Never-before-seen iPhone 5s black and slate images shared online

Twitter user @DongleBookPro until today shared images of a prototype iPhone 5s in a new black and slate color.

The iPhone 5s was launched in September 2013. The device was equipped for the first time with Touch ID, a 64-bit processor and a True Tone LED flash. Other new features include a five-element lens with an f / 2.2 aperture, a 15% larger camera sensor, burst mode, and Slo-Mo 720p video capture at 120 frames per second.

The iPhone 5s first offered Gold and Space Gray color options, and was also available in Silver. The previous generation iPhone 5 was available in white and silver, and black and slate. This iPhone‌ 5s prototype is extremely unusual because it uses the black and slate color option of ‌iPhone‌ 5.

While it’s possible that Apple might consider offering the iPhone 5 in black and slate, before opting for Space Gray instead, DongleBookPro suggests that the color was probably used to help disguise the device from new generation during development.

In addition, it is also noteworthy that the iPhone‌ 5s prototype was manufactured in December 2012, just three months after the launch of the iPhone 5 and nine months before its announcement. This gives an indication of how long the iPhone development cycle is.

The iPhone‌ 5’s black and slate color option was eventually ditched in favor of space gray on the iPhone‌ 5s, which has generally been a mainstay of the ‌iPhone‌ color options ever since. The only models since then not to be available in a Space Gray option were the iPhone 7, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, and iPhone 12 Pro.

Black and slate were among the more short-lived Apple device colors, with the option only available for the iPhone 5, the first-generation iPad mini, and the fifth-generation iPod Touch. The finish also dismissed the “scuffgate,” where some iPhone 5 users complained about the Black and Slate finish’s tendency to be easily chipped, scratched, and scuffed, which may have contributed to its disruption.

DongleBookPro regularly posts images of never-before-seen Apple devices and prototypes, like a first-generation iPod touch prototype with a 2013 Mac Pro-style gloss black finish and a first-generation Mac mini with an iPod nano docking station.