iPhone Rumor Roundup: Apple Lite, Mini, or 5C Seemingly Confirmed by Labor Report

As we experience the run-up to Apple's release of something in the coming months, the rumorsphere is going wild with purported leaks of the so-called "iPhone Lite." Some new photos supposedly show the iPhone with FCC certifications and packaging marked with a curious "iPhone 5c" label.

Ever since Reuters reported a big anonymously sourced article in June, fueling iPhone rumors and giving weight behind whispers of a "mini" or "lite" version of the iPhone, the supposed leaks have been fast and furious. It now seems pretty probable that someday soon there will be a low-cost version of the iPhone with a plastic body, which may or may not come in several different colors.

Photographs from sources like WeiPhone, a Chinese forum, and nowhereelse.fr, have been flooding the net, giving iPhone fans a taste of candy-colored plastic bodied iPhones, as well as a white-shelled iPhone.

Previously called the "iPhone mini" by sites reporting on the rumors, consensus almost formed around calling the rumored new device the "iPhone Lite," when a new photo appeared, purportedly showing a bin full of the new iPhone packaging at the factory.

This photo showed up recently from WeiPhone, with the words "iPhone 5c" on what looks like Apple-branded boxes. Despite the all-white boxes, the "C," it was surmised, stood for Color. However, a couple things stand in the way of this image's veracity.

First, nowhereelse.fr took a close look at the photo, and found some inconsistencies, like a "." appearing on one of the boxes: stray typography visibly present on the new iPhone's box would be pretty sloppy for Apple. They may not have Steve Jobs anymore, but they haven't slipped that far. Nowhereelse.fr also found what could be blurred areas on some of the cases, suggesting a Photoshop job. The French tech site released their own image (via BGR) showing the inconsistencies:

Still, it's possible those were rejected boxes, which would explain the extra dot, and it's also possible that the blurred areas are just in nowhereelse.fr's imagination. Also, Apple did add the "s," as in iPhone 4s, to denote speed, so it wouldn't be outside of the realm of possibility that they'd add a "c" for a color variant. We'll have to wait for further corroboration from other leaks (or just wait for Apple to reveal the darn thing!) before making a final judgment on the name.

Meanwhile, another photo leaked from Weibo (via iPhone5skopen) showing what looks like the "iPhone Lite" in white casing, but this time with FCC and other certifications under the handset's identifier. There haven't been any reports of the iPhone Lite or mini going through the FCC, and many other electronics are spotted that way - but Apple is known for its secrecy, so the photo may actually be real.

Finally, a report from China Labor Watch via Wired, focusing on the labor conditions at one of Apple's Pegatron manufacturing bases includes a reference to a plastic iPhone, giving yet more credence to the rumors of an upcoming "lite" or "mini," or now "5c" version of the iPhone. An excerpt from the on-the-ground report includes this passage:

"Today's work is to paste protective film on the iPhone's plastic back cover to prevent it from being scratched on assembly lines. This iPhone model with a plastic cover will soon be released on the market by Apple."

Expect more of these rumors and leaks, and more debunking or confirming throughout August, as a September unveil is expected. And stay with LatinosPost Tech for more rumor parsing on the upcoming iPhone - because it's getting pretty thick out there.