iPhone 5 Cases Already Hitting AT&T Stores Ahead of Launch

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Yesterday we saw iPhone 5 Case-Mate cases reportedly spotted in AT&T’s internal system and today we have more evidence to support that leak. It appears that AT&T retail stores are already receiving iPhone 5 silicone sleeves just a few weeks ahead of the launch of Apple’s upcoming iOS 5 smartphone.

The cases in the images below appear to sport the same design we’ve seen in recent leaks. We’re apparently looking at the same characteristics of those cases: thinner, wider body and an opening for the mute switch placed on the right side of the device instead of the left.

As you can clearly see, the stickers on the case packages read “Silcone Sleeve Apple iPhone 5,” thus confirming the product name of the upcoming device.

However Apple has never said whether it will announce an iPhone 5, an iPhone 4S, or both, later this year. The company will officially announce the new device or devices at a special media event scheduled for October 4 on Apple’s Cupertino campus. Tim Cook is expected to host his first keynote as CEO of the company, and his first iPhone introduction.

MacRumors suggests that AT&T is placing orders for these cases “despite the growing feeling that Apple may not be releasing such a device and instead releasing only the “iPhone 4S” design that is nearly identical to the iPhone 4.”

But would a carrier like AT&T make such mistakes? Previous reports revealed that carriers were able to test the new iPhone models, so I would assume that AT&T already knows plenty of details about the upcoming iPhone 5. Probably enough to go ahead and order iPhone 5 cases well ahead of the smartphone launch. I’m sure AT&T wouldn’t have wanted to see pictures of the sleeves in the wild a few days ahead of the iPhone’s announcement, but I’m certainly not surprised to see even more iPhone-related leaks this week.

As for the actual release date of the next iPhone, existing reports suggest that Apple will launch it on October 14 in the USA, Japan, UK, Germany and France. Come next Tuesday we’ll have such details for you, so keep following us via Facebook, Twitter and the feed for more iPhone 5 updates.