Alleged iPhone 5S assembly line spy shots surface, dismissed as a knock-off

iPhone 5S assembly line (image 001)

At last, some pretty credible parts apparently belonging to the iPhone 5S are starting to emerge. A set of images posted by a Chinese tech site and allegedly depicting the iPhone 5S parts on an assembly line include several shots of the device’s internals, including a vibration motor that looks to be a linear oscillating vibrator like that of the iPhone 4S.

That would be a departure from the iPhone 5’s more noisy rotational motor which uses counterweight. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the leaked images are authentic or perhaps show an iPhone clone being assembled somewhere in China, though latter seems to be the case. I’ve included a few more snaps right past the fold…

Chinese web site sjbbs.zol.com first published these images Monday morning.

Unlike previous blurry leaks, at first blush this batch of snaps appears to be the real deal.

iPhone 5S assembly line (image 004)

It does resemble an Apple-like smartphone.

iPhone 5S assembly line (image 003)

German web site PCgameshardware.de observes that Apple appears to have gone back to a linear-oscillating vibrator akin to that inside the iPhone 4S, which is quieter than the oscillating vibrator found inside the iPhone 5.

iPhone 5S assembly line (image 005)

9to5Mac notes that the spyshots also indicate that the iPhone 5S likely has a new internal layout for components, which was expected as Apple would use the opportunity to optimize the manufacturing process and costs based on the knowledge gathered from iPhone 5 manufacturing.

On a close inspection, however, iPhoneinCanada.ca doubts the authenticity of these images and suspects they represent an iPhone 5 clone. The smaller 1150 mAh battery gives it away. It doesn’t look right either as the battery should be black with white writing.

The blog notes the images probably originate from the same plant which makes an Android knock-off called the Goophone. Indeed, we’d have a hard time imagining Foxconn, Apple’s prime contract manufacturer, assembling iPhone clones and Apple not doing anything about it.

iPhone 5S assembly line (image 002)

Theres even an image of workers relaxing on the assembly line.

iPhone 5S assembly line (image 006)

If the rumors pan out, the iPhone 5S will land later this year with beefier CPU/GPU, a higher-resolution camera and the same industrial design like its predecessor, the iPhone 5.

Apple could offer the iPhone 5S in several colors. Also worth mentioning, another iPhone with a larger 4.8-inch display could also be in the works, though it might not launch in 2013.