Get out your magnifying glass, folks. The image you see above was taken earlier this week in San Francisco and, according to the source of the photo, it depicts what he believes to be an Apple employee cradling an iPhone 5. According to 9to5 Mac, the tipster "has had an iPhone 3GS and currently has an iPhone 4" and "knows his iPhones and iPods," and he believes that the device in this photo isn't like any other iOS device he's seen.

The source believes that the handset in the photos had a body that would fit perfectly in the case we saw leak out yesterday. Additionally, the source described the iPhone as having an "almost EVO-like" screen size, a body that was both thinner and wider than the iPhone 4, rounded metal edges like those found on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, and a curved back that he thought was made of glass. Finally, the owner of this mystery product was said to be "trying to hide what he had more than the average smartphone user."

So is this indeed the next generation iPhone? The device in the photo is probably a little too obscured and grainy to give a conclusive answer either way, but there are arguments to be made for both sides. On the one hand, you have to wonder why this person would be using Apple's new iPhone in plain view, giving anyone a chance to sneak a peek at it. Plus, the device in the photos bears a resemblance to the iPhone 3GS, thanks in large part to the volume rocker on its side. Some would argue that making the unannounced iPhone 5 look like a 3GS is exactly something Apple would do, though, just like when the prototype iPhone 4 was discovered in a bar last year. Plus, Apple would need to take its new handset off-campus at some point to test how it works with cell towers in the wild. So what do you all make of the images? Could this really be the new iPhone or are you calling fake?

Via 9to5 Mac