New, Fake iPhone 5 Case Sightings A Lot Like Old, Fake iPhone 5 Case Sightings
Posted by Michael Nace on Thursday Jul 19, 2012 Under iPhone 5 Opinion
Almost a year to the day, the preemptive, el cheap-o iPhone 5 cases are being pumped out of China via Alibaba. Haven’t we already been burned by these bogus rumors before?
It’s the summer of 2012 and, you, the avid Apple enthusiast, the iPhone her, are once again being treated to a second round of “buzz baiting” with the appearance of new, fake iPhone 5 cases. Mind you, these aren’t the old, fake iPhone 5 cases from last year — those cases wouldn’t fit the iPhone 5. Or at least the iPhone 5 prototype that 9to5Mac purports to have happened across, some 3 or 4 months before the real iPhone 5 will ostensibly be announced. No, these new, fake iPhone cases — hot off the presses from el cheap-o dollar store manufacturers in China (and probably the same manufacturers who made the fake cases last year) are showing up, once again, on Alibaba.
And the appearance of these cases are seen as “hard evidence” by some that the 9to5Mac iPhone 5 prototype is indeed the real deal.
Before we believe the hype, however, I think it’s worth revisiting the coverage of the old, fake iPhone 5 cases from 2011, since some of them bear a striking resemblance to the new ones we’re seeing in 2012 — only a wee bit longer.
The cases pictured above are from a new crop of iPhone 5 cases showing up on Alibaba. As you can see, they are basic, el cheap-o hard shell plastic cases, probably constructed out of polycarbonate plastic. These cases are the absolute cheapest kind of iPhone case that can be manufactured — they literally cost pennies to produce.
And they also look a heck of a lot like the quality of iPhone 5 cases offered on Alibaba last year, as we reported on in this article. Take a look:
A cheap, fake iPhone 5 case offered on Alibaba in 2011
This case looks to be made of TPU, another inexpensive plastic that can be quickly, easily, and cheaply molded into anything. The only difference is that this case doesn’t fit the new specs that the 2012 9to5Mac prototype purports.
TechCrunch is working hard to justify the appearance of these cases as proof positive of the new iPhone 5 design that they’ve worked hard to promote as real: “As the next iPhone approaches, Apple will start handing out specs to trusted accessory makers. That could have already happened. After all, this move is a standard operating procedure to ensure the phone launches with strong accessory support. But these cases are now available for purchase as long as buyers are willing to order them in bulk.”
In a word, TechCrunch‘s assessment that Apple seed specs to top consumer electronics accessories designers is, for lack of a better G-rated word, is bupkis. There is no evidence that even the top-tier case designers ever have access to the new iPhone’s specs before their release. In fact, my own sources from within that industry tell me that Apple guards their form factor designs against the prying eyes of the consumer electronics accessories industry more than anyone else.
Let’s not forget Case-Mate’s infamous publicity stunt in 2011, floating their own iPhone 5 case designs. We reported on them in this article, which is definitely worth revisiting. Case-Mate never even gave us real cases to peruse, only these slick renderings:
Case-Mate's abortive iPhone 5 cases from 2011.
Even BGR floated a screen shot of an AT&T inventory list of Case-Mate cases that purported to show the Case-Mate iPhone 5 cases. At least Case-Mate had the foresight to wait to produce their “iPhone 5 cases” until they saw what Apple actually offered — they saved themselves a lot of money. The same couldn’t be said for Hard Candy cases, who went all in on their own iPhone 5 case designs.
What is important to remember with all of these case sightings is that all of them have matched up with the specs that 9to5Mac published. Thus, if you don’t believe their original sighting to be true, then all of these supporting claims of iPhone 5 cases cannot be true, either.
By Michael Nace
Michael Nace is the Publisher of the iPhone 5 News Blog and iPhone 6 News Blog. He has published articles about the iPhone since 2010.
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July 19th, 2012 at 10:07 am
Michael, what is your opinion on this? Do you think this is all bogus or do you think this might actually be the new form factor?
July 19th, 2012 at 10:12 am
Hiya, Liz. Well, this whole “long aspect ratio” thing got started on the Verge forums. Then, this slick prototype shows up on 9to5mac. Then, all of these other parts show up that match the specs that 9to5mac provided. Now, we have cases. But in the end, all of this stuff is based on the initial theoretical specs posted by a couple of guys on the Verge forums.Therefore, I don’t put much stock in it. Maybe if we had some actionable information that Sharp was building a display that matched the description of the longer iPhone 5, I’d be more inclined to believe it. But I think that we’re being manipulated by the tech media with all this stuff.
July 19th, 2012 at 10:18 am
These cases seem to be the new “leaked parts” for the iPhone rumour mill.
You’d be pushing the boundaries of what’s beliveable if you trust them as a good indicator of what the next iPhone will lok like.
July 19th, 2012 at 10:19 am
Dammit, my typing’s getting worse.
Michael, are we going to get the “Edit” button back anytime?
July 19th, 2012 at 2:11 pm
I’m gonna wait till Lifeproof comes out with the iPhone 5 case. It’s waterproof and it’s rubber, and isn’t bulky. My uncle and cousins have it and they replace it for free if it ever breaks. Lifetime warranty. My uncle’s started to have a crack in it after it went through a lot of rough handling over the years, and they told him he can keep that one and they sent him a brand new one free of charge.
July 19th, 2012 at 2:36 pm
You know, the rumor mill would be a lot quieter if everyone just waited untill they announce the new phone, but its rumors and thats what they live off of, they publish all these rumors so that when they do finally anounce something and they actually get something right they can claim credit for it…thanks for keeping us with our feet planted to the ground and letting us see things properly Michael!
July 19th, 2012 at 2:54 pm
My pleasure, RyTk. Actually, I don’t mind sites reporting on the rumors; I do it as well. I just don’t like when we get snowed. And to me, this whole thing going on is a cabal. It’s like a big scam being propagated by a lot of sites and people who are just fabricating things. Sure, rumors aren’t always right. But if you don’t have any good reason to believe a rumor is true, then you shouldn’t present it. I’ve broken some rumors here that didn’t pan out. But I truly thought they were credible, right or wrong. I just hope 9to5Mac, TechCrunch, and all the others feel the same way, and that they’re not just playing us for suckers.
Remember: for those of us in this blogging biz, it’s all about driving traffic to the site. Rumors drive traffic.
July 19th, 2012 at 6:08 pm
All this poop again? I really don’t understand why manufacturers would stain their credibility like that. Case-Mate and a bunch of others committed the same mistake last year, why would you do it again this year? :/
July 20th, 2012 at 11:27 am
I really dislike this potential screen aspect ratio. I wish Apple would jump on the bandwagon like the GSIII.
July 20th, 2012 at 11:47 am
@Core2 The Galaxy S3 has a 16:9 aspect ratio, which is the ratio the iPhone would have if it was elongated like in this prototype. That’s whyit would be good for the screen to be like this because it’s the industry standard right now. Most phones like the Galaxy Note, HTC One X and others use the 16:9 aspect ratio because it’s better for viewing videos, shooting video, photos, web browsing and it’s good for the UI also when you tune it correctly (and I know Apple would tune it in the perfect way.). Also it would be more comfortable in the hand since the screen would be bigger but still easy to hold with one hand like the iPhone 4 and 4S.
July 20th, 2012 at 11:53 am
I guess I will have to try it out to see. We have too many Apple devices that can share apps as it is. 2 iPhones, 4 iPod Touch’s, and 2 iPads. I can buy a 99c game or educational app, and put it on everything.
July 21st, 2012 at 3:24 pm
I kept clicking the next picture button on the image