For months, we’ve been talking about the possibility of two iPhones: a speed bump upgrade called the iPhone 4S that may end up also being Apple’s low-cost, prepaid option, and the iPhone 5, the radically redesigned next gen device.
Over the last month or so, it’s looking increasingly unlikely that the iPhone 5 is going to show up next month. There’s no evidence for the device in the supply chain, while there’s tons of evidence that the iPhone 4S is coming.
The image above of a new Otterbox case for the iPhone 4S might be the nail in the iPhone 5’s coffin, though.
Jailbreak hacker Chronic posted the above image of a new Otterbox case specifically designed for the iPhone 4S. Reportedly, Otterbox is so sure of the design that they’ve already made 3 million of them.
Otterbox isn’t just some no name Chinese case maker: these guys are one of the big boys in case design. If this is what they are banking for when it comes to the the next iPhone, we should all pay attention.
My guess is that the iPhone 5 is slipping to 2012 due to supply issues and design challenges… possibly as an early to mid year device. In the mean time, Apple will launch a speedbumped iPhone 4S just to keep appetites whet. What do you think
[via MacTrast]
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
