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Next year’s new iPhone could look just like the iPhone 4

Allison Matyus
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Even though the next-generation iPhone 11 was released less than a week ago, people are already looking to the future designs for Apple’s iconic phone — and it’s looking like it could be a blast from the past. 

TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo — who is something of an oracle when it comes to iPhone predictions — says there are likely “significant changes” coming to the next iPhone, particularly to its metal frame. It could be very similar to previous iPhones, according to CNBC.

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“The surface of the metal frame will change to be flat instead of the current curved surface, which is similar to the design of the iPhone 4′s metal frame,” Kuo said in a report released Wednesday

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Apple iPhone 4
The classic Apple iPhone 4. Getty Images

Recent iPhone designs have a curved edge, but if you remember the iPhone 4, that phone had straight edges on the sides. Kuo said that the new design would be a selling point for next year’s iPhones and predicts a boost in sales for 2020. 

While it’s not a huge deal that we could go from curved edges to straight edges again, it’s interesting to see how Apple will alter the iPhone in order to support 5G network connections as networks begin to roll out 5G capabilities. The iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max weren’t released with 5G, but analysts expect Apple to embrace 5G in 2020.

The iPhone’s overall design hasn’t changed too much since its debut in 2007, but Apple has added or subtracted certain features to keep up with the modern needs of users. From the removal of the home button and getting rid of the headphone jack to a thinner body thanks to high-end OLED screens, the iPhone is still a rectangular, touch screen smartphone. 

We’ve seen iPhone’s change in color, too: From the first generation that was plain black, to the iPhone 3 that introduced white, to the iPhone 5 that left us with gold and silver finishing. There’s also 2018’s iPhone XR, which comes in orange, yellow, red, and blue.

Digital Trends reached out to Apple to comment on these design speculations. We’ll update this story if we hear back. 

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