iPhone 5 Sighting: Pics of Apple Employee Shot Testing Prototype Model on Train in San Francisco

A tipster sent pictures to tech website 9to5 Mac yesterday claiming to be photos of an Apple employee using the iPhone 5.

The tipster sent the site pictures of a man whom he claims was an Apple employee, hunched over using a new device that matched previous descriptions of what the iPhone 5 may look like.

9to5 Mac contacted the tipster after receiving the pictures and to verify the authenticity of the claims. According to the site the claim was credible and it is believed the picture shows a prototype model of the iPhone 5.

“He told us he was able to get a very good look at the device but the pictures he snapped did not do it justice,” wrote Seth Weintraub on 9to5 Mac.

The site claims the tipster owned an iPhone 4 and 3GS and what he saw clearly was not either one of those, nor was it an iPod Touch since the backing was black with an Apple logo, a look not fitting the appearance of the Touch. They also state the device he saw was too thin and flat to be an iPhone 3GS and too rounded to be an iPhone 4.

At first the tipster doubted that what he saw was the iPhone 5, but when he came home and saw pictures the site posted for possible cases designed for the device he was convinced what he saw was legitimate.

The site describes the device he saw as “Almost Evolike” in screen size, and that this phone is considerably thinner than the iPhone 4. The edges of it are rounded metal like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, but could still be used as an antenna.

The tipster was not able to see the front/home button because the man using the device had his fingers over the area where it usually is located on previous iPhones.

The tipster also claimed it was apparent that the man was trying to hide the device he was using from the average smart phone user.