely, it is shorter than the others.
The truth is, as much as NFC is a buzz word among new tech, especially for "geek ware" like the Nexus 2 phone, NFC still has a long way before getting off the ground.
Companies are still fighting over the standard in payment (much the same as the old Mondo vs. Monster vs. Interac vs. Visa vs. Mastercard fight when it came to debit cards) and retailers are wary to get involved with NFC until a standard is met. In fact, many are reluctant to invest money into something a bank will just offer for free in the future anyway.
Without a standard, NFC is simply a nice thing to boast about to technophiles.
I think you are greatly underestimating how useful NFC can be and how widespread it is outside of the United States. Just to give you an example: NFC is used in multiple European counties for the public transport (think about a bus, train, metro, etc.).
In Asia it is used for even more things. It's really the US who is lagging behind in this case.
I am absolutely shocked that some people have automatically declared NFC a useless technology because you haven't SEEN it being used, and you'd never use it yourself merely because you don't even understand what it is capable of.
1. Travel outside of your country, particularly to Asia and some countries in Europe where it is used for everything from vending machines to public transportation.
2. Just because you think it is useless doesn't mean it is. How can you not be comfortable using it to pay for something?
3. I've seen it used myself in my area, where it is available at grocery stores, clothing retailers, and gas stations. I've seen people who I wouldn't label as a techie use it as well.
I love Apple but some of you apologists/loyalists are getting ridiculous. There was once a time when Apple had ALL of the cutting edge features, and their phones were HANDS DOWN the best for both their features, performance and for the software. Unfortunately, they've fallen behind on nearly all counts.
If the iPhone 5 doesn't impress me, my current 4S will sadly be my last iPhone.
