Unfortunately I don't possess the necessary equipment to create an actual render, or I would in a heart beat. I've designed a phone (every aspect of the phone) that I would LOVE to own. And yes, it's actually realistic.
This is the Microsoft Lumia 940, and these are the specs:
A 5-inch QHD AMOLED display
3GB LPDDR4 RAM
32GB internal storage
Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 SoC
25MP camera; f/1.8; OIS; tri-flash; laser autofocus
8MP front facing camera
3,000 mAh removable battery
microSD card support (up to 128GB)
Dual 4G SIM support (in certain territories) (Nano)
The Lumia 940 has a 7.8mm thick body, wrapped around with an aluminum frame that curves gently around each edge, both into the removable polycarbonate back and the Gorilla Glass 4 display. The corners are more rounded than the Lumia 830, but still more sharp than the iPhone 6 or Galaxy S6. On every side, near the corners, is a dark strip to break the design up (this means there's eight strips in total). On the top right edge of the phone--with the screen facing you--is a microUSB or USB Type C charging port. Along the right edge--still with the screen facing you--is the power button and two-stage physical shutter for the camera. The power button is nearly halfway down the side of the device and is ridged to differentiate it and make it easier to find. The physical shutter is near the bottom corner and is firm, to prevent accidental pressing. On the left side of the frame, near the top, is the volume rocker which slopes slightly down in the center to tell the difference from volume up and volume down. At the bottom of the frame, also near the right corner, is the 3.5mm headphone jack. The screen looks like such: at the top edge is the first front facing speaker, which is hidden within the frame, much like the HTC built Nexus 9. Directly below the front facing speaker is "Microsoft." Directly to the right of the speaker is the ambient light sensor. To the right of that is the 8MP front facing camera. In the far right corner is the same sensor used to activate the Glance Screen. To the left of the speaker is an LED notification light, and in the far left corner is another sensor to improve the reaction time and speed of the Glance Screen. The top bezel overall is as thin if not thinner than on the Icon/930. The side bezels are very thin, in fact the thinnest on a Windows Phone ever. Near the bottom is the three capacitive, backlit buttons: Back, Home, and Search. Directly below that is the second front facing speaker, also hidden within the frame. In the center of the front facing speaker, to conserve space, is the mic. In each corner at the bottom of the screen is a third and fourth sensor. This is the same setup as on the Moto X, to make the Glance Screen response immediate upon taking the phone out of your pocket or picking it up. The entire front is covered in Gorilla Glass 4. Now this is very important, as the display CANNOT slope into the frame like on the Lumia 830. You see, this makes the entire display prone to scratches and it makes screen protectors very frustrating. Although it looks nice, it's not practical. The display on the Lumia 940 must lie completely flat with the aluminum frame. This means a tempered glass screen protector can cover nearly the entire front of the phone except for the frame. Now we turn to the back of the phone. The aluminum frame slopes seamlessly into polycarbonate back to give the impression of a unibody design. The polycarbonate back is secured in a similar manner to the Lumia 830. The 25MP camera with a f/1.8 aperture and OIS lies near the top, with--the back facing you-- "PureView" and "Zeiss Optics" on the left, with the tri-flash on the left. The laser autofocus is on the right with the labels. Also on the back is four omnidirectional HAAC mics for recording. Near the bottom (a little above where the mono speaker is on the Lumia 830) is the Microsoft logo. Underneath the matte polycarbonate back is the removable 3,000 mAh battery, the nanoSIM slots, and the microSD slot. On the back of every single back is two standards of wireless charging: Qi and PMA. This is an overall view of the phone.
Now I'm going to take a short break to explain some of my design choices before I talk about the customization options.
Charging port and headphone jack placement: In my opinion, the charging port works better when it's near the top. It's easier to plug in, and easier to hold the phone when it's plugged in. I've found that overall it's just easier when it's on top. (I own the Lumia 830 as my daily driver). However, I placed it on the right edge instead of the left edge like on the Lumia 830. I did this because of landscape mode. The majority of people, when turning their phone to landscape mode, turn their phone so the bottom of the phone is cupped in the right hand. Apps and the OS in general seem to prefer this as well. Now when you hold the phone in landscape mode with the phone plugged in or with headphones (or both), you hold the entire phone and the cords don't dig into your hand. I found with the Lumia 830 that because the microUSB port is on the left edge holding the phone in landscape can get uncomfortable. I placed the headphone jack at the bottom to keep the top edge uncluttered and for the same reason as mentioned above. Also, I've found that the headphone jack at the bottom seems to make it easier to put your phone in your pocket. I think this is a good choice.
Button placement: Traditionally, Windows Phones place all their buttons on the right edge. However, especially on smaller devices, this gets cluttered and makes it difficult to recognize buttons in the dark or by feel alone. I moved the volume rocker to the left edge because for right handed people it makes it easier to hit with your index finger and left handed people can use their thumb. I sloped it in the center instead of having it completely flat to make it easier to tell apart from feel alone. I moved the power button up the right side just a tad for slightly easier placement. Ridge it like on the Moto X or use a concentric circle design (can't remember which phone(s) also uses a concentric circle design on the power button but it's not many) so you can more easily tell it in the dark. I've noticed that the camera button on the Lumia 830 isn't as firm as it should be and feels a bit cheap. So make every button a little more firm (especially the camera button).
