The new iPhone 5 may continue to offer a glass body but with a completely new design

There are numerous rumors circulating about the upcoming iPhone 5. We can be pretty sure that some of them are true, such as the phone that offers a quad-core processor and NFC capabilities. Others are a bit less realistic, but a new rumor has emerged related to the design of the phone that seems very plausible.

Many websites have reported that the new iPhone 5 will sport an aluminum chassis, but this new rumor suggests that Apple is still experimenting with glass and ceramic designs for the phone body. If the company decides on another glass body, we can be sure that the model will be considerably thinner than the iPhone 4S. This model incorporated toughened Gorilla Glass on the front and back of the phone and, since this model was launched, a second generation of Gorilla Glass has been launched with the main difference that the material is now thinner than ever. Apple likes to make its devices different from its rivals and is currently the only manufacturer to use an all-glass body. A switch to aluminum would simply make the iPhone similar to a handful of other models, like the Blackberry Bold 9900.

Since the original iPhone was released, there have only been two major phone design changes and we can safely predict that the new iPhone 5 will be the third. The original iPhone featured a curved plastic back panel that gave the model an almost pebble-like appearance. A slim metal-colored bezel surrounded the display and the main home button was located in the center directly below the display. The first major change in this design came with the introduction of the iPhone 4. This model was the first to sport the glass design that is still offered on the iPhone 4S. The design is more angular than previous models with two sheets of glass separated by a strip of aluminum that runs along the four sides of the phone. This glass design meant that the color variations of the phone were noticeably different. In previous versions, only the back panel of the device changed color and from the front of the phone you would not know if you were using a white or black variant. The glass design allowed a colored sheet to be used on the front panel and on the back. This is one of the reasons why the white iPhone 4 and 4S have proven so popular.

Despite the suggestions of a new metallic iPhone 5, it seems highly likely that Apple will choose to continue with the use of glass and ceramic materials. The new Gorilla Glass two will allow the phone to be the thinnest iPhone ever released, while also allowing Apple to offer something different from many of its competitors.