A rear shell for the budget iPhone has allegedly leaked from case manufacturer Tactus. The leak lines up with past rumours that the budget iPhone will sport a plastic design rather than aluminum, though Pocket-lint can’t confirm the leaks’ legitimacy.

Tactus shares specs with the image as well, claiming the budget iPhone will sport an Apple designed A5 chip for processing power, 3.5-inch Retina display (contrary to past 4-inch reports), a 5-megapixel rear-camera, and five color options of black, white, blue, red, and yellow (this we've heard before).  The report also claims that the rear shell will be 0.4-0.6 mm thick, which MacRumors notes is not an accurate measurement and is likely a misreporting of other’s claims in the past that the budget iPhone will be 0.4-0.6 mm thicker than the iPhone 5. Definitely some sketchiness here.

The Wall Street Journal claimed in early April that the Cupertino-based company will launch a budget iPhone in the second half of 2013. Tactus further claims the budget iPhone will make its way to market on October 15 and be priced at $300 (£229-£249). No specific countries or carriers were shared.

The budget iPhone is seen as a way for Apple to cater to customers in emerging markets such as China, giving them a cheaper alternative. According to Tim Cook in January, growth in China is exceeding growth in the US and China has seen record-breaking sales numbers as customers in the country get excited for new devices. The budget device that are being suggested could bring huge rewards for the company.

This isn’t the first time Tactus has leaked claimed Apple parts, as earlier this week it was the first to show an alleged case for the fifth-generation iPad. The company could always be making shells based on rumours that have made their way around in the past few months. If anything, this can be seen as interesting mock-up.

We should hear all the details late this summer.