Tapered case, edge-to-edge screen, August release: New iPhone 5 rendition shows major design overhaul

The iPhone 5 release date rumors and speculation over the features of the next generation iPhone from Apple have taken a new direction with BGR's 'independent confirmation' that the device with radical design changes will be launched in August.

The Boy Genius Report prediction was supported by the revelation by tech site This is my next that according to new renderings of the iPhone 5 design, the device will sport a major design overhaul.

CNET too has said that according to multiple sources, the new iPhone 5 will not be merely an updated version of iPhone 4, but will represent drastic design changes.

The rendering of iPhone 5 released by This is my next shows an iPhone with a case sporting a tapered design. The new design is conspicuously different from the existing one inasmuch as it sports a an enlarged home button, edge-to edge screen and rounded glass.

Meanwhile BGR said it has independently confirmed that the next-generation iPhone will be far more than just an updated version of the existing model. The report affirms that the upcoming iPhone 5 will have a radical new case design.

More importantly, the report says Apple is likely to announce iPhone 5 in early August and that the product could hit shelves by the end of August.
That's a pretty strong and forthcoming assertion which carries a lot of weight, considering that iPhone 5 release date rumors have been all over the place with various web sites giving widely conflicting reports.

This report effectively takes the iPhone 5 release date story substantially forward. Earlier there were reports that Apple could launch iPhone 5 in September, holding an iPhone-specific event in place of the regular iPod event in September.

Later on this theory was strongly disputed by tech observers who believed the release of iPhone 5 in early September was strategically wrong. The argument was that the iOS 5, which Apple unveiled at the WWDC, will be ready to roll out only in the Fall, which begins by the end of September. It would be far too short sighted a thing to launch an iPhone without iOS 5 at a time when the challenge from Android OS-based handsets was growing. The Nexus 4G launch around Thanksgiving was particularly in focus.

If Apple launches iPhone 5 in September, it will have to face down the challenge from a far superior smartphone within months. So what if Apple surprises everyone -- suiting its style, for that matter, and launch the phone much sooner?

With the BGR report, the theory that Apple could launch iPhone earlier than September is gaining ground. We’re not sure if that means the iPod event will be moved up slightly, or if this will be an iPhone-specific event, BGR reported.