We're nearly into August now, which means that with an iPhone 5 launch likely coming in September, the rumor mill is working overtime. The latest report churned out by The Mill comes courtesy of the folks at 9to5 Mac, who claim to have more photos of iPhone 5 cases that may showcase the new handset's form factor. The cases, one silicone and one hard plastic, show a body that starts out thick up top and tapers to a thinner bottom. The source of the cases claim that the accessories measure 5 inches tall and 2.8 inches wide. They cases are likely to fit snugly on the device, which means that if they are indeed for the iPhone 5, the actual handset isn't much smaller. To compare, the iPhone 4 is 4.5 inches tall and 2.31 inches wide. That means that the iPhone 5 could indeed sport a larger screen like previous reports have claimed. The cases also show a mute switch that's been moved to the other side of the phone next to the camera and separate holes on the bottom for the handset's dock connector and speakers.
Continuing with the iPhone 5 rumor bonanza, a report from Gizmodo claims that Apple's new smartphone could be launching sometime in the final two weeks of September. This report comes from an alleged AT&T employee who says that any vacation requests made at his store/department for the end of September will be denied due to an "event blackout." According to the worker, the only time this has happened in the past was for the launch of a new iPhone.
So yeah. These new purported iPhone 5 cases match up with the one we saw a couple of days ago, but that doesn't necessarily mean that that's definitely what the new iPhone will look like. We could try and compare it to that to the alleged iPhone 5 photos from yesterday, but the device in those images is awfully small and grainy. Plus, that product could be in some sort of case meant to conceal its looks.
As for the possible end of September launch, well, it's certainly a possibility, especially with Labor Day happening earlier in the month. In the end, it's probably wise to take all of these rumors with precisely 3 1/2 tablespoons of salt. Just be sure to keep a little extra on hand for the bevy of iPhone 5 rumors that are sure to continue coming over the next month or so.
iPhone 4 case on the left, iPhone 5 case on the right
