64 GB iPhone 4 prototype discovered in China

A small batch of 64GB iPhone 4 prototypes was reportedly discovered in a "grey" market in Hong Kong, according to a couple Chinese blogs.

First announced on Chinese-language blog Unwire.hk and later "confirmed" by MIC Gadget, the 64GB model appears to be unlocked and running iOS 4.1.

MIC Gadget posted photos of the phone's exterior showing that, like the iPhone 4 prototype Gizmodo found in a bar last spring, this model has plenty of X's printed on its case: the model number states 'XXXXX'; FCC ID number is 'BCG- XXXXXX,'; printed capacity is 'XXGB.'

However, as Macrumors notes after analyzing photos of the serial number, the phone was produced in early 2010, pre-dating the launch of the iPhone 4 in June 2010.

This suggests Apple abandoned the idea of launching an iPhone 4 with 64GB of storage. Instead, in June Apple unveiled the iPhone 4 versions with just two different capacities, 16GB and 32GB.

That isn't to say that Apple won't unveil an 64GB version of the iPhone 4 (or as MIC Gadget cheekily speculates, the iPhone 5) in the future. After all, it wouldn't be the first time Apple has launched a third model of the same generation phone one year later. The original iPhone debuted in 2007 with 4GB and 8GB of space, but in February 2008, Apple released another 16GB model.

Then in July 2009 Apple launched the iPhone 3GS in 16GB and 32GB versions, but later added an 8GB model after recession-stricken consumers complained that the phones were priced too high.

Meanwhile when the iPhone 4 launched in June 2010 to great fanfare, one of its criticisms was the lack of a third option with more storage.

This article, written by Sara Yin, originally appeared on PCMag.com and is republished on Gear Live with the permission of Ziff Davis, Inc.