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Is Apple ashamed of this iPhone 6 design ‘flaw’?

Published Sep 16th, 2014 3:40PM EDT
iPhone 6 Design and Camera

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Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models have one big design “flaw,” assuming that’s an accurate word to describe it: A slightly protruding camera ring that’s nothing like what we’ve seen on previous iPhones. Many users will likely not mind the camera ring, especially considering Apple has gone to great lengths to further improve the camera performance in iPhones, but that doesn’t mean Apple is necessarily happy about the compromise it had to make to achieve its new designs.

FROM EARLIER: Here’s one important area where some people think the iPhone 6 Plus falls short

In fact, it turns out that Apple is actively trying to hide the ring as much as possible on its website, Ben Brooks has observed, as the company is suggesting the ring is hardly visible in most marketing images it posted on its iPhone 6 pages. Looking at Apple’s design section for the iPhone, you’ll notice that all profile pictures of the iPhone 6 do not show the protruding camera lens at all, and there are very few instances where the ring is visible in the other pictures.

For what it’s worth, the iPhone 6 models aren’t the first smartphones with protruding cameras.

In fact, there are many smartphone users old enough to remember that the iPhone 4 (measuring 9.3mm) was declared to be the slimmest smartphone in the United Kingdom in September 2011, not the Galaxy S2, which was slimmer-but-not-quite. While the Galaxy S2 was mostly 8.71mm thin, the device had a protruding rear camera and a bulkier antenna section at the bottom that measured 9.91 mm. Those design “flaws” were enough for the U.K. ad authority to rule the iPhone 4 is thinner, but they never stopped Samsung from announcing the handset as the slimmest handset in the world that February.

Meanwhile, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are Apple’s thinnest devices to date, measuring 6.9mm and 7.1mm thick, respectively.

Apple has yet to explain (or replace) the marketing images it used on its website.

Images from Apple’s website that make the new iPhones’ camera ring disappear follow below, with more available on Apple’s website.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.