With the new iPad launch in our not-so-distant past, and iPods not eliciting the amount of excitement they once did, iOS fans across the web have turned their attention wholeheartedly to the next generation iPhone. And in my opinion, one of the most entertaining ways to speculate about the next toy Apple’s got up its sleeve is by looking at and/or creating mockups.

There are tons of very talented artists out there who have been helping us visualize just what an iPhone with a 4-inch display could look like. Most recently, two designs have hit the web from Daniel Bautista, design student, and apfelpage.de.

Bautista’s design (below) was inspired by the Photo Stream leaks from last summer that suggested an iPhone with a wider body to accommodate a bigger screen. I must admit that I much prefer the design from posted on apfelpage.de (above) which features a super-thin iPhone with a beautiful 4-inch display, widgets, and a touch-sensitive home button.

Adding these to the growing number of great iPhone 5 mockups out there, do you think Apple will be able to live up to the hype surrounding this device, or deliver another device that, like the iPhone 4S, is more of a slight update than a major upgrade? Let me know down in the comments or on twitter!

Via: 9to5 Mac, apfelpage