Anatomy of an iPhone fake update, from an industrial designer/writer perspective

Posted by: hipstomp on Sunday, December 30 2007

The supposedly upcoming iPhone update being posted about on some blogs allegedly lets you move icons around, has a Google Maps self-locator, will let you add Safari bookmarks to your home screen, and has been confirmed as "real" by "experts."

Though not willing to stake Core77's rep on this, I can stake my own; I'm 95% sure said update and its attendant photos are fake. Some websites contain technical talk of why this update has to be real, and I can't address that stuff; but take a look at the pictures with me, from the perspective of an industrial designer and writer with a baseline familiarity with Apple design, and I think you'll agree.

1. The text in the "Edit Home Screen" pop-up is un-Apple-like and wordy. Also, when would this window pop up? Steve Jobs' whole product philosophy is to design things that don't require instructions. The notion that Apple, a company that specializes in minimalist copy, would make you read a pop-up this long every time you performed a fairly routine task seems like it came from someone who uses Windows.

2. Do enough product sketches and you know when the perspective's on and when it's off. Here, it's off and looks poorly Photoshopped. If the topmost screen line jives with the bottom line of the "Cancel" button, it creates an impossible vanishing point vis-a-vis the angle of the phone and the on-screen text. Also note that both words in "Home Screen" are capitalized; in the instructional copy in point 1, it was written "Home screens," with the second word lowercased. The photo's exposure also looks wonky to me, but I'm not a pro photographer (if you are, please pipe up).

3. The most damning piece of evidence is in this copy: "An icon will be added to your home screen so you can quickly access this web site." Boom, fake. "Website" should be one word, not two. Apple is pretty fastidious about their copy, and there's no way this would make it into a final product. Not to mention the icon at left, a sloppy grab of a portion of the website, that I can't see Apple deeming aesthetically acceptable.

Sure, it's possible that the gaffes in points 1 and 3 are just test copy inserted by an uneloquent Apple software engineer, and that the perspective in point 2 is correct and I've just got a bum pair of peepers. What do you think?

Addendum: Last night I was contacted by Andru Edwards, the owner of Gear Live, the guy who posted the original entry I'm questioning above, and the apparent owner of an iPhone with the 1.1.3 update...

Although Edwards refuses to disclose how he acquired the update, he swears it's real and was somehow updated through iTunes. Edwards allowed me to interrupt him working on posting a video of the update for a brief interview. (If it turns out it's real, I'll withdraw my application for a private investigator's license...I might still be able to get the fee back.)

Q: How convinced are you that this update is 100% authentic?
A: 10000000000000000000%. iTunes did the update, no hacking involved.

How do you explain the copy errors? "Web site" rather than "website," "Home Screen" alternatively capitalized and not capitalized.
I cant answer that either. I mean, that is what it says. I didnt write the firmware or anything.

How do you explain the "off" perspective in the photo?
LOL. Again, I have no idea. I used a Nikon D80 with an AF Micro Nikkor 60mm macro lens. I suck at taking those shots, and they cause blur outside of the center focal point. So I can't really explain why they look [perspective-inaccurate].

Do you know when the software update is coming out?
No clue. I am assuming Macworld (January '08) but that is not based on anything other than a hunch.

The complete list of features in this new update is:
1. Google Locator
2. Multiple addressee text messages
3. Ability to move icons on home screen
4. Add Safari bookmarks to the homepage

Is that everything?

So far. I didn't get a list, so it's just me finding things as I go.

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While I am with you, very skeptical, perhaps...

1. The pop up screen only appears once after the firmware upgrade. It may appear wordy for the same reason you say website may be two words.

2. Home Screen has both words capitalized in the title on the pop up. I am concerned about how out of focus the top portion of the screen is compared to the lower, not just dimmed.

3. I don't have anything for that...

I'm not holding my breath and I don't really care about these upgrades as much as the Google locator would be sweet.

