iPhone 5 rumors: Major hardware update, coming in August?

Despite plenty of earlier rumors to the contrary, Apple’s iPhone 5 may end up looking much different from the current iPhone 4, and it may launch sometime in August, according to the mobile site Boy Genius Report.

A “reliable source” tells the site that Apple is working on a “radical case design” for the new phone — perhaps similar to the ultrathin and tapered design we saw in April. Other rumors have pointed to the next iPhone not changing that drastically from the iPhone 4’s design, which have led some to call the next phone the iPhone 4S.

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Given that Apple has faced significant criticism for the iPhone 4’s antenna design, and that it’s most likely squeezing in a larger screen, I’d say there’s a good chance BGR’s source is on the money.

Previous rumors have also stated that Apple will launch the next iPhone in September, when the company normally introduces new iPod hardware. But Apple may be trying something new this year, the sources say, by holding an August launch event dedicated to the iPhone 5. And assuming that happens, we could possibly get our grubby paws on the device at the end of August.

At this point, the iPhone 5 is expected to run Apple’s new dual-core A5 processor, sport a bigger 4-inch screen, and somehow get even thinner than the iPhone 4.

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