Alleged schematics of Apple iPhone 5 case shows larger home button, curved back

While the design of the Apple iPhone 4 has received high praise, if some schematic designs for an Apple iPhone 5 case obtained by MobileFun are for real, the next generation model of Apple's touchscreen phone looks to be taking a step back in time. With the back of the device curved like the Apple iPad 2, the rounded back design brings back memories of the iPhone 3GS.

But that doesn't mean that Apple is bringing back an older model. The screen size appears to be increased to a range of 3.7 to 4 inches, up from the current 3.5 inch display size. As expected, the screen will be edge to edge allowing Apple to use every possible inch of real estate to increase the size of the screen while keeping the phone a decent size. Back in May, we reported that a prototype of the phone showed such a screen design.

It should be interesting to seen how Apple handles the resolution of a larger screen, if they keep the 300ppi needed for the display to be a Retina Display. If the screen is expanded to 3.7 inches and the 640 x 960 resolution remains the same, the ppi will be 312, down from the current 326, but still enough to be called a Retina Display. Talk of a gesture based home button would explain the larger size of the button in the schematics.

MobileFun says that according to the design document, side buttons have been moved to the opposite side and the lock button is now near the camera and the volume controls are more than half way down the side of the phone. That doesn't seem apparent from the schematic design. MobileFun also theorizes that the lock and volume buttons could be touch sensitive and that the Apple logo on the back could be the antenna.

Just before every Apple iPhone has been announced, leaks start to increase in number and in accuracy. We might not be able to glean information from a prototype found in a bar like last year, but information from case manufacturers has historically proven to be quite accurate. And to make things more interesting, a second case manufacturer provided MobileFun with a picture of one of their cases allegedly made for the Apple iPhone 5. The openings correspond nicely with the schematics.

source: MobileFun via 9to5Mac, RedmondPie