Screen orientation: I've already mostly explained why I made the screen completely flat, for better protection and for screen protectors. I think the sensors and camera placements should be pretty obvious on the front. You guys are smart, you can figure it out, haha.
Back of the phone: Most of the design choices I made here were for symmetry with the front, actually. The tri-flash is aligned on the same side of the phone as the LED notification light on the front of the phone, and the laser autofocus is one the same side as the ambient light sensor on the front. I was thinking about placing the PureView and Zeiss Optics logo below the camera to be symmetrical with the Microsoft logo on the front of the phone below the front facing speaker but it didn't look quite right. And about the Microsoft logo on the back...it took me awhile to decide on the best place for the logo, as I don't really like the slightly naft way they're doing it now. Placing it LARGE and sideways in the very center. Instead, a bit smaller and Galaxy S6esque near the bottom seems to work better.
Removable back: This was an easy decision. It keeps the frame clean and makes all the people who wants a removable battery happy. It also provides a convenient place to put the microSD and nanoSIM slots. The little indent to put your fingernail to pry the back up is in the same place as on the Lumia 830. It looks nice and works. It at the very least looks better than where Samsung put it on previous phones.
And now I'll explain the customization. The Lumia 940 will be available with these options:
Dark aluminum frame/light aluminum frame/gold aluminum frame (the dark will have nearly black strips, the light will have grey, and the gold will have black).
Black, white, red, yellow, orange, green and cyan polycarbonate backs.
Okay so let me explain this real quick. Every single 940 will come with two colors. If you choose the dark aluminum, it will come with a color of your choice (any color), AND black. If you choose light aluminum, you choose any color you want, AND white. Gold aluminum gets both black and white. For example: I would choose dark aluminum with a cyan back. I'll also get a black back that I can switch out for whenever I want. You can get any of these configurations from Microsoft directly, but I'm assuming that carriers, being crap, would probably only offer a few. Because they suck. Also, only one variant. One variant for the whole world, iPhone 6esque. If you can't fit all the bands into one phone then do a single variant for huge sections of the world. ONE variant for North America. ONE variant for all of Asia, etc.
The Lumia 940 will be powered by the six-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, paired with 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It'll also have a 5inch QHD AMOLED display with Glance Screen, Double-Tap-to-Wake and zero-gap technology to decrease glare from light and increase clarity.
Tell me what you think, please.
This is the Microsoft Lumia 940, and these are the specs:
A 5-inch QHD AMOLED display
3GB LPDDR4 RAM
32GB internal storage
Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 SoC
25MP camera; f/1.8; OIS; tri-flash; laser autofocus
8MP front facing camera
3,000 mAh removable battery
microSD card support (up to 128GB)
Dual 4G SIM support (in certain territories) (Nano)
The Lumia 940 has a 7.8mm thick body, wrapped around with an aluminum frame that curves gently around each edge, both into the removable polycarbonate back and the Gorilla Glass 4 display. The corners are more rounded than the Lumia 830, but still more sharp than the iPhone 6 or Galaxy S6. On every side, near the corners, is a dark strip to break the design up (this means there's eight strips in total). On the top right edge of the phone--with the screen facing you--is a microUSB or USB Type C charging port. Along the right edge--still with the screen facing you--is the power button and two-stage physical shutter for the camera. The power button is nearly halfway down the side of the device and is ridged to differentiate it and make it easier to find. The physical shutter is near the bottom corner and is firm, to prevent accidental pressing. On the left side of the frame, near the top, is the volume rocker which slopes slightly down in the center to tell the difference from volume up and volume down. At the bottom of the frame, also near the right corner, is the 3.5mm headphone jack. The screen looks like such: at the top edge is the first front facing speaker, which is hidden within the frame, much like the HTC built Nexus 9. Directly below the front facing speaker is "Microsoft." Directly to the right of the speaker is the ambient light sensor. To the right of that is the 8MP front facing camera. In the far right corner is the same sensor used to activate the Glance Screen. To the left of the speaker is an LED notification light, and in the far left corner is another sensor to improve the reaction time and speed of the Glance Screen. The top bezel overall is as thin if not thinner than on the Icon/930. The side bezels are very thin, in fact the thinnest on a Windows Phone ever. Near the bottom is the three capacitive, backlit buttons: Back, Home, and Search. Directly below that is the second front facing speaker, also hidden within the frame. In the center of the front facing speaker, to conserve space, is the mic. In each corner at the bottom of the screen is a third and fourth sensor. This is the same setup as on the Moto X, to make the Glance Screen response immediate upon taking the phone out of your pocket or picking it up. The entire front is covered in Gorilla Glass 4. Now this is very important, as the display CANNOT slope into the frame like on the Lumia 830. You see, this makes the entire display prone to scratches and it makes screen protectors very frustrating. Although it looks nice, it's not practical. The display on the Lumia 940 must lie completely flat with the aluminum frame. This means a tempered glass screen protector can cover nearly the entire front of the phone except for the frame. Now we turn to the back of the phone. The aluminum frame slopes seamlessly into polycarbonate back to give the impression of a unibody design. The polycarbonate back is secured in a similar manner to the Lumia 830. The 25MP camera with a f/1.8 aperture and OIS lies near the top, with--the back facing you-- "PureView" and "Zeiss Optics" on the left, with the tri-flash on the left. The laser autofocus is on the right with the labels. Also on the back is four omnidirectional HAAC mics for recording. Near the bottom (a little above where the mono speaker is on the Lumia 830) is the Microsoft logo. Underneath the matte polycarbonate back is the removable 3,000 mAh battery, the nanoSIM slots, and the microSD slot. On the back of every single back is two standards of wireless charging: Qi and PMA. This is an overall view of the phone.
