Interactive site lets users design a custom, fictional “next iPhone”

"Design the Next iPhone," an interactive website from developer Neal Agarwal, gives users control over a virtual iPhone's look, including the option to combine conventional smartphone components with deliberately impractical accessories. The interactive tool starts with a bare iPhone model that can be rotated in 3D, with users able to drag and drop components onto its surface. Cameras, volume buttons, Lightning ports, Home buttons, and Apple logos can be placed wherever users want, with multiple copies of each item available for more unconventional designs. Beyond standard smartphone features, the site offers a headphone jack, HDMI port, Apple Watch-style Digital Crown, and a hinge. Users can also add an Android or pear logo, a rotary dial, an antenna, or a classic iPod click wheel. The more absurd options include a steering wheel, a joystick, and a Mac Pro "Pro Wheel." Users can customize the device's color and wallpaper, and give their creation a name. Selecting "Present" generates a mock Apple product presentation with a fictional price based on the components added, along with a pop-up of former Apple CEO Tim Cook praising the design. The finished iPhone can be downloaded as a rotating video. Visit the site to try making your own.This article, "Fan Site Lets You 'Design the Next iPhone'" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

If you ever wanted to design your own iPhone, a new website gives you the tools. “Design the Next iPhone” is a one-off site from Neal Agarwal, a game designer, that lets users add features ranging from serious to absurd to customize a new iPhone. The site features a 3D rendering of a standard iPhone that users can rotate and redesign with drag and drop features. You can add familiar features like a dual or Pro camera, volume button, lightning port, Apple logo, and home button. The twist is that they can be added anywhere, in any quantity. And while the demo iPhone is rectangular, there’s also an option to add a hinge, like an iPhone Duo. The game goes overboard with other, funny features users can add too. You can add an Android or pear logo, or an old-school iPod click wheel, for instance. There’s an antenna and rotary dial for an old-school look, googly eyes, joystick, handle, “Pro Wheel,” steering wheel, and copter blade. You can change the color and name it yourself. Just like with real Apple products, sticker shock is part of the process. After a user finishes their design and clicks “present,” the page displays the cost of the design depending on what was added (adding a “Pro Stand” to the phone runs $1,000). And one more thing: An image of Apple’s former CEO, Tim Cook, pops up and says how great it is. Download your design for a rotating video of your prototype. Users replied to Agarwal’s post on X with their own designs, including one that looks like a moon or Mars rover, another that resembles a drone, and one with wings made out of Pro Cameras. One was designed like a red Gameboy Advance. Redesigning the iPhone is definitely something that’s top of mind right now. Apple announced the iPhone Duo last week; it’s the first major product launch for the company under its new CEO, John Ternus, and the most dramatic reimagining of the iPhone in years. “Design The Next iPhone” lets you reimagine it far beyond that.