Apple has been virtually silent regarding new products since October of last year. They launched new versions of almost everything last fall, so they’ve had nothing new to release so far in 2013. That hasn’t stopped the rumour mill, and chatter of a low-cost iPhone aimed at emerging markets has increased in the last few months. There have been arguments for and against such a device, but today we’re treated to the first bit of physical evidence that a budget iPhone may be on its way sooner rather than later. Engadget has shared this photo, originally published by Tactus, showing what could be the plastic rear shell for an upcoming iPhone model. Tactus is the same blogger that published photos of the iPad 5′s rear shell a few days ago, a design which is widely accepted to be legitimate, so this low-cost iPhone shell could be the real-deal as well.

As we expected, this photo indicates that the upcoming budget iPhone will bear a resemblance to the iPhone 3G and 3GS, though the new shell has a flat back rather than a rounded one. The photo also shows the split volume buttons Apple has recently switched to on the iPad mini and 5th generation iPod touch, as well as an opening on the back for an LED camera flash. Tactus also claims that this shell is being produced in black, white, blue, red, and yellow, echoing earlier reports that the low-cost iPhone will be sold in multiple colours.

Apple is expected to announce this year’s iPhone model (or models) in the fall, so we will have to wait until then to see if this new polycarbonate model is real or not.

[Source: Tactus via. Engadget]

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