14 DAY TRIAL // The chassis of the much-rumored "iPhone 4S" has been leaked in a few images that are currently doing the rounds in the Apple blogosphere, fueling beliefs that Apple is, indeed, aiming to break new ground with two new iPhone models this year.
The images in question come from iPatchiPods who, according to MacRumors, suggest that the iPhone 4S will look pretty much the same as the current hardware.
There are, however, quite a few differences on the frame surrounding the chassis.
The steel frame is used as the antenna. Unlike the one found on the current iPhone 4, the iPhone 4S antenna will have two breaks at the bottom of the casing.
According to those who’ve analyzed the imagery with a technical eye, the antenna breaks have been moved so that the iPhone 4S will accommodate different frequencies of different cellular standards.
A SIM card slot is visible which suggests that GSM will be supported, though both GSM and CDMA is also a possibility, if Apple decides to make the iPhone 4S a ‘world phone’ using Qualcomm’s latest baseband chips.
The same thing is rumored for the iPhone 5 as well.
Contacted to provide his expert opinion on the newly found hardware, iFixIt's Scott Head found the lack of any defined "Home Button" area as most interesting.
It has been rumored that Apple is changing the way the Home button looks and works on its upcoming hardware. It remains to be seen whether both the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5 will get this treatment.
For now, it is safe to assume Apple only has one revolutionary phone prepared for launch, not two.
For what it’s worth, the people who handed these images to iPatchiPods say they believe these mid-frames are indeed part of a cheaper iPhone which, for now, the industry likes to refer to as the iPhone 4S.
