The missing prototype was from the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen Futian district, according to a report on tech site MicGadget.
"This should explain why we are seeing a whole lot of iPhone 5 cases in China today," it said.
MicGadget cited a supplier who said the missing prototype is said to have been enclosed in a case to disguise it as a current-generation iPhone 4.
Such a tactic was similar to the disguising of a prototype iPhone 4 as a previous-generation iPhone 3GS that was acquired by Gizmodo, it noted.
Apple outsmarted?
MicGadget said Apple may have been outsmarted by the person who took the prototype.
It said the person wiped the prototype's software, disabling the GPS hardware needed to track it down.
The prototype was then allegedly sold to one of the iPhone case manufacturers for RMB ¥20,000 (about $3,100).
"We were told that Foxconn was aware of the loss and had penalized internal management for the incident. We also heard from another source that the person who 'lost' it was paid to do so," MicGadget said.
It added this case is similar to the iPad 2 leak reported back in June, where three men were jailed for stealing unreleased information about the Apple tablet.
"What seems to strongly support the claim that an iPhone 5 prototype with the final chassis design has indeed landed into the hands of case manufacturers is that, weeks ahead of the iPhone 5 launch, we are already seeing a plethora of iPhone 5 cases for sale from many case manufacturers. Some even claim to have shipped 'thousands' of these cases," it said.
Finalized iphone 5 design
According to the MicGadget report, the missing iPhone prototype was a test model with a finalized iPhone 5 chassis featuring the tear-drop design.
"However, the interesting thing about it is that it apparently houses what we assume to be slightly modified iPhone 4 electronics with components such as the A4 chip and even the same amount of memory," it said.
Case vendors in China
MicGadget noted one of the case vendors is selling the iPhone 5 cases on Taobao (eBay of China).
It said some of the fancier ones include the silicone cases molded into the shape of a cute, one-toothed devil with horns; semi-transparent polycarbonate cases with a color gradient and 3D raindrop pattern; and hard transparent cases with plastic jewellery glued on, arranged in the form of cartoon characters and other intricate patterns.
"These fancy designs look similar to the iPhone 4 cases in the market," it said.
Considering that producing a mold for silicone cases costs tens of thousands of RMB and a mold for hard plastic cases costs even more, the variety of such cases already available for purchase indicates case manufacturers have access to what is believed to be the prototype of the iPhone 5 with the finalized design.
"It is not simply getting tipped on the dimensions and shapes of the next iPhone to make the molds," it said. — TJD, GMA News
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