Taiwan source offers a glimpse at the flex cables holding the volume/power buttons

Jul 2, 2014 11:47 GMT  ·  By

New parts purported to belong to the upcoming iPhone 6 are making the rounds today. From Taiwan with love come these three pictures depicting what looks like the flex cables for the volume buttons and the sleep/wake button.

Granted, it’s not much of a leak, but it’s still something to consider looking into knowing the changes undergone by the handset this year.

For example, Apple seems to have perpetuated the all-in-one design of the flex cable holding the volume buttons along with the mute switch/rocker. However, the shape of the circuitry is different, most likely to accommodate the newer form factor of the larger device.

One of the images shows a different part. The consensus is that this part is the flex cable holding the Sleep/Wake button, which also serves as the phone’s Power ON/OFF control.

iPhone 6 is said to have a relocated Sleep/Wake button. In the current-generation iPhone, this control can be found at the top-left side of the handset. In the iPhone 6, the button has been moved over to the right-hand side of the phone (when viewed from the front).

The images are of poor quality, though one can distinguish an Apple logo and some markings that give the parts a genuine look. In all fairness, we should be looking at the real volume and power controls of the iPhone 6.

Taiwan is usually the place where the first real hardware leaks take place whenever Apple prepares an all-new iDevice, be it an iPhone or an iPad, or even a new iPod. There have been cases where even new Macintosh parts surfaced in Taiwan only to be later confirmed as genuine.

The reason? Many of Apple’s part suppliers and assemblers are located there. Such as Foxconn, the world’s biggest on-contract electronics manufacturer. Without fail it has most of Apple’s orders under its belt, and this year things aren’t any different. It has been tasked with making Apple’s all-new iPhone 6 and production is said to be underway (at least trial production anyway).

iPhone 6 will be launched sometime this fall, with multiple sources reporting that the actual shipping date will be September 19. With Apple’s promise to unleash iOS 8 to the public around the same time, it’s not hard to imagine the company coupling the two releases as always.

Two versions of the phone are expected to launch this year, one featuring a 4.7-inch screen, the other a much bigger 5.5-inch display (measured on the diagonal).

Photo Gallery (4 Images)

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