iPhone 5 Now in Secret & Secure Carrier Testing?

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We’ve heard that Apple was testing the iPhone 5 at various points in the past and we have a new similar rumor to look at today. The next-gen device is now said to be en route for testing to carriers, with a more than a few weeks ahead of expected launch date.

Don’t expect any bar stops though, as I am sure that both Apple and carriers will pay significant attention to keeping this new iPhone prototype secure. Chances are we won’t see any review of an actual leaked iPhone 5 unit, like it happened with its predecessor a few months before launch. The Guardian says that Apple is protecting its unreleased public as much as possible from the eyes of the public.

The new iPhone has been shipped to mobile operators in secure boxes already, where they will remain for the entire period of the testing:

The next iPhones go for their testing inside locked and sealed boxes so that the carriers can carry out checks on their network compatibility in their labs. It’s very high security, as you could guess; my understanding is that barely anyone inside the carriers gets to open those boxes, and even when they do the hardware is encased in a dummy body which means there’s no clue to what the actual phone will do. This, by the way, is what led to “Antennagate”: there simply hadn’t been enough people outside Apple who had tried the iPhone 4 at length in its real form to discover the problems with its reception.

It looks like Apple won’t really trust carriers with its next-gen iPhone, and that’s pretty much in line with Apple’s modus operandi. But The Guardian is suggesting that Apple will launch the new smartphone in September rather than October, considering that carriers are already testing the device, a procedure that should be completed in the near future and that, once concluded, will lead to starting the mass production of the iPhone 5.

Are you buying an fifth-generation iPhone this year? Would you rather buy an entry-level iPhone 4S or a high-end iPhone 5?