The sleek, slender smartphone pictured above is absolutely not Apple’s next-generation iPhone. It is entirely possible, however, that the iPhone 5 could feature the same design. Images of a fake iPhone 5 were published this past weekend by gizchina.com, and they show a strikingly thin 7mm-thick handset that has all the makings of an Apple design. The device itself is certainly not built of the same high-quality materials or components Apple would use, but as has been noted by several sites that picked up the story, it is possible — perhaps even likely — that the above clone is based on Apple’s actual iPhone 5 design. Manufacturing has probably begun at this point, and employees of Apple’s manufacturing partners leak parts and information left and right. So, a Chinese iPhone clone maker obtaining Apple’s designs (or even a working device) and building a clone is hardly far fetched. The design also looks like it would fit perfectly into some of the iPhone 5 cases that have surfaced, though that doesn’t necessarily say much. Nothing is certain until Apple makes it official, but this could very well be the design we see Apple executives showing off when the iPhone 5 is finally unveiled in the coming months.
[Via Gizmodo]
