Possible iPhone 4S photos surface

Is this the iPhone 4S? Nah, probably not
Is this the iPhone 4S? Nah, probably not

Photos of what is supposedly the iPhone 4S have been published showing a familiar-looking handset with a plastic casing in place of the iPhone 4's glass finish.

It's almost impossible to tell if these photos are the real deal; they could easily be of a regular iPhone 4 onto which an enterprising fraudster has transplanted into a plastic casing - or pasted a matte cover, as SlashGear points out.

Rumours have circled for some time that Apple will release a cheaper version of its popular smartphone with a design that is very similar to the current iPhone - usually it's referred to as the iPhone nano, in line with the iPod range.

Baloney

Alongside this mid-range version, Apple is said to be planning the iPhone 5 which would offer those willing to pay more a radical new design, bigger screen, faster processor and all the secret bells and whistles that Apple no doubt has up its sleeve.

To release a budget phone doesn't really seem Apple's style, and for the next iPhone to surface on the web in such a low key fashion seems hugely unlikely – not after Gizmodo's 'found it in a bar' iPhone 4 scoop last year.

But whether the rumours of an iPhone Lite turn out to be true or not, we reckon these photos, which came from a Vietnamese forum, are fake.

rumourometer

From Tinhte via SlashGear

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News Editor (UK)

Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.

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