Rumors of the next-generation iPhone have been cropping up for quite some time, and now 9to5Mac has obtained photos of what it believes is a new iPhone.

However, the drawings aren't easy to decipher. Whether they are of the fifth-generation iPhone or a CDMA iPhone 4 for Verizon Wireless—or something else entirely—isn't clear. The photos were originally posted on Chinese blog Apple.Pro are said to come from Foxconn, an electronics manufacturer that is a part of Apple's supply chain.

For months, there have been reports in publications like Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Fortune that have said Apple is preparing to release a Verizon CDMA iPhone in early 2011, however none of these reports have been confirmed so far. Any specific date that has been forecasted has been wrong up to this point.

A recent report has said that Apple is restricting vacation time for its retail employees, which could mean that the company is preparing for a significant round of product updates. Apparently, Apple has been wary of granting any off time in January and has put a ban on vacation time for a three-week period starting at the end of the month.

Regardless of Apple's restriction, retail employees would be kept in the dark about which products will be updated and when they will be released anyway.

There are other products that are on track for an update as well, including MacBook Pros and the iPad. A next-generation iPad has also been reported in the past few months. Rumors have said that the iPad 2 would include such features as dual-facing cameras for video chatting, retina display, a larger speaker, and a USB port.

Note: 9to5Mac was previously identified as AppleInsider. This error has been corrected.