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Leaked 'iPhone 5S' Rear Shell Likely for iPhone 5, Rumored Specs Equally Suspect

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Original poster
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Earlier this week, a user on China's microblogging service Sina Weibo posted a pair of photos showing what many observers have concluded must be the rear shell of the iPhone 5S, despite the user simply commenting "What is this?" alongside the photos.

iphone_rear_shell_not_5s.jpg
The photos were quickly picked up [Google translation] by Chinese site EXPreview, which paired them with specific claims about the specs of the iPhone 5S, including a graphics upgrade from the triple-core PowerVR SGX543MP3 to the quad-core SGX554MP4 found in the current-generation iPad, an increase in RAM to 2 GB, a 12-megapixel rear camera with dual-LED flash, support for faster LTE-Advanced data networks, NFC support, and a fingerprint reader.

The EXPreview report was soon cited by ExtremeTech, and has been slowly making its way around the rumor community before gaining significant momentum today.

The first problem is with the photos themselves, which appear to actually show a rear shell for an iPhone 5, not an iPhone 5S. The key point is the layout of the three main screw holes where the logic board attaches to the bed of the shell. The layout of these screw holes matches up perfectly with the logic board of the iPhone 5, but is inconsistent with screw holes seen on iPhone 5S parts leaked so far.

iphone_5s_5_logic_board_screws.jpg
iPhone 5S (left) and 5 (right) logic boards compared with main screw holes circled in red​
The iPhone 5S logic board was first seen as a photo leak of the bare board last month, revealing that the layout of the main screw holes has shifted, with the most obvious difference being the bottommost hole moving to the extreme lower left corner of the board rather than being more centered and set in a bit from the bottom of the board as seen on the iPhone 5. Our own leaked photos of an iPhone 5S prototype indeed show a screw hole at the bottom left corner of the logic board.

As for the specs, they appear to simply be a summary of many previous rumors and are extremely unlikely to be based on any specific information. Rumors of a 12-megapixel rear camera and LTE-Advanced support have surfaced from other sources. Our photos of the prototype show the dual-LED flash next to the rear camera and contradict EXPreview's claim of 2 GB of RAM, as part numbers on the device's main chip point to it carrying 1 GB of Elpida DRAM. So while some of the alleged specs may prove to be accurate, we believe the site's claims to simply be a case of summarizing nearly every possible rumor already floating around.

Article Link: Leaked 'iPhone 5S' Rear Shell Likely for iPhone 5, Rumored Specs Equally Suspect
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/07/17/leaked-iphone-5s-rear-shell-likely-for-iphone-5-rumored-specs-equally-suspect/
I

iOrbit

macrumors 6502a
Mar 8, 2012
569
30
i hope these are real.. I've always wanted the plain colour aluminium with hopefully black glass - like the macbook pros/ipod touch.
 
Klae17

Klae17

macrumors 65816
Jul 15, 2011
1,227
1,577
So basically all the rumor sites are starting to listen to each other and report it as news. Great.
 
G

GuitarDTO

macrumors 6502a
Feb 16, 2011
687
110
Still holding out hope, no matter how far fetched, that Apple will surprise us with a larger/redesigned iPhone this year instead of next. I think it would sell a TON, and along with iOS 7 would shut a lot of people up and address many of the criticisms.
 
A

animatedude

macrumors 65816
Feb 27, 2010
1,143
88
iOrbit said:
i hope these are real.. I've always wanted the plain colour aluminium with hopefully black glass - like the macbook pros/ipod touch.
Click to expand...


lol glad someone is not interested in whatever the article mentions in terms of hardware update! i want my silver aluminum back too!
 
V

Ventilatedbrain

macrumors regular
Nov 22, 2012
201
68
GuitarDTO said:
Still holding out hope, no matter how far fetched, that Apple will surprise us with a larger/redesigned iPhone this year instead of next. I think it would sell a TON, and along with iOS 7 would shut a lot of people up and address many of the criticisms.
Click to expand...


BOOOOOO

just to put you out of your misery mate :p
 
Carmenia83

Carmenia83

macrumors 6502
Feb 25, 2012
375
499
iOrbit said:
i hope these are real.. I've always wanted the plain colour aluminium with hopefully black glass - like the macbook pros/ipod touch.
Click to expand...

These are for the white iphone 5. You can see the white antenna spacers on the side.
 
M

melendezest

Suspended
Jan 28, 2010
1,693
1,579
Damn it. More leaks of same-old-same-old.

I really, really hope Apple releases the rumored, larger-screened iPhone+ too, and soon. But I doubt it.

Not buying the 5 or 5s. Might have to move to a different "Galaxy" until they do.

I just don't understand their stubbornness sometimes.
 
204353

204353

Cancelled
Jul 13, 2008
955
117
iOrbit said:
i hope these are real.. I've always wanted the plain colour aluminium with hopefully black glass - like the macbook pros/ipod touch.
Click to expand...

They're probably the shells of the white model, which has uncoloured anodised aluminium as the main finish.
 
I

imwoblin

macrumors 6502
Jun 9, 2007
435
176
If these posted updates are true, the 5s would be a worthy upgrade from my 4s. Processor, ram, video and fingerprint. I don't really care about a 12MP camera since the sensor is so small & I'm not a mega pixel chaser.
 
Vanilla35

Vanilla35

macrumors 68040
Apr 11, 2013
3,344
1,453
Washington D.C.
Nice rumor. So at least it re-affirms that graphics are going to be a quad-core, 12 mp camera, and possible ram bump. I personally don't see them putting in 2gb ram because this is an iPhone and apple doesn't go above what's needed in certain cases (iPhone 5 camera) (iPhone 4S 0.85?gigs of ram).
 
B

bisnicks

macrumors regular
Feb 4, 2011
164
0
It could very well be how Apple would pull off multiple color phones. Plain aluminum with different colored glass.
 
ValSalva

ValSalva

macrumors 68040
Jun 26, 2009
3,783
259
Burpelson AFB
imwoblin said:
If these posted updates are true, the 5s would be a worthy upgrade from my 4s. Processor, ram, video and fingerprint. I don't really care about a 12MP camera since the sensor is so small & I'm not a mega pixel chaser.
Click to expand...

True about the megapixels per inch. If Apple just packs more megapixels on the same sized sensor then what's really the point? They'd do better to improve the software processing and reduce noise with the megapixels already present.

Of course if they could make the sensor bigger... Unlikely though. This iPhone is probably going to remain the same size as the 5 and there just isn't enough room.
 
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