Yes it's a cable, but just like the Marks & Spencer adverts used to say, this isn't just any cable, this is reportedly an iPhone 5 cable. An iPhone 5 mini dock USB cable sporting the new also-rumoured smaller dock connector, no less.

Okay, so you're right, it is just a cable, but it has turned up online purporting to be the real deal and it's yet another titbit in the latest hubbub of speculation on the yet-to-be-announced iPhone 5.  

Oh, and if you are looking to keep up to date with the daily leaks, you should check out our dedicated iPhone 5 homepage.

Still, we digress. According to the picture - that's all we have to go on at the moment - the new cable will have a standard USB connector on one end and the new smaller mini dock connector on the other.

Eagle-eyed journalists, who perhaps care more about every nuance of the cable than us, have noted that the length of the cable isn't the same standard length as Apple iPhone cables. That's lead some to believe this is a third-party cable and not from Apple direct. Natch.

If you are really studying the photo you'll also notice a QR code on the USB connector, what this is for isn't known however; it's probably just for stock control.

Rumours about a new dock connector have been floating around the interwebs for sometime now, with numerous photos of the connector within the iPhone 5 claiming to be the real deal being shown on various websites. However this is the first time, if true, we've seen the cable that goes with it.

There were also rumours some time ago that the new cable would have a chip inside it to talk to the iPhone, to ensure only Apple-certified cables worked with the new iPhone 5. However we can't tell whether that is the case here, or will ever be.

We will keep you posted.