Now I'm going to take a short break to explain some of my design choices before I talk about the customization options.
Charging port and headphone jack placement: In my opinion, the charging port works better when it's near the top. It's easier to plug in, and easier to hold the phone when it's plugged in. I've found that overall it's just easier when it's on top. (I own the Lumia 830 as my daily driver). However, I placed it on the right edge instead of the left edge like on the Lumia 830. I did this because of landscape mode. The majority of people, when turning their phone to landscape mode, turn their phone so the bottom of the phone is cupped in the right hand. Apps and the OS in general seem to prefer this as well. Now when you hold the phone in landscape mode with the phone plugged in or with headphones (or both), you hold the entire phone and the cords don't dig into your hand. I found with the Lumia 830 that because the microUSB port is on the left edge holding the phone in landscape can get uncomfortable. I placed the headphone jack at the bottom to keep the top edge uncluttered and for the same reason as mentioned above. Also, I've found that the headphone jack at the bottom seems to make it easier to put your phone in your pocket. I think this is a good choice.
Button placement: Traditionally, Windows Phones place all their buttons on the right edge. However, especially on smaller devices, this gets cluttered and makes it difficult to recognize buttons in the dark or by feel alone. I moved the volume rocker to the left edge because for right handed people it makes it easier to hit with your index finger and left handed people can use their thumb. I sloped it in the center instead of having it completely flat to make it easier to tell apart from feel alone. I moved the power button up the right side just a tad for slightly easier placement. Ridge it like on the Moto X or use a concentric circle design (can't remember which phone(s) also uses a concentric circle design on the power button but it's not many) so you can more easily tell it in the dark. I've noticed that the camera button on the Lumia 830 isn't as firm as it should be and feels a bit cheap. So make every button a little more firm (especially the camera button).
Screen orientation: I've already mostly explained why I made the screen completely flat, for better protection and for screen protectors. I think the sensors and camera placements should be pretty obvious on the front. You guys are smart, you can figure it out, haha.
Back of the phone: Most of the design choices I made here were for symmetry with the front, actually. The tri-flash is aligned on the same side of the phone as the LED notification light on the front of the phone, and the laser autofocus is one the same side as the ambient light sensor on the front. I was thinking about placing the PureView and Zeiss Optics logo below the camera to be symmetrical with the Microsoft logo on the front of the phone below the front facing speaker but it didn't look quite right. And about the Microsoft logo on the back...it took me awhile to decide on the best place for the logo, as I don't really like the slightly naft way they're doing it now. Placing it LARGE and sideways in the very center. Instead, a bit smaller and Galaxy S6esque near the bottom seems to work better.
Removable back: This was an easy decision. It keeps the frame clean and makes all the people who wants a removable battery happy. It also provides a convenient place to put the microSD and nanoSIM slots. The little indent to put your fingernail to pry the back up is in the same place as on the Lumia 830. It looks nice and works. It at the very least looks better than where Samsung put it on previous phones.
And now I'll explain the customization. The Lumia 940 will be available with these options:
Dark aluminum frame/light aluminum frame/gold aluminum frame (the dark will have nearly black strips, the light will have grey, and the gold will have black).
Black, white, red, yellow, orange, green and cyan polycarbonate backs.
Okay so let me explain this real quick. Every single 940 will come with two colors. If you choose the dark aluminum, it will come with a color of your choice (any color), AND black. If you choose light aluminum, you choose any color you want, AND white. Gold aluminum gets both black and white. For example: I would choose dark aluminum with a cyan back. I'll also get a black back that I can switch out for whenever I want. You can get any of these configurations from Microsoft directly, but I'm assuming that carriers, being crap, would probably only offer a few. Because they suck. Also, only one variant. One variant for the whole world, iPhone 6esque. If you can't fit all the bands into one phone then do a single variant for huge sections of the world. ONE variant for North America. ONE variant for all of Asia, etc.
The Lumia 940 will be powered by the six-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, paired with 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It'll also have a 5inch QHD AMOLED display with Glance Screen, Double-Tap-to-Wake and zero-gap technology to decrease glare from light and increase clarity.
Tell me what you think, please.