Case company Hard Candy is busy manufacturing 50,000 cases for a mystery Apple device.
The device probably looks like the mockup above. It might be the iPhone 5 or a new, bigger iPod touch. It has a 4.44-inch diagonal screen, which is much larger than most observers are expecting for a new iPhone.
Whatever it is, Hard Candy expects Apple CEO Tim Cook to unveil the device at today’s press event. And the company is busy churning out a range of different cases that will be on store shelves when the device ships.
Hard Candy cases says it received identical data about the device from three sources. This is what they heard:
Large 4.44-inch screen.
It is significantly bigger than the iPhone 4, but the case tapers, making it feel a lot thinner.
Large, lozenge-shaped Home button (This is rumored to be integrated with new Assistant function, allowing tasks to be controlled by voice).
Is it the iPhone 5? Could be, but the screen size is much bigger than most observers are expecting. A 4.44-inch screen would make it significantly bigger that the iPhone 4, which has a 3.5-inch diagonal screen. It would be just a bit bigger than the HTC Evo 4G, one of the biggest Android smartphones on the market.
Hard Candy CEO Tim Hickman says it might be a new iPod touch. Maybe it’s an iPad mini: a smaller, cheaper device to rival the 7-inch Kindle that is likely to be a big hit this Christmas?
Whatever it is, only Apple knows for sure. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook is expected to unveil a new iPhone later today.