The official iPhone 6 announcement is supposedly scheduled for September, but gossip website TMZ showed an early look of the next-gen handset.

The TMZ photos are allegedly of an iPhone 6 unit smuggled from a Foxconn factory in China.

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But 9 to 5 Mac is not convinced, saying the image is not of the iPhone 6 but of an Android clone.

The website listed some flaws in the photos from TMZ, including the home screen, which shows the iOS 7 layout and not the latest iOS 8.

The Mail app is still labeled as Email, suggesting that the phone is not yet running iOS 8.

However, TMZ explained that by saying it is standard operating procedure during the manufacturing process.

9 to 5 Mac also pointed out the different thickness and font size on the Calendar app.

The iPhone 6 in the TMZ photos could also be a clone running a modified Android version, but other than the screen display and a sensor offset at the upper part of the phone, the photos show the same hardware in line with the previous leaks.

It is unclear what the sensor is for. It could be a bigger speaker, microphone or ambient sensor, but previous leaks did not show this marking on the front panels of the iPhone 6.

Similar to previous releases, case manufacturers hinted on the upcoming iPhone 6 by showing off cases for the device before the launch.

Spigen and other case makers give the public an idea of how the iPhone 6 looks like. The cases appear to fit a new 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and confirm all the phone features as rumored.

Apple has not unveiled a new iPhone outside the June to October period.

The company usually launches the phone in September, so it is safe to expect that the iPhone 6 talk will heat up even more.

Rumors suggested that the iPhone 6 will be launched at the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, but Apple released iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 Yosemite instead.

TagsiPhone 6 TMZ, iPhone 6 Foxconn, iPhone 6 China