Case-maker Hard Candy bets big on iPhone 5 with 4.44-inch screen

Over the weekend and into Monday, the iPhone 5 rumor mill took a sharp turn back to the theory that Apple will not release a majorly redesigned device today, but will instead release the so-called iPhone 4S, which has updated components, but looks much the same as the iPhone 4.

Well, if that’s true, someone should have told case-maker Hardy Candy, who has already begun production of 50,000 iPhone 5 cases for a device with a 4.44-inch screen, reports CultofMac. That’s 0.44 inches larger than the largest iPhone 5 screen rumor we heard all year. In fact, most estimates put the screen at 4-inches, or slightly smaller, down to around 3.7-inches. A 4.44-inch screen would make the iPhone slightly larger than the HTC Evo 4G, one of the largest Android handsets available.

In addition to the massive screen size, the Hard Candy iPhone 5 case also has the tapered profile design, and includes the larger, oblong-shaped home button, which is said to be an integral part of the controls for the rumored Assistant app, which is expected to allow users to control their device just by speaking, in unprecedented ways.

Despite the massive gamble, Hard Candy appears confident in their design choice. The company says it received “identical” information about the iPhone 5 design from three independent sources, and this is what it based its case design upon. And while this reassurance does not dispel all doubt – nobody knows for sure what Apple has up its sleeve – Hard Candy CEO Tim Hickman tells CultofMac that it had to throw the dice to stay competitive.

“This is 100 percent trying to survive in the market,” Hickman told the site. “You’ve got to get product in quantity on the shelf.”

“We placed our bets,” he added. “We’re excited about it.”

This is far from the first time Hard Candy has made this kind of wager, and it has come out on the winning end more time than once.

We’ll all know for sure what Apple has in store today, starting at 10am PST/1pm EST, when new Apple CEO Tim Cook will make the big unveil from company headquarters in Cupertino, California. Check back with DT later today for full coverage of the big announcement.

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