FAKE... 100%... about the 2 you are right... even the contrast between the top of the image and the bottom are not the same...

i'm pretty sure it's real, and not fake. and i'm also pretty sure that this is not the version that will be released, so maybe "web site" will be fixed for you in the proper release.

http://gizmodo.com/338948/iphone-firmware-113-video-and-confirmation-by-iphone-hacker

Fair comment for point 1 vis-a-vis Mr Jobs' SW philosophy but that might not be a pop-up - it might be a Help screen. (Does iPhone have a Help Viewer?)

You, sir, are spot on. Perspective is wonky, exposure not right, copy sloppy, and, well... are there other, more convincing shots?

These are indeed fakes, they were no point of me to run these to my team. The first image have strong evidence of brush marks to make an angle effect. Notice picture 1 are blurry on the left of the popup while the background isnt?

Picture 2, however was a bit convincing. The picture was taken without a menu popping up then using photoshop frames a fake menu was made from aa authentic menu. Yes its fake also.

Apple would not be so wordy in picture 3. :). They would probably leave out "so you can ..." lol

Is this fake too? http://video.gearlive.com/video/article/q407-video-iphone-113-firmware-feature-walkthrough/

Harder to fake that video on engadget. Pretty real it seems. Whether it is a hack or legit is another question.

Web site is indeed two words. It's a site, on the Web. Not an FTP site, a Web site.

See the AP style guide for the rule.

I didn't pay much attention when I read the earlier posts regarding this 'update'. Now it seems to have been wishful thinking on my part. You made your case well and I can only agree with your conclusion.

The key words here are "final product." The 1.1.3 firmware is pre-release, and there's no way to know how close the package is to a final version.

Gear Live posted a video walk-through later that is a) pretty much unimpeachable and b) vouched for by one of the iPhone indie developers who has nothing to gain and a lot to lose by backing a hoax.

You're absolutely right. Nothing about that stuff reminds me of apple's products, and the second one looks really fake. I'm not very impressed with anyone fooled by this.

I agree entirely that this is false.
I very much enjoy the evidence, especially since it can only suggest that this was created by someone who uses windows. That was golden..I concur

I might also add (being a weathered sports action photographer and close-cutter) that the depth of field in the images seems to be defying optics. The false menu items become increasingly blurred compared to the depth of field of authentic features on the same plane in the image

Why the banal obsession with this product? With everything else going on in the world today, is this really important and worthly to be anticipated as the Second Coming?

I think you hit it all on the head. Looks fake for all the reasons you have said. The 2nd photo look photoshoped a poor perspective plus the difference in contrast between the top half and bottom half of the screen. just wouldn't happen if you took a photo.

The 1st photo if it is fake they did a good job of getting the focus range to look real. the thumb to the left hand letters are blurry while the finger tips and right hand letter are clear what is pretty real. but could still be done with a blur tool.

did you look at the video on the site?

Kudos. That is a poor photoshop job, and the perspective is an instant give-away. It looks like "PC" from the commercials is behind this. I'm glad someone out there decided to put this very obvious bulls*** in it's place... wait... is bulls*** supposed to be written as one word or two?

no, i think the perspective is correct.
you can see that the "Cancel" button is angled up slightly. The vanishing point is there, just very far away.

I also think it is very likely that this is an early version of the firmware and that things like the spelling errors and pop up windows have yet to be fixed.

Also, watch the video carefully. There are a few times when the hand action is out of synch with what the iphone is demonstrating

It is obviously not a finished software, that is why it is not released yet. It needs more work and there is no reason why a copywriter will not work on these texts.

I took the images, and I posted a video. Even if you think the video is fake, I still took images of what you are calling a "fake video." I feel sorry for all you "experts" claiming to be able to point out subtle reasons that these images are fake, since, well, they aren't.

So...Steve Jobs just showed off EVERYTHING that we showed off in these images. Everything matches PERFECTLY.

Still think they were fake?

So, about that license... ;)

note to self: Pretty much everyone who commented on this post fails. I feel sad, i thought core77 readership would be smarter.