Updated: Those iPhone 6 photos were just renders after all

Update: Reddit to the rescue! The near-convincing photos have turned out to be renders created by Martin Hajek.

As Redditor colinstalter points out: "He uses the same smudge texture in all of his renderings. Maybe now the media blitz will stop."

That seems unlikely.

Original story continues...

First come the whispers, then the spec, size and release date rumors. Now, seemingly right on schedule, come the photos.

Sonny Dickson, who gave us pics of the iPad Air and iPad mini 2 before Apple announced them, is back with what he claimed are photos of the iPhone 6's back casing.

As The Verge pointed out, it appears the original source of the images is an anonymous Twitter account, @mornray886. Images posted to that account include the front of the phone, larger screen and all.

The shell is in space gray, stamped with Apple's signature black bitten fruit. It's hard to make out dimensions from the images, but Dickson said that true to the rumors, the new iPhone will have a screen bigger than 4 inches.

He described the iPhone's design as a cross between the new iPad and the iPod touch, and there certainly appear to be elements of those devices in the limited sample size.

What these images (maybe) tell us

The photos, if authentic, show some striking changes are on the way for Apple's new iPhone.

The bezel is significantly trimmed from the iPhone 5S, allowing for a larger screen. Reports have indicated the iPhone 6 display will go all the way up to 4.8 inches. Others have said Apple will launch two big screen phones this year, one with a 4.5-inch-plus screen and another above 5 inches.

Unlike what a report from Tuesday suggested, the phone here isn't totally bezel-free, though the sides are nearly gone and the top and bottom have been clipped.

The parts also reveal a phone noticeably slimmer than the 5S, and while it may be a trick of the eyes, the microphone on the back appears to be oval in shape, not a circle. The one main design constant between the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 6 (if we are indeed looking at it) is the Touch ID button.

• The Samsung Galaxy S5 will likely be here before the iPhone 6.

After 1m installs, Google's AR game plans to get others in on the action

Ingress developer Niantic Labs proved that augmented reality games can be successful on mobile devices. Now, it intends to help others follow its path.

The internal startup within Google is putting together a series of APIs to encourage other game developers to pursue their location-based ideas for players, according to The Verge.

Ingress, now on one million Android devices, pits players into one of two factions and has them visit real landmarks around the world in order to claim fictitious open portals or take over enemy portals.

While it has a sci-fi story attached to it, the Ingress team illustrated that by turning its year-old game into a platform for other developers, something like a vampire-themed game could be born.

In this scenario, players would be tasked with capturing cemeteries and blood banks instead of Ingress' landmarks. All it would need from then is be developers' imaginations and players' willingness to go along with the new ideas.

Making real money with AR games

Combining virtual games with real-life exploration means that developers could fund their projects through in-game advertising tools, as players are actively visiting targeted locations.

"The idea is that we would like to explore this concept of sponsors essentially being able to get exposure across a wide number of titles, but have a consolidated entry point for them," Niantic head John Hanke said.

The idea for an open platform that spawns additional location-based games still seems to be in its infancy; there are no firm dates attached to turning the Ingress platform on.

There's also no timetable for an open platform and, at one year in, Hank noted on his Google+ profile today, "the world is discovering Ingress."

For now, the team has to focus on the iOS version of its so-far Android-only massively multiplayer AR game.

Ingress is expected to branch out to Apple devices in 2014. But there seems to be a portal to where this location-based developer is headed in the future.

• Oculus Rift VR may find its way under your Christmas tree next year