An Australian teenager who has built an online following by leaking pictures of upcoming Apple Inc products has done it again, showing off the purported fingerprint scanner of the latest iPhone. The phone is about to be announced next week and Apple can’t work out how Sonny Dickson, who lives with his parents in suburban Melbourne, scored himself another scoop of the details.

In August he released detailed pictures and videos of the new grey and off-white casing on the upcoming iPhone, which is big news if you think such trivia is important. Yesterday Dickson leaked what he says are the first detailed pictures of the new model's new "home" button with its rumoured biometric fingerprint scanner.

"While the design differences have yet to be technically assessed, they could have a whole lot to do with the rumored biometric fingerprint scanner that numerous pundits and analysts have predicted. In fact, we'd count on it," Dickson said on his website, sonnydickson.com.

Apple is expected to launch two new models this year, one with new fingerprint technology and a cheaper version in a plastic casing, widely referred to as the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C respectively. Apple plans to tart up the 5C model in a range of five or six colours to differentiate it from the more expensive model that has traditionally come only in black and white.

Apple declined to comment on Dickson's actions, and he says they have never contacted him about it.