Apple.pro posts scans of a story that first appeared in Chinese-language newspaper Apple Daily. That publication obtained one of the many "iPhone 5" enclosures that have been available over the past few weeks and took measurements of them.
The thickness of the next generation enclosure was measured at 7.6 mm. The rest of the dimensions appear to be equivalent to circulating specifications leaked by case manufacturers in June:
One manufacturer we spoke to said that he was sure that the leaked images were accurate – so sure that he was already preparing to construct iPhone 5 cases and he’d be willing to ship replacements for free if they turned out not to be perfect. He enumerated three big changes from the old iPhone 4S to the iPhone 5:
1. The phone is much bigger, measuring 58.47 mm wide, 123.83 mm high and 7.6 mm thin. The screen is 4″.
2. The earphone jack has been relocated to the bottom of the phone.
3. The dock connector is much smaller, similar in size to micro USB.
The iPhone 4S measures 9.3mm in depth, so a 7.6mm thin phone would represent an 18% reduction in thickness. The width of the new iPhone is expected to be about the same as the iPhone 4S, but the height will increase in order to fit a 4" diagonal screen.
Apple is expected to introduce the new iPhone at a September 12th media event.
[Source: MacRumors]