See The Future With iPhone 6

Every year that the new iPhone starts to take shape there is a veritable tug-of-war between sources making claims about what Apple’s flagship handset will look like. But there have arguably been none more divisive than the iPhone 6.

This is due in part to the fact that the iPhone 6 has seen more leaks than the Titanic, but certainly also because this iteration of the device marks the largest leap in design since Steve Jobs’ passing.

Apple needs to show that it still deserves its spot on the industrial design throne.

The iPhone 5 and 5S were simple and logical extensions of the well-received iPhone 4 case design, but now Tim Cook and his team need to prove they can still bring it even when the training wheels come off and they’re forced to innovate.

The final battleground for iPhone 6 rumors seems to be the plastic strips that we have seen pictured in many renders and mockups floating around the web for a while now.

Some sources say they won’t be there, some say they will, and some argue that the final design will depart even further yet from the leaks. One such proponent of that last theory is Martin Hajek, the veritable Godfather of Apple-related photorealistic renders.

His latest series of renders show an iPhone 6 with a glass back where the plastic strips once were — based on alleged leaks that have been making the rounds recently. And as a bonus, he also included renders of an iPad mini if it followed suit with the design principles of the iPhone 6.

While we can’t say for certain who is right, all we know for sure is that we hope Hajek’s renders prove to be a reality, because they look better than anything we’ve seen of the device so far.