Components purported to be for the fifth-generation iPhone have sparked new rumors that the device’s camera and LED flash will be separated, and will no longer sit snuggled up to one another in the corner. Strengthening these rumors is a case discovered on trade site Alibaba for an ‘iPhone 5G’, which features a mysterious new hole in its rear.
These images were first published by Taiwanese site Apple.pro – a site which often gets its hands on Apple component and hardware leaks – and show redesigned components for both the front- and rear-facing cameras. While it’s difficult to establish any technical details at this point, the most obvious difference is that the new rear camera for the iPhone 5 has no LED flash attached.
It’s unlikely Apple will do away with the LED flash completely, so these components lead us to believe that the camera and flash will be separated on the fifth-generation iPhone – possibly to prevent light leakage from the flash into the camera. Backing up this speculation is a case discovered on Alibaba from Kulcase.
Claiming to be an ‘iPhone 5G’ case, this snap-on rear casing features two holes at the top, in addition to an iPhone 5 mockup image that reveals a larger, ‘edge-to-edge’ display and a thinner bezel. While the two holes initially led to speculation that the device would feature two cameras for taking 3D images, it now seems that one is for the camera and the other for the LED flash.
This isn’t the first time case manufacturers have revealed product designs well in advance of their launch. You may remember that cases discovered last year revealed the iPad 2’s new size and design, as well as its rear camera and redesigned speaker. Some manufacturers clearly manage to get their mitts on design specifications for upcoming Apple products way before they’re supposed to.
Apple.pro also offers a Photoshop mockup of how the iPhone 5 might look with a separate camera and flash:
