Leaked snaps said to confirm iPhone 5 speculation

Much of the speculation surrounding Apple's next iPhone appears to have been confirmed through allegedly leaked product shots which show the iPhone 5 to have a smaller dock connector, redesigned speaker grilles and a repositioned microphone on the rear.

Various images of the supposed next-gen iPhone were snagged by 9to5Mac, which reckons the images show the phone's antenna moulded into a metal - or metal textured - backplate.

This is said to be Apple's way of creating a unibody iPhone enclosure, which should free up more space for internal goodies such as a generously sized battery pack.

Other rumours that the images support include the earphone jack being moved to the bottom of the handset, snazzier speaker grilles and a new opening between the camera lens and LED flash, said to be the second microphone for audio capture during video recording.

Further pics of the apparent iPhone 5 body show the front-facing camera repositioned in the centre, above the earpiece. It also shows a bezel, which perhaps squashes the iPhone 5 edge-to-edge display whispers.

According to 9to5Mac's photo sources, the display size has indeed been increased to dimensions just shy of 4in, although the phone does retain the same display width as the iPhone 4 and 4S.

This would make sense, as increasing the display to 3.99in with a 9:5 aspect ratio, would apparently scale iOS near perfectly, while adding an additional row of icons on the bottom, The Verge reports.

The iPhone 5 will hit shelves this October, allegedly. Until then, I'm afraid the rumours are likely to continue flooding in. ®