Several sites have already reported that the latest firmware update for the phone - version 2,1 - contains references to a new hardware version - also 2,1.

Earlier this week, Macrumors reported that the reference to the new model could be found in the upgrade’s USB configuration section. “These numbers do not change for simple storage increases and instead represent functionally different devices,” the site said.

Now software developers claim to have found evidence in site traffic analytics that at least two dozen new iPhone handsets are being trialled by Apple in the San Francisco area and that they may have been in use since last October.

No details of the new device’s capabilities are known and Apple has refused to comment although Macrumours reported that it could have a new architecture based upon multiple core processors instead of the single chip in the current

by:telegraph