A site by the name of AppleLeaks today posted photos of what is claimed to be the logic board from a next-generation iPhone model. The report is unsure about whether the board is from an upgraded iPhone 5 model or a cheaper "iPhone 4S" model Apple is also said to be planning to launch, but the images do add more detail to the picture that is beginning to come together.
Comparing the pictures to the ones of the logic boards for the CDMA and GSM iPhone 4 models as seen in teardowns by iFixit (see steps 13 and 14), it is interesting to note that this new logic board carries a form factor more similar to that of the CDMA iPhone 4 but with a SIM-card slot also squeezed onto the board. That inclusion of the SIM-card slot on the new logic board has resulted in a reshuffling of the chip locations on the front of the board, while the back side remains quite similar to the CDMA iPhone 4 logic board.
Front of CDMA (top) and GSM (bottom) iPhone 4 logic boards (Source: iFixit)
Notably, the relatively large area on the front of the logic board designed to house the main processor for the device is rectangular in nature on the new board, suggesting that it is designed for the rectangular A5 system-on-a-chip found in the iPad 2 rather than the square A4 chip found in the iPhone 4 and original iPad. Apple is of course expected to use the A5 in the iPhone 5, but there has been some question as to whether Apple would step up to the A5 for its cheaper iPhone 4S model or continue to use the A4 in order to hold costs down.
The iPhone 5 is expected to be a "world-mode" phone capable of running on both GSM and CDMA networks. The presence of a SIM-card slot on the new logic board does indeed confirm GSM compatibility for this device, whether it be an iPhone 5 or 4S, and CDMA compatibility would come from the inclusion of a specific chip supporting the dual standards. Such a chip from Qualcomm is already used on the CDMA iPhone 4, but accommodation for a similar chip on this new logic board can not be confirmed given that the board is unlabeled.
One of the more prominent differences in the actual logic board form factor between the GSM and CDMA iPhone 4 is a semicircular cutout at the bottom of the board. That cutout fits around the new circular vibrator used in the CDMA version, a change from the vibrator used in the GSM version. The presence of the cutout on this new logic board suggests that Apple will continue to use the circular vibrator found in the CDMA iPhone 4.
AppleLeaks also posts of the battery for the iPhone4S/5, in line with photos from other sources seen several times earlier this week.
Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you.
Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports.
In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon.
Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week.
iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below.
Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21.
There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found.
Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker.
According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
Wednesday December 10, 2025 12:22 pm PST by Juli Clover
The next-generation low-cost iPad will use Apple's A19 chip, according to a report from Macworld. Macworld claims to have seen an "internal Apple code document" with information about the 2026 iPad lineup.
Prior documentation discovered by MacRumors suggested that the iPad 12 would be equipped with an A18 chip, not an A19 chip. The A19 chip was just released this year in the iPhone 17, and...
Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by Juli Clover
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products.
Here's what's supposedly coming:
An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth...
