14 DAY TRIAL // A San Francisco resident claims to have spotted what he thought was an Apple employee using a prototype iPhone 5 unit on a train as he was returning home from work. He took pictures to back his claims.
The image in question doesn’t do the device justice, the tipster said.
An owner of two Apple handsets - an iPhone 3GS and the newer iPhone 4 - this person told 9to5mac.com that what he saw was nothing like any existing iPhone model.
Moreover, when the blog showed him the recently 'leaked' iPhone 5 cases, he said the device that person was holding would fit them perfectly.
As the report notes, the unit appears to be too thin and flat to be an iPhone 3GS, and it’s clearly not an iPhone 4 either, as it has rounded edges and a tapered back shell.
In fact, these design elements are said to be the key differentiators between the current-generation hardware and the upcoming iPhone, aside from their guts, of course.
Should the finding prove accurate, this would mark the second time Apple leaked a next-generation iPhone prototype during real-life testing.
As technology fans will recall, an Apple employee going by the name of Gray Powell lost an iPhone 4 test unit last year after having one too many beers in a bar.
Powell misplaced the device which was later found and then sold for a reported $5,000 to technology site Gizmodo.
The site did a full review of the unit and determined it was the (then-) unreleased Apple iPhone 4, which got them into some trouble with authorities.
Apparently, they weren’t supposed to divulge any technical details pertaining to the iPhone 4 without Apple’s consent.
The picture snapped this week in San Francisco should not spell any trouble for 9to5 just yet, and we’re just as excited about this new development as you are.
What do you think? Is this the first real picture of an Apple iPhone 5?