[NewsPoster]

(Updated with Nowhereelse mold photo) Photos posted to Chinese site Sina Weibo show what appear to be schematics and case molds for a next-generation iPhone. The schematics indicate a design roughly consistent with current iPhones, including touches like chamfered edges and thin bezels. It's difficult to determine size, but one obvious difference is the phone's depth, which is even thinner than the iPhone 5s.

Perhaps even more significant -- if the leaks are authentic -- are the images of the case molds in both finished and CAD-rendered form. Their existence suggests that Foxconn (the reported source of the leaks) has received final or near-final specifications, and is almost ready to go into production.

Assembly will likely only begin in June or July at the earliest though, since Apple isn't expected to launch any new iPhones until September. The company is even rumored to be doing a staggered release of its 4.7- and 5.5-inch models, the latter of which might not arrive until November, owing to production obstacles.

Update: French site Nowhereelse.fr has obtained a photo of a mold next to an iPhone 4S for comparison. It's believed that mold is designed for a 4.7-inch iPhone.

Via Nowhereelse.fr

[stevesnj]

The cases aren't molded, they are cut on a CNC machine

[Arne_Saknussemm]

The cases aren't molded, they are cut on a CNC machine

Read more: http://www.electronista.com/articles/14/04/14/existence.of.molds.suggests.foxconn.almost.ready.t o.go.into.production/#ixzz2yuhjFeMw

Fully machining the case would be a ridiculously wasteful process, even for the very wealthy Apple, and usually reserved for prototypes or very low number test runs.

Many final finishing surfaces might be created through milling, but a very close to final dimensions blank - molded in a very similar manner to thermoplastics, is a must for any kind of mass production.

I'm not an expert on injection molding of metals, just have some practical experience with plastics; but the photographs might very well be of a mold for the unfinished metal blank, or even more interesting,

they might be the cavities for a fully finished metal part, if it were cast out any of the "liquid metal" alloys Apple has been experimenting with that are said to be great at injection molding...

[Arne_Saknussemm]

P.S. A phone made of liquid metal alloy, would be a mayor selling point; I believe only some Vertu phones were made through this process (not sure thou)...

Just check some of the very attractive qualities of the material; besides a mouldability on a par with plastics (a liquid metal knife would come off the mold cavity fully sharpened), the scratch resistance of some of these alloys is said to be amazing - a beautiful counterpart to the rumored sapphire glass display.

Even an Apple uNfan such as yours truly would consider the extra $100 a very reasonable extra expense for a phone made with that quality of materials.

[Arne_Saknussemm]

P.S. A phone made of liquid metal alloy, would be a mayor selling point; I believe only some Vertu phones were made through this process (not sure thou)...

Just check some of the very attractive qualities of the material; besides a mouldability on a par with plastics (a liquid metal knife would come off the mold cavity fully sharpened), the scratch resistance of some of these alloys is said to be amazing - a beautiful counterpart to the rumored sapphire glass display.

Even an Apple uNfan such as yours truly would consider the extra $100 a very reasonable extra expense for a phone made with that quality of materials.