Aghhh, the aluminum back was one of the great features of the iPhone.

fatter is upsetting, but i like the direction toward glossy black.

How certain is this? I'd do it.

if the black plastic back gives better reception, i'm all for it.
if the slightly thicker set phone means better battery life, i'm all for it.
but if it's only 8GB - shove it.
I get the feeling, we will see the revision, and it will be 32gb too.
God i hope o2 come up with a good upgrade offer, i just want 3g!

assuming this is true, a lot of people are going to be upset with their first gen iPhones.

@Darrone:

no way
aluminum is way better
does like as cheap
feels sturdy and looks nicer

sorry

doesnt look as cheap

@big_marky_t: Picky Picky. . . . lol

Thats slicck, so once this comes out any one wanna buy my current one?

I highly doubt it will be larger, Apple usually doesn't work that way. Even with the added functionality.

Glossy = Cheesy. Stick with Al.

I stand by my statement that I'll get a 3rd gen 3G iPhone.

If its in matte black I am all in, I hate cleaning the back.

Like the original iPhone wasn't slippery enough!

I am going to partially agree with innout3x3 on this one. Why does everything have to be glossy? Give me one in a nice solid black matte finish.

@flame500: Yea, but how do you scratch the aluminum? Now this will be like all the other ipods except the mini and 2nd gen nano.

Just read the comments at the competitor's site. I'm so glad that my fellow Gizmodians are mature & sensible (even though sometimes it doesn't seem that way).

Also - It is so nice to be on the backside of this wave. iPhone 2 looks to be a lot better than the first gen (true of all tech, I know).

@Thoth74: Yes, glossy looks great on the shelf before you buy. Then it turn to finger print heaven.

@ Matt Buchanan wrote "It's also a little fatter (probably cause of GPS and battery..."

Don't forget that the plastic case will also be thicker to accommodate the same durability of the aluminium back.

@flame500: That is form over function. I like the looks too, but the plastic back will help with the antenna, especially with the additional "fickleness" that occurs with higher bandwidth radio.

@big_marky_t: 32GB? Really? What cell phone do you have know that pales the iPhone 8GB capacity? 32GB in the space currently occupying the 8Gb and 16GB chips would be an increase well past what you are willing to pay. The prices have come down but not that much.

I have a Helio Ocean right now, mostly because I wanted the 3G, have been waiting for this since the rumor mill started. Can't wait to see what the final offering actually looks like/features

@Thoth74: It's part of the Star Wars Empire series from Apple.

@lladnar: i see no reason they should be upset. their phone is a year old. technology changes.

Why would they use Glossy (smudgy, scratches) Black?
Matte, matte, matte!!!!

@scatpack: I agree, I was sure that apple would integrate some sort of subtle texture to keep the slippery iphones in check.
just add a little moisture and iphone smashing tvs will be replace wii controllers.

3G and GPS? Sold.

ive always considered the Alu back and the chrome lining the ugliest part of the iphone.
Actually the device itself, the UI and such is about the only beautiful thing about it.

With this update i'd be sold if it didnt cost an arm and a leg here in Europe.

How could it ship in July? Doesn't it need FCC approval and all that first?

That is so a photoshop, 100% photoshop.

And if it is real, can you say "2001: Monolith"

So who wants to sell me their current iPhone when they get the new one?

AAAARRRRRGH! Glossy anything makes me want to puke. I can see it now: You rub your fingerprints off the screen, then rotate it to rub the fingerprints off the back...no, wait...there's fingerprints on the front again! (rinse and repeat)

@spyguy99: If you convince Esteban el Jobo to go matte, I'll sell you mine.

you're linking to the arch nemesis engadget! for shame!

As far as the features list, i would say this rumor is believable. But i really doubt that they would make it any thicker, and as much as people bitch about smudging and scratching, i cant see them making the back glossy.

who cares what the back looks like or how thick it is? People will put on funky colored protection case on it anyway.
(99 out of 100 iphones I spotted on the street are enclosed in a case or skin of some sort.)

@johnnyabnormal: So what changes? The screen on my Touch gets dirty... I flip it, the back gets dirty. They definitely need matte.

Kldvnkjrs, nrgskjn.

This is love.

I really hated the matte version of the iPhone. It's ugly. If this is real, you can be sure I'm getting it!

By the way, IMO Thick = Better!

I dunno, I like thick phones.

Question of the day: waht will you do with you 1st gen iPhone when iPhone 2 comes out?

This one looks as this coated one upgrade [www.gigapascal.com]

I think is a fake

Props for properly crediting Engadget!

I'm sure you'll notice that Engadget likes steal Giz stories multiple times a day and never once give you proper credit.

And no, if you heard it first on Giz, and then go to their sources, you should still need to mention where you saw it in the first place.

Good job Giz, way to be the bigger bloggy thing.

@pipper: InvisibleShield by Zagg is a great option too. It's practically the same as a silicon skin, but it doesn't look as ugly!

@dwilljo, @atuck: Yes, we actually link to Engadget. Not the first, probably won't be the last time.

what about those rumors about 5 MP camera?... this and adittion to 3G &GPS, i believe, it's the most wanted for current iphone owners.

Thicker? The first gen is just bearable with a decent case on it. And with the gloss black on the back, i'm going to be forced to wrap a case around the 2nd gen. Blah.

i'm wondering if AT&T will let you port your number from a 1st gen phone to a 2nd gen iPhone...

you can definitely mod 1st gen iphones to look exactly like this if you go to colorware.com...

@iscangel: and some memory expansion, please, microSD, or maybe even normal SD.

Does that volume button look black or chrome to you? It looks like black plastic to me.

@mxmarks: Of course. They let you do that any current subscribers when the original iPhone was released. What will happen is that you'll use the new SIM card which will get you a new 24 month contract.

Jailbroken/Unlocked iPhones will finally be on AT&Ts network as people buy the new iPhone and don't want to renew their subscription contract.

Maybe they will make this slightly easier hold than wet bar of soap in a kiddypool full of baby oil?

Also, they need to ditch the glass screen. I have seen so many cracked screens (including my own -- because of the slick as all get out case and once because of a lot of alcohol), it's really pretty ridiculous.

And to preempt anyone telling me It's my fault for not putting it in a case: The cases I have seen all defeat the purpose of the phones aesthetics.

Why buy something pretty if you're going to put it in a clunky plastic case?

@yogibimbi: Because 8 or 16GB isn't enough for a cell phone despite being higher than all other cell phones?

If they didn't offer that option when SSD was more expensive and aren't giving you a replaceable battery I wouldn't count on getting an SD slot.