It seems it's not just Apple employees letting slip prototypes of the shiny new iPhone 5. Someone from the factory that makes the phone half-inched one and sold it to case makers, which would help explain all the unofficial iPhone 5 cases that keep surfacing.
An accessories supplier in Shenzhen, China, told MIC Gadget that someone from Foxconn, which manufactures the handset, stole one and sold it on. So this rogue iPhone 5 could still be in the wild. Stay vigilant.
The prototype was disguised in a case to make it look like an iPhone 4, which would square with what we learned about the iPhone 5 that went missing in a bar recently. The actual device is thought to have the tapered 'teardrop' design we brought you news of thanks to a... leaked case.
Whoever took the phone then sold it for about £2,000 to an iPhone case manufacturer, who went into overdrive making cases, judging by the flood of Chinese models already on the market.
The cases are thinner, but wider and longer than those for the iPhone 4. Of course, this could just be a case (sorry) of the manufacturers chancing their arm and guessing on the dimensions, there's no way of knowing.
Apple is holding an iPhone event on Tuesday, where it'll either announce the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S or both, depending on who you believe. If it is an iPhone 5, it's expected to have an 8-megapixel camera, the same dual-core processor as the iPad 2, and a bigger screen. The 4S is expected to be a speedier version of the iPhone 4.
A few weeks ago, an Apple employee was said to lose a prototype iPhone 5 in a tequila bar in San Francisco. This echoed a similar incident with the iPhone 4 last year, which led to the prototype being sold to a website.
Are you excited about the iPhone 5? Let us know on our Facebook page.
Android App 
RSS Feeds 
iPhone App 
Newsletters 
24 month contract
24 month contract
24 month contract
Comments 4
Add your comment
anonymous 28 September, 2011 09:06
it iphone 5 have a teardrop design then expect samsung and htc to have their future models with a teardrop design once iphone 5 become another success.
anonymous 29 September, 2011 07:39
apple didnt invent a teardrop design ! so go away with ya fanboyism ,apple copies everyone ,they admit that aswell but then the hypocrites try to sue the company (samsung) that makes mostr of their chipsets for them plus apple copied palm and windows mobile ,so apple need to go to hell and stop being immature and play the hardware market like adults
anonymous 30 September, 2011 13:42
You Jelly?
anonymous 9 October, 2011 15:47
I hate it when i heard that apple has invented iphone4s in just a click. I just bought my iphone4 a month ago then this iphone4s is mow launched? Should I suffer from thinking that I should have waited for it?! Damn! how can I enjoy my iphone4 thinking that there is better than this (Iphone4s). I bought iphone4 thinking that this is the best choice that i should pick. I WILL NOT BUY APPLE PRODUCTS AGAIN! there are certain people that save money just to buy the best and enjoy it for a while but, me, i did not even enjoy it because i am thinking that i should have waited this iphone4s!