Late last month, Japanese blog Mac Otakara sparked particular interest in a set of photos of an assembled front panel from the iPhone 5 by claiming that a square feature near the top of the part was likely to be related to near field communications (NFC) capabilities. That interest was quickly tamped down when The Loop reported later in the week that there would be no NFC in the iPhone 5.
Despite the fact that the square feature is slightly off-center with respect to the device, we've assumed that it must be the earpiece speaker, and consultations with experts at RepairLabs have suggested the same.
Assembled front panel with earpiece bracket removed – bracket and speaker at right
Sonny Dickson has now posted a new set of photos of the assembled front panel that shed some additional light on the situation. A couple of the photos show the square bracket having been removed, and one photo in particular contains a partial view of what does indeed appear to be an earpiece speaker.
Closeup of front panel with bracket and speaker removed and front camera folded back
Monday November 10, 2025 1:08 pm PST by Juli Clover
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Apple silicon chip that replaced Intel chips in Apple's Mac lineup. The first Apple silicon chip, the M1, was unveiled on November 10, 2020. The M1 debuted in the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Pro.
The M1 chip was impressive when it launched, featuring the "world's fastest CPU core" and industry-leading performance per watt, and it's only ...
Monday November 10, 2025 1:55 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple will conceal the front-facing camera under the screen of its 2027 iPhone, a Chinese leaker said today, corroborating reports that Apple's 20th anniversary iPhone will have no visible cutouts in the display.
Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station said Apple's development of under-screen camera technology was progressing as planned for adoption in 2027, one year after it will...
Monday November 10, 2025 11:41 am PST by Juli Clover
The thin, light iPhone Air sold so poorly that Apple has decided to delay the launch of the next-generation iPhone Air that was scheduled to come out alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, reports The Information.
Apple initially planned to release a new iPhone Air in fall 2026, but now that's not going to happen.
Since the iPhone Air launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales...
Tuesday November 11, 2025 1:23 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple has teamed up with Japanese fashion house ISSEY MIYAKE to launch iPhone Pocket, a 3D-knitted limited edition accessory designed to carry an iPhone, AirPods, and other everyday items.
The accessory is like a stretchy pocket, not unlike an iPod Sock, but elongated to form a strap made of a ribbed, elastic textile that fully encloses an iPhone yet allows you to glimpse the display...
Tuesday November 11, 2025 9:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the first iOS 26.2 beta last week. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more.
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date....
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
Apple is expected to announce a new HomePod mini imminently, headlining with new chips. Here are all of the new features we're expecting.
The second-generation HomePod mini is highly likely to contain a more up-to-date chip for more advanced computational audio and improved responsiveness. The current HomePod mini is equipped with the Apple Watch Series 5's S5 chip from 2019. Apple is likely ...
The future of Apple Fitness+ is "under review" amid a reorganization of the service, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple Fitness+ remains one of the company's "weakest digital offerings." The service apparently suffers from high churn and little revenue.
Nevertheless, Fitness+ has a small, loyal fanbase that...
Cellular carriers have always offered big savings on the newest iPhone models during the holidays, and Black Friday 2025 sales have kicked off at AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and more. Right now we're tracking notable offers on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air. For even more savings, keep an eye on older models during the holiday shopping season.
Note: MacRumors is...
Thursday November 6, 2025 11:12 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store.
The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump.
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Good grief. People, it is entirely possible that a woman might actually be involved here.
And for the record, I'm a girl, my fingernails are about that long, I never wear nail polish, and one of my nails broke this morning, so while it is filed nicely, it is shorter than the others.
The truth is, as much as NFC is a buzz word among new tech, especially for "geek ware" like the Nexus 2 phone, NFC still has a long way before getting off the ground.
Companies are still fighting over the standard in payment (much the same as the old Mondo vs. Monster vs. Interac vs. Visa vs. Mastercard fight when it came to debit cards) and retailers are wary to get involved with NFC until a standard is met. In fact, many are reluctant to invest money into something a bank will just offer for free in the future anyway.
Without a standard, NFC is simply a nice thing to boast about to technophiles.
I think you are greatly underestimating how useful NFC can be and how widespread it is outside of the United States. Just to give you an example: NFC is used in multiple European counties for the public transport (think about a bus, train, metro, etc.).
In Asia it is used for even more things. It's really the US who is lagging behind in this case.
I am absolutely shocked that some people have automatically declared NFC a useless technology because you haven't SEEN it being used, and you'd never use it yourself merely because you don't even understand what it is capable of.
1. Travel outside of your country, particularly to Asia and some countries in Europe where it is used for everything from vending machines to public transportation.
2. Just because you think it is useless doesn't mean it is. How can you not be comfortable using it to pay for something?
3. I've seen it used myself in my area, where it is available at grocery stores, clothing retailers, and gas stations. I've seen people who I wouldn't label as a techie use it as well.
I love Apple but some of you apologists/loyalists are getting ridiculous. There was once a time when Apple had ALL of the cutting edge features, and their phones were HANDS DOWN the best for both their features, performance and for the software. Unfortunately, they've fallen behind on nearly all counts.
If the iPhone 5 doesn't impress me, my current 4S will sadly be my last iPhone.
