Try as Apple might to keep its new iPhones a secret, if the company wants to have accessories available on launch day, they have to share with third-party companies. That’s why cases are often an early indicator of what the next generation device will look like, and now comes a new wrinkle: A screen protector that’s mysteriously a little wider, with space for an elongated home button.
MacRumors is reporting that a screen protector claiming to be for the iPhone 5 has turned up on the radar, just a hair bigger than the one for the iPhone 4 (see image below for comparison) and featuring a curiously wider home button that matches some speculation about the unreleased handset. Photos appearing on Ukwire.hk appear to confirm early reports that the design of the iPhone 5 could indeed be different from the current model.
“While we've seen a number of purported iPhone 5 case designs in the past, none had shown the front of the device,” MacRumors points out. “The elongated home button area design, however, was shown in leaked design documents. The design documents only show areas that need to be exposed or open to the user, so it doesn't mean the physical home button will necessarily adopt the exact shape.”
The new finding seems to entirely contradict reports this week that the iPhone everyone is expecting to be released in September or October will simply be a speed bump from the current iPhone 4, although it seems clear now that Apple may be poised to release two new models this year -- the fabled “iPhone 4S” (same as the current device with better specs) and an entirely new iPhone 5.
Now that the middle of September is already here, the clock is ticking fast -- prognosticate all you can, because Apple will surely be announcing their fall media event quite soon, and then all bets are off.
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(Image courtesy of MacRumors and Ukwire.hk)
