Gray SIM card tray for iPhone 5S points to a fourth color option

The gold / champagne colored iPhone 5S has been getting a lot of attention from the rumor mill, but there might be a fourth color option on the way. A grey SIM card tray popped up in a repair shop in Japan and it looks just like the leaked iPhone 5S trays.

The image above compares it to the gold iPhone 5S nanoSIM tray and the white iPhone 5 tray.

The gray SIM tray is too dark for the white iPhone and too light for the black iPhone. It's possible that Apple will tweak one of the two standard flavors of its next iPhone but it's also possible that the company is trying out a fourth color.

  
White and grey trays • color comparison with white, gold and black iPhone

Even if Apple is indeed testing a fourth color, there's no guarantee we'll see them all at the iPhone unveiling (which is allegedly scheduled for September 10). Companies usually try different prototypes before settling on a final design.

Source (in Japanese) | Via

A pair of new leaked videos show more iPhone 5C panels

File this under rumors with a capital "R." While they may be a bit misleading in their titles, the latest iPhone 5C video leaks show off an "unboxing" of the device panels, as well as a "scratch test."

This scratch test video doesn't really put the panel through its paces, but it does include some measurements - though they're oddly of still images rather than a live shot. Take the 124.55 x 59.13 x 8.98 dimensions with perhaps more than the usual grain of salt.

Not much is revealed in the second video either, but if these panels do turn out to be the real deal, then the iPhone 5C will come in white, blue, green, red, and yellow.

We'll hopefully find out more as the rumored September 10 Apple announcement date nears.

More images of the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C leak

With just couple more weeks left for the alleged launch event of the next generation iPhone, you can say the device is just around the corner. That also means, however, that the leaks are now coming in thick and fast to the point where there will be little new left to learn when the device(s) actually get announced.

Today we have more images of both the iPhone 5S as well as the iPhone 5C. The iPhone 5S here is seen in the new shade of champagne gold. It also has the glass back panels painted in white, so we now have a proper idea of what the final unit will look like, at least from the rear. The front should be identical to the current white iPhone 5. For more images of the iPhone 5S, click on the first source link below.

Then there are also images of the iPhone 5C, seen here in all five alleged shades that it would be sold in. Seen here are the yellow, green, white, cyan and pink colors with a possible color choice of black or white panel for the front.

At this point we have pretty much seen what there is to see in these new iPhones, at least as far as the design is concerned. Hopefully, the event invites come soon and it is indeed on the rumored September 10 date.

Source 1 • Source 2

More Apple iPhone 5S concepts surface, suggest 2 screen sizes

We came across a couple of iPhone designs which we haven't seen before. The first appears to be made out of plastic and closely resembles the popular iPod Touch. It will allegedly be the rumored cheaper new iPhone. It also appears to have a slightly smaller screen than the current 4" Retina on the iPhone 5.

iPhone 5S and cheaper new iPhone

The second device is the more interesting one and is slated as the iPhone 5S (or maybe even iPhone 6). It's larger than the current iPhone 5 and sports a bigger, almost bezel-less screen with sloping edges. It sports a rather strange-looking cyan color and the front appears to be entirely made of glass. The back, like on the smaller device, looks to be plastic as well.

The images aren't of the best quality so the material used on the concept phones could be something other than plastic, like glossy aluminum. The edges around the screen look to be precision cut - just like on the iPhone 5.

 
The two new iPhone concepts

We urge you to take these images with a pinch of salt as they can prove to be nothing more than clever renders. That being said, there is always the possibility that what we're seeing are prototypes that Apple's working on prior to launching the final hardware.

This is not the first time we've seen an alleged iPhone render-slash-concept and these are likely to start popping up even more with the summer just around the corner.

Source (Dutch) | Via

Alleged fith-gen Apple iPad front panel surfaces

A photo of what looks to be the front panel of the upcoming fifth-gen Apple iPad has surfaced today, giving us a hint of what the upcoming slate might look like.

Judging from the photo, the new iPad will sport many of the design characteristics of the iPad Mini, but on a larger scale. The edges aren’t as round as the current-gen iPad, and the side bezel is much narrower, too. The usual Home button appears to be intact as well.

As always, this information should be taken with a pinch of salt, but the guys over at nowhereelse.fr, who obtained the photo in question, have a history of accurate leaks.

Additionally, the photo of the alleged iPad 5 front panel suggests that the production of the slate has commenced. If everything goes as planned for Apple, we should see the iPad 5 ready for prime time some time this autumn.

Source (French) | Via

Apple introduces two-step verification for Apple ID

Apple has introduced a new two-step verification process for accounts that use the Apple ID. This will help protect your account from being accessed from a new device by an unauthorized person.

What this does is whenever you or someone else tries to access your Apple ID from a new device, along with the usual username and password, the device will also ask for a verification key. This verification key will be sent to one of the devices that you have registered. You will then have to enter the verification key into the new device to complete the log in process. This way, if someone gets access to your Apple ID, they won’t be able to log in until they also get access to the verification key.

Apple lets you choose one of your iOS devices as the default device to which the verification key is sent every time. You also get a recovery key, which can be used in case you forget the password or lose the default device.

Following the recent security fiasco with the Apple ID, where a bunch of hackers remotely wiped a technology journalist’s MacBook after getting access to his Apple ID, it is imperative that one takes as many precautions as possible and enabling this two-step verification process is the first thing you need to do if you have an Apple ID.

To enable the two-step verification, click here and then log in with your Apple ID. Then click on Password and Security, answer the questions and then you will get the option to setup two-step verification for your Apple ID.

Source

RUMOR: The next iPhone will likely be a marginal update

Sources from the Apple supply chain are at it again. This time the rumors circulate around the end of May arrival of components, which would point to an arrival of the next iPhone in the the third quarter of this year.

According to said sources the next iPhone will allegedly be a marginal upgrade of the iPhone 5 (perhaps called the iPhone 5S). The next-gen iPhone should come with an improved processor, perhaps a higher-megapixel camera with new module or even a redesigned flash ("Smart Flash") with white and yellow LEDs in order to improve color reproduction.

Foxconn Electronics chairman Terry Guo has noted that he expects company performance to start picking up after April or May, which could coincide with the beginning of the production of the latest iPhone.

According to the sources if the components supply goes smoothly the next-gen iDevice could be delivered to retail channels in 1 to 2 weeks time, which would mean a realistic Q3 launch (Apple needs to gather up stock as the production rate is far lower than initial demand).

Finally reports are mentioning a cheaper, plastic-made iPhone too, but as we are getting the "cheaper iPhone" each year we take those rumors with an extra pinch of salt. Besides, every time the new iPhone comes out last-year's model gets discounted, technically making it the "cheaper iPhone".

Source | Via

The iPhone passcode can still be bypassed after the iOS 6.1.3 update

It was just yesterday Apple released the iOS 6.1.3 update to address the lockscreen passcode bypass issue. Unfortunately, there is another work-around that will still give you access to the Phone app without entering the pass code.

To make this work though, all you need is a SIM ejecting tool or a paperclip. The good news is you can make your iPhone immune to this workaround by simply disabling voice dial in your passcode lock settings screen.

Here is how it’s done:

Let the countdown to iOS 6.1.4 begin, then.

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