Leaked Photos of Low Cost iPhone 4 Prototype

1 1432133578

A series of images of what are claimed to be a prototype lower-cost iPhone 4 have been posted to Vietnamese site Tinhte.vn. The images are said to come from a "very reliable source" and are said to represent a lower-cost version of the iPhone 4. Machine translation describes an iPhone 4 but using plastic instead of glass to lower costs:

Some other information that you want to transfer to you is that this machine seems to run faster than the iPhone 4, lighter weight and two glass front and back seem to have been replaced by two plastic sheets, type of sensation and cry other than the iPhone 4.

Vinhte.vn is notable for being one of the sites with early access to one of the original iPhone 4 prototypes. They've also posted photos and video from an iPod Touch prototype with camera as well as 64 GB White iPhone 4 running a special version of iOS 4 with Expose-like multitasking.

3 1635834904
There has been speculation about the possibility of two new iPhone models this year, including a cheaper model alongside the iPhone 5. The role of the cheaper model would be to penetrate the mid range smartphone market with another device. The existing iPhone 4 may be too expensive to produce as is to fill this gap.

Update: Some have suggested that the device is simply a regular jailbroken iPhone 4 with either matte protection films on the front and back or an early conversion kit utilizing plastic parts to turn black iPhone 4 units into white ones. While either of these explanations may be true, the original poster seems to believe that the device is genuine, and his track record of having obtained access to an iPhone 4 prototype ahead of the device's introduction as well as other prototype iOS devices adds weight to his claims.

Tag: Tinhte

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
Apple TV Plus Feature 2 Magenta and Blue

Apple TV+ Curbs Costs After Expensive Projects Fail to Capture Viewers

Monday July 22, 2024 5:11 am PDT by
Apple is scaling back its Hollywood spending after investing over $20 billion in original programming with limited success, Bloomberg reports. This shift comes after the streaming service, which launched in 2019, struggled to capture a significant share of the market, accounting for only 0.2% of TV viewership in the U.S., compared to Netflix's 8%. Despite heavy investment, critical acclaim,...
bsod

Microsoft Blames European Commission for Major Worldwide Outage

Monday July 22, 2024 11:55 am PDT by
Last Friday, a major CrowdStrike outage impacted PCs running Microsoft Windows, causing worldwide issues affecting airlines, retailers, banks, hospitals, rail networks, and more. Computers were stuck in continuous recovery loops, rendering them unusable. The failure was caused by an update to the CrowdStrike Falcon antivirus software that auto-installed on Windows 10 PCs, but Mac and Linux...

Top Rated Comments

pewra Avatar
170 months ago
It's a normal iPhone with a matte screen protector, you can even see the edges around the home button and back corner. It's an older model with the different sensor sure, but nothing that isn't in the hands of the general public.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tastydirt Avatar
170 months ago
I find it unlikely that Apple would use plastic for the front touchscreen surface, especially considering every iPod touch has had a glass screen.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jenlevin Avatar
170 months ago
really? this is an iPhone 4 with non-authentic (or not final) white glass, with matte front back/protectors... running cydia. i can't believe this is on macrumors.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
troop231 Avatar
170 months ago
I find it unlikely that Apple would use plastic for the front touchscreen surface, especially considering every iPod touch has had a glass screen.

Agreed, Apple planned on using plastic for the first generation iPhone's screen but then scrapped that and went with glass.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cvaldes Avatar
170 months ago
Totally bogus.

Switching from glass to plastic (or modifying anything else cosmetic) would have a negligible effect on the cost. The most expensive components are the capacitive touch screen, the LCD display, and the main silicon (SoC and NAND flash). Those are the things that would need to be altered to trim costs.

This rumor is ridiculously ludicrous.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DavidLeblond Avatar
170 months ago
It's a normal iPhone with a ****ty matte screen protector, you can even see the edges around the home button.

This. That was the first thing I thought of too. In fact if you look at the image of the front of the phone it's pretty obvious.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)