Seems like there’s a new leak of nearly-useful information about the future of Apple’s iPhone line just about every day. Yesterday, Apple board member Al Gore mentioned “iPhones” that would be coming out in October. The day before, anonymous tipsters told AllThingsD that Apple was planning a media event for Oct. 4 to announce the next iPhone – or maybe iPhones.
Today, pictures received by Boy Genius Report from tipsters show new iPhone 4 cases slightly altered from their original, released-last-year counterparts, which BGR is referring to as “iPhone 4S cases.”
The iPhone 4S is the generally accepted name for an iPhone model that will, more or less, be the same as the current iPhone that’s been available since June 2010. It’s believed that the device will be more or less the same as the current iPhone, but with the A5 processor chip that Apple first announced as being a part of the iPad 2. It’ll include other upgraded internal components, too, but it won’t be much of a redesign over the current iPhone. Rumors suggest it, as well as the iPhone 5, could be hitting shelves this fall.
The new cases are refreshes of the originals, and notably have a new, larger hole left in them for the rear-facing camera. BGR points out that there’s not much reason to update a case that has been on the market for a year, unless it’s to accommodate a new iPhone model. The larger hole originally seemed to suggest that the case was for another iPhone – there have been rumors that the iPhone 5 would include a new, more powerful camera – but it could just be to accommodate the standard camera and LED flash.
So while updating the cases doesn’t necessarily definitely indicate another iPhone 4S, the update timing is pretty dubious. And given the other rumors that have come around lately, you might call this more evidence thrown on the pile.
This is the latest bit of fuel that helps support the idea of two iPhones coming in October. The Al Gore slip that happened earlier this week also suggested that more than one iPhone model being released this fall. Here’s Gore’s quote from his speech during the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit in South Africa: “Not to mention the new iPhones coming out next month. That was a plug.”
Of course, just like the cases, Gore’s quote isn’t conclusive – just interesting. And there have been other interesting reports that also suggest that there could be an iPhone 4S, either as the only device Apple releases this year, or to go along with the iPhone 5.
It’s interesting that these “leaks” and “rumors” are never quite enough information to be definitive. Seems we’re stuck waiting until (hopefully) Oct. 4 to find out the full story behind the next iPhone(s).
