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New ‘leaked’ photos claim to show fourth iPhone 5S color – graphite – but we’re skeptical

With a dramatic title of ‘Behold: The First Part Leaks of the Grey or Graphite iPhone 5S!’, Sonny Dickson has released what he claims are leaked photos of a fourth iPhone 5S color: grey.

Given the extent of the apparently solid leaks of the gold or champagne color, it would be odd for there to have been no prior leaks of a fourth color. There are several alternative explanations for what is apparently shown here.

First, this type of photo is very easy to fake, either in Photoshop or by overlaying readily-available black glass on a white iPhone. Second, it could be a genuine Apple prototype from a stage at which Apple was trying out other colors. Third, it could be a quality-control failure. Finally, and most likely of all, it could be a counterfeit. Counterfeit iPhones have been around in China for years (hell, there are even counterfeit Apple stores), some of which attempt to be close replicas and some of which use different colors. It’s a near-certainty that there are already knock-offs in existence based on the 5S.

Even lighting and angle can create this kind of illusion. The photo below is simply a standard white iPhone 5 which appears very similar in appearance to the claimed graphite 5S without any alteration:

This doesn’t appear likely to be the explanation in this case, as we see the phone from several angles, but it does serve as a useful reminder not to get too excited by such claims.

None of this means the photos couldn’t be genuine, but that’s certainly not where we’d be putting our money. Either way, we don’t have too long to wait: the iPhone 5S is expected to be unveiled at a media event on 10th September and go on sale on the 20th.

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Comments

  1. mpias3785 - 11 years ago

    Even if it IS fake, it doesn’t look half bad. Even the gold one is growing on me. I guess I’m more sick of the black and white than I thought.

  2. mkimid - 11 years ago

    After two weeks if Sep 10th. We will see all. Already, we have too many rumors ^.^

  3. Joseph DiPierno - 11 years ago

    I would really want black plastic with aluminum unibody, to match my Mac

    • Ben Lovejoy - 11 years ago

      Hehe – to be fair, the color shown there is rather different to the champagne one we think is real, and that rumor suggested that black would be discontinued …

      • standardpull - 11 years ago

        Lighting, sensor, color correction. On the web, who knows what color is the “real” color.

  4. David S. Matrecano - 11 years ago

    Well, it makes perfect sense for me:
    4 Colors for the 5s
    The old Black and White + The new Gold and Silver..
    Why Not??’

  5. RP - 11 years ago

    When the sim trays for the gold one were first leaked, they were leaked with grey ones.

  6. rahhbriley - 11 years ago

    Couldn’t it be an actually back plate that just hasn’t been anodized yet?

    Personally I don’t care for the black/graphite combo. I’m sure there are those who would.

    • mpias3785 - 11 years ago

      Non-anodized aluminum would just look bright silver and clear anodized aluminum could range from bright silver to the gray color of the Mac laptops. Either color would be a nice change.

      • rahhbriley - 11 years ago

        Thanks for the clarification.

  7. I really hope this is real, but I would like to see it totally grey, so no black/grey

    • barlen - 11 years ago

      The “color” of these phones seems a non starter to me. 99% of people put these in some sort of case, so the back’s color is never even seen. Now if the colors were on the face of the phone (like all grey), that would be something. I would like to see a grey face offered as well to the (white/black).

  8. Jack (@JacksterD) - 11 years ago

    I would love an iPhone 5S with an aluminum body and black glass. It would look more like the original iPhone.

  9. Richard Querrey - 11 years ago

    Hasn’t there been some leaks of a graphite looking sim card tray that would back this up?

  10. mpias3785 - 11 years ago

    I’m less concerned about the case color rumors than the possibility of being able to get my hands on a 128 GB version. I don’t think I’ll be happy until there’s a 512 GB version!

  11. Jonathan Ridgwell - 11 years ago

    This is a fake. If you look at the flash it’s the round one LED flash of the 5. The champagne phone shows the supposedly new oval LED flash of the 5S.

  12. irockapple - 11 years ago

    I really like that grey mock up. The white and black are starting to become stale.

  13. rosselliott - 11 years ago

    That looks pretty much exactly like my iPhone 5, now that the black has all scratched off it…

  14. simon2106 - 11 years ago

    I keep seeing these champagne and now graphite 5s chassis but one glaring thing to me is that from the pics the chamfer and inside are bare metal. Am I right to think they are anodised post machining in the manufacturing process like the present black phone so the inside and chafers would be coloured?

  15. ERROR: “The photo below is simply a standard white iPhone 5S” The 5S isn’t out yet.

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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