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iPhone 5 was real, but Apple scrapped it

Apple's heavily-rumoured iPhone 5 was real apparently, but the company scrapped it in favour of the iPhone 4S.

Luke Westaway Senior editor
Luke Westaway is a senior editor at CNET and writer/ presenter of Adventures in Tech, a thrilling gadget show produced in our London office. Luke's focus is on keeping you in the loop with a mix of video, features, expert opinion and analysis.
Luke Westaway
2 min read

Apparently Apple's iPhone 5 really existed, but the company scrapped it at the last minute, according to an industry source speaking to Business Insider.

The rumour goes that Apple was all set to unveil the iPhone 5 but decided to go with the iPhone 4S instead, changing its mind just three months before the phone's official October launch. The source claims to have spent two weeks with a prototype version of the iPhone 5.

That fifth iteration of the iPhone was, apparently, a totally redesigned model. Before the launch of the 4S we'd heard no end of talk that the iPhone 5 would feature a wider edge-to-edge display, a curved back and possibly a broader, touch-sensitive home button to boot.

It's tempting to think that we weren't crazy after all, and that Apple really was planning on revealing a radically overhauled smart phone. But the idea of the company changing direction so radically just months before launch is hard to believe.

Still, we suspect Apple already has plans in mind for the next iPhone, and the next iPad come to mention it.

We were a little sad that the iPhone 4S was such a minor revision when it was eventually shown off, with a new A5 processor, Siri and a beefed-up camera being the most notable additions.

iOS 5 means that the phone feels fresh and fast, but it remains to be seen whether that's enough to keep the iPhone on top once phones running Android Ice Cream Sandwich eventually make an appearance.

Would you have preferred a redesigned iPhone 5 over the 4S? Or are you happy with what Apple coughed up? Let us know in the comments, on our Facebook wall, or via Google+.