Foxconn employee tells us that the next iPhone is ready for production, indicates likely summer launch

We received word from a reliable source at Foxconn in China that the iPhone 5, as it is currently being called, is now gearing for production.  The source said various sample devices are also floating around (they vary slightly from one another), so it is impossible to tell which one will be the final.  Some things in common with all of them, however, are:

• 4+ inch display (made by LG on at least one of them).
• No teardrop-shaped devices, as rumored in the lead up to the iPhone 4S. Samples so far have been symmetrical in thickness (also longer/wider).
• Neither of the sample devices have the iPhone 4/4S form factor.
• Neither of the devices are the final versions.

We also heard the non-teardrop and 4-inch display information previously in a report from iLounge, but what is important to note here is that iPhone 4S production did not gear up until late spring of last year.  If we follow patterns and give a five month-ish lead time, it would appear that Apple is back on its new iPhone launch for summer/WWDC pattern that it maintained until last year.

We are still a long way off however.

This source is the same that indicated to us late last summer that the iPhone 5 was not happening against the prevailing tide of information, and that Apple was building the iPhone 4S model instead. (Love the comments in that post, by the way.)

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