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Mystery iPhone includes unseen version of iOS

A couple of videos have appeared that seem to show a pre-production white iPhone 4 running a version of iOS with previously unseen features.

Scott Colvey
2 min read

A couple of videos have appeared that seem to show a pre-production white iPhone 4 running a version of iOS with previously unseen features.

In the first video, uploaded to YouTube by Vietnamese tech blog Tinh te, a disembodied pair of hands holds what appears to be a white iPhone 4. As the anonymous owner's digits poke around the touchscreen, it becomes obvious this handset seems to be running a version of iOS we haven't seen before.

Instead of the task-manager strip familiar to users of iOS from version 4.0 upwards, this implementation of the Apple operating system employs an Exposé-style grid that displays nine app thumbnails. Atop this sits a 'Search iPhone' bar that appears to replicate the existing Spotlight tool.

In the second video, the unknown host gives viewers a tour of the handset itself. The hardware doesn't look markedly different from the current iPhone 4, though the earpiece grille is clearly not the same as the production design.

The rear of the device shows an 'XXGB' mark in place of the usual storage legend. This same label was previously spotted on the iPhone 4 test unit famously obtained by Gizmodo last year and later verified as the genuine article.

Drilling down into iOS's About section, from General, the demonstrator shows the handset has a capacity of 58.2GB -- pointing to a 64GB device. Currently, the iPhone 4 is available only in 16 and 32GB capacities.

Is this an iPhone 5 with iOS 5 being demonstrated in these videos or merely a good hoax using a jailbroken handset? Do you speak Vietnamese? Feel free to use the comments section to translate the narration.