By Chris Chang, posted Aug 8, 2012 at 11:49 PM, 1,800 views,

New iPhone Will Be Thinner Than Galaxy S III, Featuring A MagSafe-like Dock Connector (video)

Finally, Apple is redesigning the iPhone to be thinner. According to Chinese newspaper Apple Daily, which obtained one of the many “iPhone 5″ enclosures that have been seen on several blogs over the past few weeks, the next generation iPhone will measure 58.47mm wide, 123.83mm long and 7.6mm thick (nearly one fifth thinner than the current iPhone 4/4S ! ) Check out more photos after the break, and a video ! UPDATE: More hands-on video …

Note: Before you read on, if you are not familiar with “Apple Daily”, it is a news agency from Taiwan and Hong Kong, just like New York Times or Washington Post. The name “Apple” has nothing to do with our beloved Apple brand.

So, Apple Daily has highlighted more details of Apple’s next generation iPhone by taking measurements of one of the many leaked enclosures believed to represent genuine pre-production parts for the new iPhone. The Chinese publication claims the new iPhone will be a remarkable 7.6mm thick, which is approximately 18% thinner than the 9.3mm thick iPhone 4/4S. And you may ask, how did Apple manage to slim down the iPhone? Well, thanks to the new dock connector, which is smaller, similar in size to micro USB port that is seen on Android devices.

Various sources have reported that Apple will be introducing a smaller dock connector for its next generation iPhone, and they have been reporting different numbers of pins for the new connector compared to the current 30-pin design on the iPhone 4/4S. Some say the new design would contain 19 pins, while others say it would contain 8 or 9 pins. Well, whatever it is, Apple Daily took a close-up photo on the new dock connector, and if you look closer, there is actually a metal ring inside the casing cutout for the new dock connector. What does that mean? The small ring around the dock connector actually hints at MagSafe functionality that allows iPhone users to insert the cord in either direction, and best of all, it could also prevent dropped iPhones by unplugging when there is tension instead of pulling the iPhone with the cable. Cool huh ?

Next, Chinese tech site Sina Tech has obtained photos of the enclosure and different internal parts of the new iPhone. And the most interesting part is the inclusion of a new nano-SIM tray which comprises 40% less space than the current Micro-SIM tray in the iPhone 4/4S.

And more photos below, showing different close-up shots on the different parts of the new iPhone.

Well, it’s believed that Apple has been able to redesign the iPhone via a series of modifications, and if you look closely, the edges are rounded on the new iPhone. The band rounds flush into the back. And most likely the front as well. We like that, and feel free to tell us what do you think in the comments below.

Source: Apple Daily (Chinese Translated), Sina Tech (Chinese Translated)

p.s. Yup, the new iPhone will feature a 4-inch screen, 16:9 aspect ratio.