It would seem that we’ve arrived at that time of year again, where the floodgates open and the pictures of supposed new iPhone parts, designs and other bits start to pop up several times every week.
Earlier in the week we spotted what was said to be the screen assembly and logic board parts for Apple’s next iPhone, known currently as the iPhone 5S. Today, thanks to Macrumors, images depicting the back of the iPhone 5S the arrangement underneath the cover have been revealed.
These images back up the common rumour that Apple’s next iPhone will look much the same as the iPhone 5 before it, with the main changes being to internal components to make the phone speedier and overall better. One new change spotted in one of the pictures is the flash – it’s easy to see that the single LED flash on the iPhone 5 has been swapped for a vertical dual LED flash. Whilst most definitely a minor change, this would provide a much brighter flash, thus making the iPhone better at capturing images in low light.
In another image the back cover comes off, revealing the battery and the layout of the internal components. Various elements spotted in here lead to questions being asked about the device in question and whether it is in fact an iPhone 5S. For example, the date code on the unmarked processor indicates it was made in October of 2012, around the same time as the iPhone 5. The 5S is expected to have a new chip inside, so this is either an iPhone 5S running an older chip, or an iPhone 5 with an experimental dual LED flash on the back.
However, the battery looks to be a newer model than the iPhone 5, sporting a higher capacity of 5.92 Whr – the iPhone 5 has a 5.45 Whr battery. A larger battery is often used to offset the faster processor and upgraded internals that come as part and parcel of an ‘S’ upgrade on Apple’s iPhones.
The iPhone 5S is expected to launch around September/October time this year, with reports of a lower cost ‘iPhone Lite’ growing stronger.