The carrier is reportedly gearing up for the launch of a new Apple device

Sep 23, 2011 09:25 GMT  ·  By

Apple has been long rumored to plan the release of a new iPhone model later this fall, one that would arrive on shelves only as an iPhone 4 refresh, and some more proof of that has just emerged.

Reportedly, iPhone 4S cases have started to arrive in AT&T stores around the country, suggesting that the company is preparing for the launch of this device.

Photos with these cases, coming from OtterBox and Speck have already made it to the Internet, and the guys over at SlashGear suggest that they are indeed pointing at the release of a new device flavor.

Apparently, these cases show that the upcoming model will come with new volume buttons, and that it will also have them placed differently than before.

In other words, while the overall looks of the upcoming device will be the same as those of Apple's iPhone 4, there will still be a series of details that will differentiate the two.

Of course, this does not come as a surprise, especially since many of the details regarding the design and even capabilities of the new iPhone model made it into the wild before.

For the time being, nothing has been officially confirmed on the matter, but it should not be too long before that happens.

Apple is expected to launch the new iPhone in early October, and all the necessary info on the new model will be unveiled at that time.

However, it still remains to be seen whether there will be only one iPhone model launched, or whether Apple will actually release two of them, as rumors imply.

The iPhone 4S is one of these new flavors, said to arrive at three US carriers soon, while the other model is the iPhone 5, which should be released with LTE connectivity at a slightly later date.

Until more on this is unveiled, you can have a look at the aforementioned iPhone cases, which reportedly point at the upcoming release of a new model.

Photo Gallery (3 Images)

iPhone cases in AT&T's stores
iPhone cases in AT&T's storesiPhone cases in AT&T's stores
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