Unless you live in Taiwan, you haven’t the faintest idea who Jimmy Lin is. He’s a big celebrity in that country though, and he also apparently has access to a brand new iPhone 7 before Apple makes official. Again. Yes, hardcore Apple fans may remember him from previous years when he’s pulled similar stunts with unreleased iPhones.
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Lin was somehow able to get a hold of an iPhone 5 back in September 2012. He then leaked the iPhone 6 design in June 2014, well ahead of what turned out to be the biggest iPhone launch in Apple’s history. And he got a hold of the iPhone 6 Plus as well. Phone Arena reminds us that Apple employees in Hong Kong even vouched for the legitimacy of those devices.
Lin is back with an iPhone 7 leak. That’s him in the image below, posing for the camera while sitting at a table and using an iPhone 7 Plus just like it’s a regular day at the office. How do we know it’s an iPhone 7 Plus? Check out that bulky dual-lens camera on the back. That’s a telltale sign that it’s an upcoming iOS phablet rather than the smaller iPhone 7, but don’t get too excited just yet.
Sure, Lin’s photo seems to verify all the big leaks we’ve seen. Furthermore, his pose suggests he’s actually using an iPhone 7 Plus unit that’s working – and we did see photos of such a device just recently.
On the other hand, we’ll point out that at this point it’s practically very easy to get your hands on iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus dummy units that don’t work, especially if you’re based in Asia. Secondly, this may very well be an Android-powered iPhone 7 Plus clone, for the exact same reason: Lin is in Asia and there are clones all around.
Finally, there’s nothing to prove that Lin’s device is functional and this may be a marketing stunt from the local star, despite his track record. It’s enough for him to hold a dummy iPhone 7 Plus in his hands and allow others to photograph him while doing it, in order to gain free publicity. After all, he did leak other iPhone designs in the past.
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 7 series on September 7th and release it in stores on September 23rd, according to recent reports.
