Next iPhone internals laid bare

Case parts for the next iPhone continue to leak out of China, with the latest pictures revealing internal sensors as well as a part that may serve to protect the back of the rumored 4-inch screen. The latest collection of parts, courtesy of iColorOS, shows off some titillating internal components, such as the volume rocker and protective shielding that separates the back of the iPhone's screen from the internals.

Several other parts also make an appearance, such as the home button and smaller SIM card tray. Just the other day we saw close up pictures of the next iPhone's smaller SIM card tray. The reduced size of the tray points to Apple using the new nano-SIM standard, approved by the ETSI at the beginning of June despite objections from Motorola, RIM, and Nokia.

Recent reports have suggested that European carriers are stockpiling supplies of nano-SIMs in order to accommodate demand for the next iPhone when it's released. Carrier sources located in the United States have also confirmed this to be the case, indicating that the next iPhone will most likely use nano-SIMs as opposed to the micro-SIMs currently used in the iPhone 4 and 4S.

Constant leaks and reports all point towards a larger 4-inch screen being used for the next iPhone, with Apple also rumored to increase the resolution from 960x640 to 1136x640, also marking a shift in aspect ratio to 16:9. Case parts suggest that the next iPhone would use a two-tone metallic design, with machine drilled speaker holes and a relocated 3.5mm headphone jack. The handset has also been tipped to include LTE connectivity and NFC support. The phone is expected to be announced on September 12th.

[via AppleInsider]