iPhone 5 said to get 4-inch screen, new design

Last fall, the tech press – and we include ourselves in this category – got extremely jazzed up about the imminent arrival of the iPhone 5, which many bloggers thought would be thinner and faster and flatter than all other iPhones that had come before. Of course, what Apple actually unveiled was the iPhone 4S, essentially an internally bulked-up version of the iPhone 4, with a better camera and the Siri voice-activated personal assistant. 

Have no fear! An Apple iPhone 5 is actually on the way, according to the tech site 9 to 5 Mac, which cites a source at Foxconn, the Chinese manufacturer that provides many Apple parts. 

"The iPhone 5, as it is currently being called, is now gearing for production," writes Seth Weintraub of 9 to 5 Mac. "The source said various sample devices are also floating around (they vary slightly from one another), so it is impossible to tell which one will be the final."

Still, Weintraub says that all of the sample devices have a few things in common. For one, they all have different body shapes than the current iPhone – although none of the samples are teardrop shaped, as had been previously rumored. And all of the devices have screens larger than 4 inches, up from the current 3.5-inch display. Finally, Weintraub notes, none of the samples are in final form. 

In other words, things can change, and they probably will. Apple is known for throwing out finished prototypes because they weren't perfect.

For what it's worth, the rumors floated by 9 to 5 Mac don't seem that outlandish to us. After issuing two phones with identical boxy curves, and identical 3.5-inch displays, Apple is due for a shake-up. And a screen size shake-up is a good way to do that, especially considering the recent arrival of some tremendously large smartphone displays, like the 4.65-inch monster screen on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. 

Up, up, and away.