An Apple staffer has once again misplaced a prototype - this time of the iPhone 5 - in a San Francisco bar. The news comes just a year after an unreleased Apple iPhone 4 was misplaced in a Californian bar and sold to a gadget website, sparking a wave of controversy.

This latest incident has not led to any online spy shots, although Apple is said to have reported the matter to police when the loss occurred back in July at the Cava 22 bar. Having traced the phone to an apartment in San Francisco, police searched the property and quizzed the man who lived there, but found no evidence.

Furthermore, Apple staff who were present at the search are said to have offered cash to the man for the safe return of the phone. He continued to deny any knowledge of the device.

The news will be acutely embarrassing for Apple after it suffered such a huge security breach last year. Whether the lost device is a final Apple iPhone 5 model remains unclear. Either way, Apple will be desperate to get its new phone announced so it can avoid suffering the same fate as it did in the run up to the iPhone 4’s release.

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