An image of what could be Apple’s next-generation iPhone has surfaced online. 9to5 Mac published the photo, which it received from a tipster, and the site does not claim to be able to verify the authenticity of the image. According to the report, the site’s tipster saw a presumed Apple employee using the device in public when he snapped the above picture of the man and the device. While there’s no telling if the handset seen above is in fact Apple’s iPhone 5, it certainly doesn’t resemble any iOS device we’ve seen to date. There are some discrepancies with earlier leaks, however, that claimed to reveal case designs for the iPhone 5. The volume rocker, for example, is still on the left side of the device pictured above, but earlier case designs showed it on the right. On the other hand, Apple has undoubtedly finalized its hardware design at this point, so it’s entirely possible that the iPhone 5 is undergoing real-world testing. A test on a train is certainly necessary so Apple can see how the device performs when rapidly switching between cell towers, so that’s another good sign. Would an Apple employee be holding the device out in the open without something concealing the device and the Apple logo on the back? We’re not so sure.
