Rumor: First pictures of next-gen iPhone display assembly surface

Fresh photos claiming to be of a complete next-generation iPhone display assembly hit the web on Saturday, offering a glimpse at the 4-inch screen Apple is rumored to be employing in the new handset.

While the images from repair website UBreakiFix.com (via MacRumors) don't reveal much as the unit is not powered on, they are some of the first to show the smartphone's larger display. Although no conclusive findings can be made from the photos, the part's connectors, shown in an additional close-up shot, appear to resemble the layout of previous iPhone flex cables.

Apple is widely expected to be increasing the size of the sixth-generation iPhone's screen to 4-inches, up from the current 3.5-inch displays seen on the device since the first model launched in 2007. Although the unit's resolution has increased in the intervening years, including the move to Apple's high-resolution Retina display with 2010's iPhone 4, the physical dimensions of the screen have not changed.

A switch to a 4-inch display would mark a 26 percent bump in real estate, though some have speculated Apple may keep the horizontal resolution at 640 pixels while "stretching" the vertical to 1,136 pixels. In that particular configuration, the iPhone would be able to offer 16-by-9 aspect ratio content while retaining one-handed operation. Recent "leaks" provide for this theory, including photos of a "fully-assembled" next-gen iPhone and what is thought to be the new handset's display shielding.

Close-up of display assembly's serial numbers and connectors. | Source: UBreakiFix.com

Apple is expected to debut the next-generation iPhone at an as-yet-unannounced special event on Sept. 12, with rumors pointing to pre-orders beginning the same day ahead of a Sept. 21 U.S. launch.