Aug 30, 2011 09:11 GMT  ·  By

Prototype iPhone components keep popping up all over the place in the weeks leading up to a potential iPhone 5 event this fall, the latest of which indicate there will be a change with the sensors on the phones.

Components leaked to iDownloadBlog reveal a prototype iPhone with a different rear panel and a redesigned flex cable.

According to the blog’s sources, the rear panel may be part of the device’s antenna.

This would dismiss rumors that Apple is redesigning the antenna frame, but it also means that some of the workload will be taken over by new components, perhaps to address signal reception issues.

There are many things that remain a mystery regarding the rear iPhone panel.

The flex cable, however, is more revealing in terms of Apple’s plans with the next iPhone - be it the fifth-generation smartphone, or an incremental 4S upgrade.

According to the people responsible with this leak, the flex cable lacks to key components that are present on current-generation hardware - two sensors, to be precise.

Both the ambient sensor and the proximity sensor have been removed from the cable, which should indicate two things: either the sensors will be placed elsewhere, or the display itself will be altogether different, which should corroborate some recent rumors about a bigger screen.

Such a phone would also present itself with a thinner bezel, though recently leaked photos of iPhone digitizer panels indicate this is not the case, at least with the presumed iPhone 4S.

As usual, such leaks aren’t necessarily indicative of Apple’s future plans with the iPhone business.

For all we know, these components may well belong to old iPhone prototype units that have fallen into the hands of tech journalists only recently.

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iPhone prototype rear panel
iPhone prototype flex cable
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