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Video A video has emerged online demonstrating what may or may not be a gold champagne-hued iPhone 5S and blue plastic 5C, both the next models lined up for Apple's smartmobe family.

The launch of the iOS 7 handsets is scheduled for 10 September. Corroborating rumours suggest we'll see a flagship 5S - available in a champagne-coloured case as well as the usual black and white, with the new Lightning port and faster processor, dual-LED flash and a fingerprint scanner from Apple's recent acquisition AuthenTec - while the 5c will be a cheaper model with 4S innards.

So someone's knocked up a video of what the upcoming iPhones could look like in their new clothes:

All this is just rumour of course; Apple knows enough not to poison its inventory by releasing details ahead of time, though sales of existing iHardware are slowing as fans prepare for the official unveiling.

There's much discussion on why the forthcoming iPhone 5-series is the world's most leaked about smartphone family. Perhaps secrecy is impossible given the huge media interest and number of parties involved in building up the stock necessary to ship within weeks of the launch, or perhaps Apple is stage managing the whole thing to manage expectations - or it could be a happy combination of both.

Apple will need something dramatic to avoid chasing Android-using Samsung et al. The company's late co-founder Steve Jobs used to end his big public presentations by saying "one more thing", and then dropping a bombshell. It would be nice to think that the lack of secrecy on the new iPhone is a distraction, luring our gaze away from something much more interesting - the iWatch, perhaps - but Apple will probably wait for someone else to prove that market (and make all the major mistakes) before applying Cupertino's gloss to the concept.

So in looking for a new product from Apple, one should look at existing products that are technically interesting but don't work as well as they should. NFC, the wireless communications tech behind pay-by-wave, leaps to mind; Zigbee Home Automation is another. But most likely we'll just get another iSlab and be grateful that Apple has "invented" coloured cases. ®

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