Images have appeared showing an iPhone with a plastic front and back, indicating that it might be the iPhone 4S launching alongside the iPhone 5.
Following Apple's supposed "accidental" reveal of an iPod Touch sporting 3G connectivity via the iTunes website on Wednesday, a trio of non-Apple screenshots surfaced on Thursday claiming to be the iPhone 4S.
Instead of a glass screen and a glass back plate, the new pictures indicate that this version simply uses hard white plastic, thereby falling in-line with previous rumors that Apple plans to offer a lighter, cheaper iPhone 4 model come September.
According to AppleInsider, the device in question is a prototype despite it looking identical to the iPhone 4, as the model number and various identification numbers on the rear of the device are X'ed out. The source behind the images, well-known Vietnamese leakers Tinhte, claim that it runs at a speed that "seems" faster than the current iPhone 4, but failed to provide any specs.
Last week brought rumors that Apple plans to launch a prepaid / lower cost iPhone in late August, possibly the iPhone 3GS which AT&T currently offers for $50 with a new two-year contract. It will also supposedly land on the Sprint and T-Mobile networks here in the States later this year.
The rumors also indicated that Apple may sell the super-cheap iPhone 3GS for the low end price tier, the iPhone 4 for the mid-range price tier, and the iPhone 4S addressing the high-end market. That said, the device seen in Thursday's images sporting a new chassis and a reported speed boost may likely be the rumored iPhone 4S.
So where, then, does that leave the iPhone 5? As CNET points out, introducing two new models within a year will be an Apple first. Released alongside the iPhone 5, this new 4S version would be considered the "lower-cost model" but not necessarily the "dirt cheap, discounted" version – that's where the contract-free iPhone 3GS will come into play.
As always, take everything with a grain of salt until Apple supposedly reveals the new gadgets in September. As it stands now, we're looking at the release of the iPhone 5, the iPhone 4S and the iPod Touch 3G this fall while the current iPhone 4 will be reduced in price and the iPhone 3GS will fall into the pre-paid / contract-free zone (possibly meaning it will become a free phone with a new two-year contract).
Wonder what the Apple rumor mill will bring tomorrow?
Alternative words such as affordable, value, & discount are reserved for the people trying to sell you the product. Everyone else can say cheap. ;-)
Add to that the fact that recently a chinese couple sold there children for $4600, just to play online games. ^^
You'd be surprised how many P4 Systems i still sell.
I don't think the iPhone 5 will do much to blow anything away except the iPhone 4. The Droid 3 and Samsung Galaxy S 2 alone already have better specs than the iPhone 4 has and 5 will have and by the time the iPhone 5 is out, there will be more phones from other companies that will just be insanely faster and better.
As for the iPhone 4S having plastic, its cheaper for Apple yet they will charge the same price. They will say its lighter and sell it on that factor and increase their profit margins.
Thats how Apple makes so much money. They continue using older stuff thats cheaper so they make better margins. Its why they don't even have Sandy Bridge based notebooks out yet when everyone else has had them since release, like Asus who are making great notebooks.
besides the small detail of that being one of those el-cheap-o white conversion kits off ebay and nothing else.
and dear android fan boys. yes, the apple phones are behind a bit in hardware specs... I love how the droid boys like to point that out.
1 (maybe 2) iphones are released per year, by ONE company. the same company that writes the OS for the device. how many android devices came out this month from how many different phone makers, with how many variations of the OS?
it's easier for apple to tailor the OS to their own device to get away with less on hardware. while {insert name of android phone maker here} designs 5-10 different phones per year, around some loose specs from google, tweaks, mangles, and otherwise screws up the OS to get it working with their new "super phone". to top it off they then send it over to the phone carriers who must further refine, I'm sorry "mangle" android. all said and done and it takes a phone with 50% more horse power under the hood to run 1-2% faster.
off contract or not, the latest gen android phones cost as much as the iphone. sure I can see why some people feel like they're paying more for the apple name (they are to some degree). but when was the last time you picked up a new apple phone and said "WTF is this cheezy plastic piece of......." (samsung I'm looking in your direction here guys)
Personally, I don't have an issue with plastic over metal. In fact I could probably say I even prefer it. It certainly makes little difference to me when a phone is skinned or sits in a case.
Sorry, but I'd rather pay for a phone that has a competitive market around it than buy a product that is solely owned by ONE company... Not only does competition bring the price down, but it also breeds innovation within the technology itself and makes for a better price/performance ratio. Don't get me wrong, I currently use an iphone, but you better believe that I'm getting a Galaxy S2 when it drops in the US. I've dealt with Steve Jobs and his little monopoly (took away my tethering app, that a**hole), and there's just no digital freedom...
Don't say that out loud, the may actually do it and charge twice as much.
Well Done. I was 2 secs away from stating these points exactly. But thankfully someone on here knows what they are talking about. Kudos.
The entire MacBook line from the Air to the Pro's are all Sandy Bridge based now... MacBooks still suck but so does your misinformed flame.