Is Taiwanese celebrity Jimmy Lin holding the iPhone 5C?

Posted: August 16, 2013

The pop star has in the past showed off unreleased Apple gadgets that turned out to be fairly similar to the final products.

Taiwanese singer, actor and professional race car driver Jimmy Lin posed with what appears to be a plastic iPhone, posting the image and another photo of the device next to an iPhone 5 on Weibo yesterday, Aug. 15, and asking "Is this the legendary iPhone 5C?""

The "iPhone 5C" Lin is holding is similar to previously leaked images. Unlike other photos, however, the phone in Lin's photo has FCC and other relevant markings on the back.

The images also echo rumors that the budget-oriented iPhone 5C will have a plastic housing. Further, they indicate that the iPhone 5C will have the same screen size as the iPhone 5, possibly disappointing many users who are increasingly opting for bigger screens.

There is, however, no way to tell if Lin really did get his hands on an actual iPhone 5C. It is unlikely that Apple would simply give out prototypes and it is possible that Lin is just holding one of the leaked housings.

Industry insiders expect the iPhone 5C to adopt Samsung’s H5P 1.23GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM, and have a built-in 800MP camera and an LED flash. The handset will likely support FDD 4G networks and Bluetooth 4.0. Some rumors claim certain functions such as Siri will be removed.

Word has it that the iPhone 5C will break Apple’s usual white and black options by also coming in red, yellow, blue and green.

Observers are split on whether the iPhone 5C will make its appearance at Apple’s all-but-confirmed event on Sept. 10. The event is widely believed to serve as the launch for the iPhone 5S.