Alleged iPhone “Lite” Leaked Online, And It’s Jailbroken

Take this one with a huge grain of salt, but TechCrunch is reporting that it’s received leaked shots of a “light version of the iPhone 4.” These pictures of what looks very much like a jailbroken iPhone 4 come from Tinhte, and TechCrunch makes the point that Tinhte got a white iPhone 4 prototype right with a leaked video back in April.

This iPhone 4 prototype is made of a cheaper build quality, and it matches up pretty well with a couple iPhone 5 case leaks that we reported on yesterday. However, the device doesn’t seem to be any smaller than the current iPhone 4…

“What we’re seeing is an iPhone 4 without front and back glass panels. Instead, there are two translucent plastic sheets and metal banding around the edge. This would make the iPhone considerably cheaper to build.”

Tinhte was the first site to get its hands on an iPod touch with a front facing camera, and that was back in May of 2010— months before Apple introduced an iPod touch with two cameras. The Vietnamese site also leaked a MacBook model before Apple announced it in 2010.

As you can tell, the identification numbers on the back of this alleged prototype have been X’ed out. We’re assuming that this hints at its authenticity as a legit prototype model.

Not much is different in this purposed iPhone Lite, but it’s interesting to note that the device has been jailbroken.

To echo Cult of Mac’s opinion, we have to think that this could just be a cheap conversion kit applied to the iPhone 4. There’s no real proof of the difference in build quality, so it’s difficult to give it a vote of confidence— even with Tinhte’s track record. Hopefully, if Apple does introduce an iPhone ‘Nano’ or ‘Lite’, the device will actually look different from the current iPhone 4.

Apple tests tons of different future iPhone prototypes before a product hits the market. This is typical practice, and Apple has been doing it for years. You don’t get such a well thought out product like the iPhone without a long list of failed prototypes that came before it. This alleged iPhone ‘Lite’ device could just be a failed experiment.

What do you think about this “leak?”