iPhone 4 Leak Redux

The web is going crazy today around what seems to be an incredible leak of the iPhone 4G; after some first pics published by Engadget yesterday, Gizmodo managed to put its hands on the actual device last week and apparently, this would be the real deal.

The story

The story of this leak is somewhat incredible. Supposedly, the device was found by some guy on the floor of a bar in Redwood City. It was hidden in a case which made it look like a regular iPhone 3G(s). It was apparently in working condition at first, running iPhone OS 4.0, Apple deactivated it remotely soon after. The guy then apparently sold it to Gawker media, the Gizmodo owning company for either $10,000 or $5000 + a bonus depending on traffic. We don't know how legit the story is as many believe it was actually stolen from Cupertino. Unfortunately this is all we know for now. Is it possible? Well, I lost my iPhone in a bar once myself so these things can definitely happen, but on the other hand this is a freaking iPhone 4 and it's hard to believe in such an oversight. That brings me to believe in two possibilities; either it was stolen, or this could be a controlled leak from Apple who deliberately left it there and is turning into a big attention whore lately. The latest news is that Steve Jobs apparently just called Gizmodo to have his iPhone back, but we don't know more about it for now.

The Features

In terms of hardware (they haven't managed to activate the phone), it's every fanboy's wish-list:

• Front-facing camera and improved back camera with flash
• Micro-Sim
• Higher resolution display
• Extra microphone, probably for video chat and noise cancelation

Design

The back is now flat and the device is going for a more squared look. On the inside, the component were shrunk to leave space for a bigger battery. I'm not an expert, but you can check out all the pictures they made to have a better idea. Or this youtube video:

Further, they took the phone partly apart and the component are labelled Apple which would confirm the authenticity of it.

Take away

Gizmodo bought a prototype of the next iPhone and there isn't much doubt about it. They're also a bunch of lucky bastards, that's another given. The upcoming features aren't much of a surprise since it does look like Apple is finally going through the suggestion box lately with new features like multitasking; so the front-facing camera was the next obvious move. The big surprise is the design, well, a redesign is always tough. People might complain about the present look of the iPhone because it hasn't evolved in a while, but we're all used to it and seeing a completely different iPhone is of course going to be a shock (just think of the Facebook redesigns...). The idea of the flat ceramic back is a nice touch however since it allows for much better radio connectivity. Is this the definitive cut? Probably not. Apple is the only cellphone maker that gives itself a year to renew its products. That means that they do some crazy amount of testing and I wouldn't be surprised that there are tens if not hundreds of models circulating in Cupertino. So here is my takeaway; the next iPhone will feature a new look, you'll probably hate it at first, but in the long term you'll get to love it like every other. It will feature all these little hardware upgrades you've been wishing for. Added to what we know of iPhone OS 4, it's a killer iPhone on steroids. Check out Gizmodo's special coverage for more, they also have a bunch footage and they really made an amazing job on this one. Also, if you find an iPhone 4G (or 5G) on the floor in the future, call us first (and put it in airplane mode right away too)...

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