Early iPhone Prototype Resembles Latest iPhone 5 Part Leaks - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Early iPhone Prototype Resembles Latest iPhone 5 Part Leaks

As we noted, The Verge has come across a number of photos of iPhone prototypes in court documents related to Apple's lawsuit with Samsung. One of the early prototype images seemed particularly familiar to us.

This two-tone design with a central aluminum backing looks like an early version of the rumored next-generation iPhone:

iphoneprototype
On the right is a prototype iPhone design posted by the Verge. The image on the left is a rendering of the next generation iPhone by Blackpool Creative. The rendering was based on leaked parts of the upcoming iPhone. The parts were also shown on video here:


Similar parts have been circulating for a couple of months now. One early report described it as such:

According to our source, Apple will make one major change to the rear casing, adding a metal panel to the central back of the new iPhone. This panel will be flat, not curved, and metal, not ceramic.

It seems possible that the new iPhone has evolved from some of the early Apple prototyping of possible designs.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Next Month With These 12 New Features

Sunday August 9, 2026 1:45 pm PDT by
It is now August, and that means the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are just a month away. The devices are expected to look similar to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, but there will still be many year-over-year changes, with rumored features including a smaller Dynamic Island, 5G via satellite, and more. Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and a...
iPhone 18 Pro Dark Cherry Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Max's Larger Battery Capacity Allegedly Revealed

Monday August 10, 2026 9:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with a nearly 12% larger battery compared to the iPhone 17 Pro Max, according to an apparent leak. An alleged photo of a battery pack for a Chinese model of the iPhone 18 Pro Max with a SIM card tray lists a capacity of 5,391 mAh, up from 4,823 mAh for the equivalent iPhone 17 Pro Max battery. The photo was shared on the Korean platform Naver...
Apple Skipping iPhone 18 This Year

Apple Skipping iPhone 18 Launch This Year

Wednesday August 12, 2026 6:59 am PDT by
Apple supplier Pegatron today indirectly confirmed that the standard iPhone 18 model will not be released until next year, according to a new report. Pegatron held an earnings call for the second quarter of 2026 today. On the call, Taiwan's Economic Daily News said Pegatron indicated that one of its customers will be changing its usual smartphone shipment schedule. As widely expected, the...

Top Rated Comments

John.B Avatar
183 months ago
Article Link: Early iPhone Prototype Resembles Latest iPhone 5 Part Leaks (https://www.macrumors.com/2012/07/26/early-iphone-prototype-resembles-latest-iphone-5-part-leaks/)
So Apple has been copying...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
themselves! :eek: Dun dun DUN!!!!1!!11!!!1eleven!!!1!!

(I crack myself up!)
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LostSoul80 Avatar
183 months ago
My credit card's ready

this.

but sadly this.


I'm just not ready to switch to Android, no matter how lackluster the next iPhone is turning out to be.

Pathetic.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MattDell Avatar
183 months ago
Looks nice…I guess. Apple needs to do better.
this.
My credit card's ready
but sadly this.


I'm just not ready to switch to Android, no matter how lackluster the next iPhone is turning out to be.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MattDell Avatar
183 months ago
Pathetic.

I'm not denying it.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
east85 Avatar
183 months ago
Simplicity, it's rolling in a grave somewhere dead. I don't understand the allure of these multi-color designs. Just give us a solid color on the backplate, please.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
183 months ago
Deleted.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)