iPhone 5 Front Glass Panel Leaked in Video: Bigger, Better, Stronger

By Alexandra Burlacu | Aug 10, 2012 09:01 AM EDT

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As we rapidly approach the highly-anticipated launch of the next-generation iPhone, rumors, leaks, and speculation are constantly surfacing and intensifying. While there have been plenty of leaked videos starring the alleged iPhone 5, a new video from iPhone parts supplier Etrade Supply has surfaced courtesy MacRumors and comes as the most detailed video so far.

In the new video and photo comparison with the iPhone 4S, Etrade Supply provided the exact measurements of the next-generation iPhone, detailing size and minor design tweaks such as a thinner panel, smaller home screen, larger and taller overall display, and the camera sensor relocated from the left to the center, just above the earpiece.

According to the 7-minute video that compares the new iPhone with the iPhone 4S, the new 4.065-inch panel is 0.1mm thinner, the home button is 0.3mm smaller, and the estate surrounding the home button area shrinks from 18mm to 15.40mm. This way, Apple could minimize the overall size of the handset while also increasing the size of the display.

Moreover, Etrade's analysis also suggested better light transmittance, as well as improved scratch resistance. Higher light transmittance should make the display brighter with less backlighting, which in turn should extend battery life. The display is also more scratch-resistant than that of the iPhone 4S.

"First of all let's see the display screen. From the picture, we can see that the iPhone 5 glass lens is 90.25mm long, 51.60mm wide, while iPhone 4S is 76.65mm and 51.60mm,"Etrade reported. "The display area enlarges from 3.61 inches t 4.065 inches. The LCD screen can be a little smaller, and that will be around 4 inches. What's important, the resolution ratio of iPhone 5 glass lens is around 16:9, which will be a big change for iPhone."

This video follows another video Etrade posted last month, allegedly showing the metal chassis Apple will use for the next-generation iPhone. That video showed several exciting features, including a unibody metal chassis, possibly made from Liquidmetal alloy. Other features included a larger body, indicating a 4-inch screen, seemingly unchanged widths, thinner design, smaller SIM tray, headphone jack relocated to the bottom of the device, a smaller dock connector, larger speaker grill, and seemingly unchanged on/off switch, volume control and mute switch.

Numerous reports have previously indicated that the next-generation iPhone will be taller, faster due to 4G LTE capabilities, while the 1GB of RAM will enhance overall performance. The new front panel for the iPhone 5 is 10 percent thinner than the iPhone 4S' panel and the glass provides 17 percent more viewing area for the display. The thinner glass also falls in line with a Wall Street Journal report that stated Apple will be using a touchscreen sensor integrated into the device's LCD panel, a technique known as "in-cell technology."

To sum it up, rumored/expected features so far include a 4-inch screen, 4G LTE capabilities, NFC (Near Field Communication) support, 1GB of RAM, a quad-core processor, thinner design, metal chassis, as well as a high-definition front-facing camera for improved video chat. Apple is expected to unveil the new iPhone during a press conference on Sept. 12, and the handset it expected to arrive about a week later on Sept. 21.

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