Asian component makers are ramping-up to begin major manufacture of Apple’s iPhone 5 in the next few months. At least, that’s what we’re led to believe based on rumors about Apple’s plan to launch the new iPhone at the beginning of October.
With all the news flying around, components for the new device are supposedly starting to leak out of their respective factories. MacRumors has reportedly received a tip that supplier TVC Mall has just such a leak, posting pictures of several components purported to be part of the next iPhone handset that Apple plans to release.
MacRumors has photos of the components: a lithium-ion battery, a rear-facing camera and the headphone audio flex cable that are all supposedly part of the new device. By comparing the photos with those available from iFixit, the site has determined that the components aren’t the same as what are currently appearing in the iPhone 4, suggesting they do, in fact, belong to some new device, although the differences right now are obviously just superficial.
The question then becomes: what exactly are the components for? That’s a little tougher to say. For one thing, iFixIt has reported that it has managed to get hold of the rear-facing camera component that’s supposedly part of the next iPhone, and an analysis has shown the camera sensor in the new component is the same as that of the iPhone 4, and that makes the new camera 5 megapixels.
That’s at odds with some of the things we’ve been hearing about the supposed iPhone 5. For one, that device was supposed to be carrying an 8-megapixel camera, along with the A5 dual-core processor chip that Apple developed for the iPad 2. Of course, the rumors of the better camera in the new iPhone could have been incorrect or exaggerated, but the disparity poses more questions than answers.
It’s possible the camera comes from the iPhone 4S, the working name for another possible iPhone being released this year. Rumors have also been circulating that Apple isn’t releasing a full new iPhone this year, but rather a more incremental update similar to the difference between the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 3GS. That device would carry some new hardware (namely, the A5 chip) but would be mostly iPhone 4, hence the similar camera.
We could also be seeing a part from yet another rumored handset – a cheaper version of the iPhone some have said the company is developing to be sold without carrier subsidies for the prepaid phone market.
So right now, unfortunately, there’s not a lot of new information, but the idea of components floating around could lead to more new information about the upcoming device as more media outlets get a chance to start analyzing them. We’ll keep an eye out for more information, so stay tuned.
