Problems with scratching, paint mixtures and weight will lead Apple to abandon the glass back introduced in the iPhone 4, according to the Macotakara website. As a result, Apple will reportedly switch back to aluminium, the material used in the original iPhone, for the back of the unit.
The glass back is not the only design element from the iPhone 4 that will be abandoned, according to recent rumours. The problematic steel outer frame, which doubles up as the iPhone 4’s antenna, will also be scrapped after well-documented issues with reception problems suffered by the handset.
Instead, Apple will reportedly use a ‘logo antenna’ design with the antenna situated on the back of the device just under the logo.
The idea behind this is that the antenna could be placed in a special cavity where it would be isolated from other electronic components and therefore protected from anything that could potentially block radio-frequency signals. Per the report, the design will also use a special resin for the logo.
The iPhone 5 is expected to be announced in June at the WorldWide Developers Conference (WWDC). It is expected to support both CDMA and GSM technologies and use an A5 processor, similar to the iPad 2.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.