Rumors have been circulating for a while that Apple Inc. is planning to come out with a low-cost version of the iPhone 5. The new low-end iPhones are rumored to be encased in plastic rather than glass which will allow them to be available in a variety of colors, similar to the current generation of iPod Touches on the market.
So far, a few photos have been reportedly leaked out of China. French site Nowhereelse posted on Wednesday what it claims are more leaked images from China of multicolored plastic casings for a potential low-cost iPhone 5 (pictured above).
The photos are completely unconfirmed by Apple, who hasn't even admitted it is working on a low-cost iPhone 5. The company is notorious for keeping information on new products tightly under wraps.
9to5Mac is skeptical of the new leaked images already. "We're not entirely convinced these are the real deal and not just clones made based off of plastic iPhone rumors stretching back months, the site writes: "While the colors are broadly consistent with those of the iPod touch/nano, and we'd expect to see differences between metal and plastic, those colors look rather garish even allowing for the poor lighting."
Those speculating at 9to5Mac aren't wrong, when compared to the current incarnations of iPod Touches, they do look similar. However, it wouldn't be like Apple to allow a less than beautiful product like this to ship out to consumers with its name and logo on it.
While a plastic backing is never going to look as good as a metallic one, the new phone still looks cheap when compared to the last time Apple produced a plastic device, the iPhone 3 (pictured below). While the new iPhone is supposed to be inexpensive, with some estimates going as low as $99, the more likely price tag estimated by insiders puts the handset in the $300 to $350 range. If those price estimates are correct this new image is not indicative of that cost. However, it is worth noting any images leaked at this stage of development could be in the early stages and thus, not ready for public consumption just yet.
