Iphone 5 reportedly will have edge to edge screen

Perhaps the security at Apple is not invincible?  Today a major leak about the design of the new phones was put out, reportedly by Alibaba.  So perhaps at Apple's security branch there are people getting fired.  Or perhaps congratulations are coming in from the PR department on a successful "leak" through their connections in China, where believable leaks have seen the light before now. Are they laughing like this:  Bwaahahaha?    In the past, interestingly enough, these kind of leaks have been pretty reliable.  This fact has caused the news to hit the media quickly, though according to my buzzes, it's still really fresh.  This isn't a scoop or anything, but it's pretty fast!  (smile)

iPhone 5 will have an edge to edge screen according to the leak.  What does that mean?  It means that the screen will be the phone or rather the top side of the phone will be screen from edge to edge.  Does this mean the "home" button will part of the touch screen now?  That still remains to be seen.  It may be but there may be an additional physical button somewhere on the device to manage power on and off.  On that one, of course, Apple is not talking and probably won't be any time soon.  There is a word of caution however.  This kind of screen has been in the rumor mills before now and hasn't materialized in the models released so far...

Does this leak mean that we'll be able to buy an iPhone 5 any time soon?  On that question we are also left to speculate.  I am a skeptic that this points to the iPhone 5 being ready for release any time soon.  As the speculation continues about the iPhone 5, there is word surfacing that the advances in technology will be quite minor.  If this is really the case, a later release of a sub-par advance will put a damper on enthusiasm for the phones.  If the iPhone 5 is going to turn out to be a 4 junior, or even like a 4 on steroids with the faster processor and few if any new features, they better get it out ASAAP, as quick as Apply possible. (groan!)

In the meantime, this has raised the awareness and heightened the senses for many of us waiting for the iPhone 5 release.  Are they close enough to release for these kind of pictures to be accurate?  Are there accurate prototypes of the iPhone 5 currently being tested?  Have they narrowed down the design options to just one? For all of these answers, we'll just have to keep our eyes and ears open.