Another day, another rumour - this time it's a curved back
Is this the new iPhone 5 case?
The iPhone 5 seems pretty much nailed on for launch in a couple of months' time - but apparently new cases have appeared to give away certain elements of the design.
Chinese case manufacturers have been sent design briefings of the new iPhone 5 chassis, and according to Mobile Fun, feature a return to the olden days of iPhone design with a curved back, rather than the square appearance of the popular fourth iteration of Apple's phone.
We can't begin to tell you how sceptical we are over such a 'leak', given Apple's desperation to keep its forthcoming designs under wraps, but this wouldn't be the first time a case maker has outed designs before launch.
Apparently two different manufacturers have been sent the same designs and produced cases according - the images seem to suggest that there will be an edge-to-edge display and a super thin chassis to complement the curved back - think advanced iPod touch and you're not a million miles away.
Real or no real?
Other little nuggets of spurio-truth include a re-imagining the home button as a "touch-sensitive ovaloid area", plus the power and volume keys all being chucked around the chassis to make it more finger-friendly.
Would Apple remove the iconic home button for a more-confusing touch-sensitive area? It seems unlikely, but given we're firmly marinating in rumour-juice here we're prepared to take a look at anything.
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So there you have it - according to China's most brazen case manufacturers, we're looking at a larger screen, curved back and no home button for the iPhone 5 - is that likely at all? We'd have to stay firmly on the fence until Jobs deigns to grace a stage with his presence.
Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grew with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.
