A new batch of photos appearing on the Weibo social network claim to show new production schematics and die for manufacturing the body of the iPhone 6 inside a Foxoconn facility, as noted by GforGames. A few of the photos (below) definitely show some sort of technical design documents, though we can’t be sure what they show as they are both incredibly technical and written in Chinese.
The molds, as seen above, definitely appear to be designed to produce a smartphone, but there is no confirmation that these will be used for the iPhone 6 as opposed to a phone from some other manufacturer. Apple is rumored to be working on two different models of the iPhone 6 with different screen sizes. If they are designed for the next iPhone, these molds could be for the 4.7″ or 5.5″ models.
The larger model is reportedly being delayed until later in the year due to production difficulties, so it seems likely that if the above photos are real, the molds will be used for the smaller model. This would match up with reports that the smaller device will go into production this month, according to an earlier report.
Late last month, several new photos that purported to show the body for the next-gen iPhone leaked on Weibo as well.
A final photo shared on a different Weibo post shows what is said to be a fixture for one of the tools used to produce the next iPhone. We don’t have any idea what that could be, and the claim is pretty broad. (Update: Thanks to reader Tristan for clarifying that the part is a die block to hold the phone while it is machined.)
As with most leaks, it’s best to remember that these may or may not be the real thing, and the users who posted these photos haven’t been proven to be connected to Foxconn at all, or have they previously leaked anything.
The technical documents and tool fixture are below: