Visualizing the iPhone Color

Though when this article is being written and published, we're not certain of what the next iPhone will be called, it does seem quite likely that there'll be a version with a plastic back cover in a variety of colors. This device has been code-named iPhone 5C in the tech news circuit, and may very well be called the iPhone Color when revealed at an event tentatively scheduled (not Apple official quite yet) for the 10th of September. So what's this plastic iPhone all about?

It's been suggested more than once that the iPhone 5C – aka iPhone Color – will be replacing the iPhone 4S in the Apple retail collection of iPhones on the market by the end of the year. This would mean that the iPhone 5C would have to bring a price point able to cut out the iPhone 4S from the market entirely – or at least bump the device down to the "refurbished sale" section at Apple online until stock is sold off.

This iPhone 5C device has been rumored to be taking on a form not unlike the iPhone 5. Apple has been tipped to be bringing on a series of plastic backs for this device, this collection including black, white, yellow, red, blue, and green – and this set of colors could be just the start. Expansion could include special-edition backs like the Apple collaboration with (PRODUCT) RED for the RED iPod – of course that wouldn't work especially well with the first wave of releases rumored to be appearing for this device.

It's also suggested that the iPhone 5C will bring Siri – this assuring the dominance of the software in each of the major iPhone devices on the market: iPhone 5C, iPhone 5, and iPhone 5S. The iPhone 5C will also bring on iOS 7 as on of the premiere devices to show this software off.

Rumor has it that the iPhone 5C will bring the same 4-inch 1136 x 640 pixel display as the iPhone 5, coming in 16, 32, and 64GB editions as its predecessor. It would appear that the dominant suggestion for size on this plastic-backed iPhone is currently 4.89 x 2.30 x 0.30 inches (124.2 x 58.4 x 7.6 mm). Such a size makes the iPhone 5C ever-so-slightly narrower than the iPhone 5, taller, with essentially the same thickness.

The size difference between the iPhone 5 and this "budget" iPhone will be minimal enough that some – certainly not all, but some – protective cases made for one will work for the other. It can also be inferred that the iPhone 5C will be lighter than the iPhone 5 due solely to its plastic housing.

So what's the difference between the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 5C? Physical makeup and price – you're not getting aluminum with the iPhone 5C, but you are getting a choice of colors, and you are getting the device for a lower price. This low-cost iPhone has been rumored far longer than any appearance of color casings – the impact of the release is sure to be as much based in the war it wages on the lower-cost Android devices whose territory it'll be invading as it will be about custom color choices.

And don't expect Apple to offer any custom-order action like the Moto X, but don't be surprised if more colors for this device are revealed before the next iPhone as it's revealed in another 12 months time. Stick with us here on SlashGear as we head to the official Apple iPhone event on September 10th (more than likely) to lay eyes on as much up-close-and-personal action as you can handle!