It's also likely that the iPhone 3G S is the last in the original design line. "I don't see anything too revolutionary here," said Vronko. "They'll need a totally fresh design going forward," he added, "if they want to move forward."

As to that, what, if anything, did he see from the tear-down that might hint at Apple's future plans for, say, a "tweener" device between the $299 iPhone and the $999 MacBook? Not much, said Vronko. "There's not a lot here that would suggest the current design could support something like an ultra-small PC or netbook."

Apple has repeatedly said it's not interested in the netbook category, but most analysts have come around to the idea that the company must, and will, play in that market, perhaps with a tablet-like device that's akin to an iPod Touch as Ezra Gottheil, an analyst at Technology Business Research has put it.

Vronko plans to continue to pull apart the iPhone 3G S to ferret out more information. "I still haven't found what powers the digital compass," he said.

Rapid Repair has also posted a that details the internals of the iPhone 3G S, the first-generation iPhone, 2008's iPhone 3G and Palm's new Pre smartphone.