Apple iPhone 6 Rumors: Leaked Photos Of Backlight for 4.7-Inch iPhone Surfaces, Suggests Production Is Under Way

Leaked photos of what is claimed to be the LED backlight for Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) upcoming iPhone 6 with 4.7-inch display surfaced online Friday, suggesting that the production of the next-generation iPhone is under way, ahead of an expected release in September.

The photos of the purported backlight panel for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 first appeared on Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo, and were subsequently reported by Nowehereelse.fr, a French technology blog.

While the legitimacy of the images has not yet been verified, the backlight design resembles that of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. For example, the flex cable is located at the bottom of the panel, which suggests that Apple could continue with the current logic board design and internal layout.

However, there are a few differences as well between the alleged iPhone 6 backlight and the existing equivalent parts. The photos showed that the connector has been slightly repositioned in the iPhone 6 unit, which also apparently features three contact pads instead of two found on the iPhone 5s, AppleInsider reported.

Although the leaked images offer little new information about the iPhone 6, previous rumors suggested that Apple could opt for advanced LED backlighting technology in order to shift to thinner components for the iPhone 6, which will help shrink the thickness of the device itself. Some speculate that iPhone 6 could be around 7 millimeters thick, compared to the iPhone 5s that is 7.6 millimeters thick, MacRumors reported.

This is not the first time that an alleged iPhone 6 component is leaked from Sina Weibo. In April, a photo of front panel assembly said to be of the larger iPhone was leaked on the Chinese microblogging site. The component was showed next to an iPhone 5s to highlight differences between the two front faces.

While Friday’s leaked part appeared to be for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, Apple is also rumored to release a version of the device with a larger 5.5-inch display.

According to rumors, the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 is expected to launch in the fall, possibly sometime in September, while the 5.5-inch version could be delayed for months due to production issues.