Part leaks from the next-generation iPhone are beginning to ramp up, with component vendor SW-BOX.com having recently added a new headphone jack/earpiece/Wi-Fi cable part claimed to be from the device ( via Cydia Blog ). The new part joins a claimed micro-SIM tray that surfaced on the site several weeks ago and home buttons that appeared on several sites late last month.

Apple is planning on implementing a new, smaller dock connector, according to a report by iMore . The site has been reliable in the past and correctly predicted the release of an LTE equipped iPad. iMore also reported that Apple is still in the prototyping phase for the next iPhone and that the design is not yet set in stone

The Next Web notes that a new iPhone 4S ad aired during ESPN's SportsCenter this afternoon, featuring actor Samuel L. Jackson giving Siri orders.

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Apple has released updates for its Cards and iBooks apps. The iBooks 2.1.1 update is relatively minor, only addressing some stability and performance improvements and fixing an issue which prompted users to sign-in with their Apple ID at unexpected times.

ifoAppleStore shares some photos of a newly-revamped Apple product display section in an Arkansas Walmart store near the retail chain's headquarters.

Kotaku reports on claims [ Google translation ] from Chinese web portal NetEase regarding Apple's plans for the launch of a smaller "iPad mini" in the third quarter of this year. According to the report, Apple is planning to launch with six million units of the device at a price of either $249 or $299 in order to combat forthcoming Windows 8 products, although smaller Android tablets such as Amazon's Kindle Fire have also been viewed as targets for Apple. NetEase claimed that the device will be released around the third quarter of this year to "counter attack" the upcoming Windows tablets.

CNet reports that Apple has settled a class action suit over the iPhone 4's antenna. The settlement comes from 18 separate lawsuits that were consolidated into one

Over the past couple of months, several photos of displays claimed to be for the iPad 3 have surfaced from various sources. Such parts leaks are typical with the device's expected debut early next month

Apple has posted a new feature on its site promoting a countdown to 25 billion downloads for the App Store. As of today, nearly 25 billion apps have been downloaded worldwide.