Apple users have hung on for months, hoping for reliable news regarding the iPhone 5′s eventual release. After several disappointments and delays, they have had to settle on rumours and empty promises. The last release date given by Apple was early summer of 2012, a date that may not actually, really, almost but not quite be met, according to information from an employee of Foxconn, the Chinese factory.

While the source may be an unofficial one, prior information leaked by the employee was solid: He leaked that the unit Apple was releasing last year wasn’t the iPhone 5 as expected but the iPhone 4S.

The Foxconn source has said that Apple is still deciding from among several sample handsets, some of expected dimensions and design – the 4-inch screen previously leaked, for example, whilst others sport a larger screen and larger exterior dimensions because of it.

Apple approved iPhone 4S production in April, which led to an Autumn release. If Apple does want to announced the release of the iPhone 5 at their Worldwide Developers Conference in early June, Apple execs have to make a decision soon to get units in place in time to meet Apple’s latest

“promise”

…of an early summer release.

Apple users have been notoriously vocal in their taunting of other, larger handsets from other manufacturers, most of which have been directed toward Samsung’s Android models, calling the larger-screen mobile phones

“bricks”

…and other derogatory terms.

Considering the possibility of screens larger than the alleged four-inch dimension that has settled into “gospel” status, analysts wonder how Apple fans will adapt to those same larger screen displays: Will they reverse their stances and consider the bigger displays as an innovative break-through for the Apple units, or will they abandon iOS smartphones for small-display units from others, or will they simply hold onto their older devices and hope for the next-gen models to come to their senses?