iPhone 5 Frankencasing Gets Video Fondle

What's tipped to be the iPhone 5 casing has cropped up on video after a photoshoot this weekend, further showing the elongated form-factor that's believed to accommodate a new, 4-inch screen. Pieced together from constituent parts by Japanese repair site iLab, the device in the video shared by Macotakara - and which you can see after the cut – is of course hollow and doesn't include the display itself, but it does give us a better impression of what the new iPhone might look like.

Other differences from the iPhone we've seen on sale so far include a new antenna design, along with a centrally-placed front facing camera that is now positioned right above the earpiece. The handset is expected to be roughly the same width as the existing iPhone 4S, stretched only in one direction; screen resolution is tipped to be similarly elongated in one dimension.

Internally, the biggest change is the antenna. Whereas in the current model, the outer edge strip is split up into several lengths of antenna for the multiple radios in the phone, on this new iPhone the antenna is seemingly fused to the inner back plate.

That could certainly help avoid "holding it wrong" signal issues, caused by people accidentally bridging the iPhone 4/4S antenna sections, which caused a furore among owners and reviewers two years ago. Meanwhile, there's also signs of the new, smaller dock connector, which allows the headphone jack to be moved to the bottom edge.

Most importantly, the one-handed control potential seems to have been maintained. Apple has been reluctant to switch to larger screens, citing – among other reasons – the fact that it can be difficult to hold a large touchscreen phone in one hand and still reach across the display with the thumb. That doesn't appear to be the case with the chassis in the video below.

[via Kote Pacheco]