iPhone 5 May Look Like the Original iPhone

Third party accessory maker Shenzhen L&Y Technology Co., Ltd., based in Guandong in mainland China, appears to be stocking iPhone 5 cases that corroborate most rumors about the handset’s redesign, while adding some tidbits of its own.

The Far East is swirling with alleged iPhone 5 cases and the ones from this accessory maker are no different. Not entirely, anyway.

The same curves and sloppy back shell is present on these designs, indicating a complete overhaul of the iPhone, or even a return to the original design, but there’s also a replacement of the physical buttons residing on the sides of the phone.

The current iPhone has its volume and mute buttons placed on the left side, when the device is viewed from the front.

These cases, however, indicate that the iPhone 5 will have those controls relocated to the right side of the handset and the buttons themselves will have a different shape as well - elongated, much like those found on the iPod touch players.

In fact, by looking at these images, one might say that the next-generation iPhone will look almost exactly like the current-generation iPod touch, with a few design elements borrowed from the iPad 2 as well.

There is no SIM card opening on these cases, nor should there be as users don’t generally swap cards on a daily basis.

However, there are holes for a headphone jack, the dock connector, and the speakers.

The cases themselves cannot say anything about any increase in the size of the screen, but that’s heavily rumored too.

Although there are so many leaks that tell the same story, it’s important to cover them all if we’re going to draw a clear picture of the next-generation of iPhones.

It’s very likely that all will become clear later this month when Apple is rumored to be hosting a special event during which it will introduce the already confirmed iCloud and iOS 5.

We’d say the ‘5’ moniker clearly deserves new hardware to boot.