Some parts have been posted online that purport to belong to the iPhone 5s, or whatever Apple calls their next generation phone. While the iPhone 5 might continue the tradition of keeping the previous year's form factor, that doesn't mean the internals can't change. If these parts are genuine, they show updates to the vibrator assembly, earpiece and speaker brackets, and more. Here's the image from BGR:
Taking a look at the images, major updates could be made to the vibrator assembly, earpiece and loud speaker brackets, the SIM tray, and more. The photo above is a photo of the vibrator assembly and component cable running to it which purportedly will surface in the iPhone 5s. The photo pictured below shows the current vibrator component cable and motor that is found in the iPhone 5.
Apple made the switch from a rotational vibrator motor in the iPhone 4S back to a linear motor in the iPhone 5 which was an odd choice. Rotational motors are typically a lot smoother and have less problems. The vibrator motor in the GSM variant of the iPhone 4 had a linear motor and typically saw more issues than the rotational variant found in the CDMA 4 and the iPhone 4S. This switch back was probably made in the iPhone 5 in order to conserve on space.
It looks as if the next generation iPhone will still feature a linear vibrational motor but with an overhaul and better design. This isn't surprising as the iPhone 5 has suffered vibrator issues. In my experience with AnoStyle and according to iMore's sources within Apple, the current vibrator assembly in the iPhone 5 can be sketchy at best when it comes to performance. If the cable isn't secured just right with the contacts laying on top of it, it produces a weak and/or sporadic vibration pattern. Securing the assembly to the actual cable would make sense and most likely solve a lot of the issues users are experiencing with the iPhone 5.
The other changes such as the loud speaker and earpiece brackets aren't surprising as shields and brackets typically do see revisions every year to some extent. Currently the iPhone 5 earpiece speaker is attached to the display assembly. While there haven't been many issues reported to iMore, it does take up quite a bit of space and could be changed to make room to accommodate other revised components.
The SIM tray doesn't appear to take a different sized SIM card but is shallower which could indicate that the contacts on the board have moved slightly, which isn't all that surprising with revised components and internal hardware. You can hit the link below to view all the components BGR managed to snag photos of.
Overall, it appears that Apple is minimizing the amount of space component cables need to occupy. The WiFi flex has shrunk as well as many of the other brackets and components. This begs the question, what is Apple making space for?
Source: BGR
