Apple may have leaked its next smartphone early, with images on its website showing what looks very much like an iPhone 5S but with the coloured plastic backing of an iPhone 5C.
In pictures advertising its new iPhone lightning dock - which can be used to charge iPhone 5 and later models - Apple showed off the iPhone 5S, 6, 6 Plus and the mysterious hybrid phone, which some online are assuming will be announced as the 6C.
The phone could be mistaken for a 5C, except for the fact that it features a Touch ID sensor, which has only been fitted on the 5S, 6 and 6 Plus. Apple has since replaced the image with one of a 5C (which also features a different background image to the previously shown phone), adding weight to the idea that the original image was included in error.
The iPhone 5C, introduced alongside the flagship 5S, was a clear attempt to muscle in on the second-hand iPhone market, repurposing the tech and parts from the previous model - the iPhone 5 - to give budget-minded consumers a shiny alternative.
If Apple were to stick to this logic, it would make sense for an iPhone 6C to be roughly equivalent to the iPhone 5S. This would fill the role of the budget, 4-inch iPhone analysts have been predicting will be introduced, while also discouraging consumers from simply going off and finding a resold or second-hand 5S.
It would also make sense for Apple to phase out the 5C, being the only phone it currently sells not equipped with the security- and Apple Pay-enabling Touch ID. The supposed 6C would conceivably replace both the 5S and 5C, slimming Apple's phone range from four to three and ensuring all handsets were fitted with the Touch ID and NFC chip needed for Apple Pay going forward.
Of course this is all worth taking with a big grain of salt, as Apple has not confirmed a new phone nor are there any upcoming announced events where a new phone is likely to be shown.
Apple enthusiast news site 9to5mac reports that the mystery phone is merely a Photoshop fail, suggesting someone at Apple accidentally added the screen and home button from an iPhone 5S to the image that was supposed to be an iPhone 5C.
This seems possible, since the images are all clearly Photoshopped to maintain uniformity, but not everyone will be convinced.
What do you think? Is this a case of mistaken identity, or does the eventual introduction of a 6C make too much sense for this to be coincidence?
