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For quite some time now, the prevailing rumor about the form factor of the new iPhone was that it was going to be slightly thicker, probably owing to the extra antenna(s).

Well, it seems that there’s a new rumor going around: exactly the opposite. Leander Kahney, author of the books Cult of Mac and the Steve Jobs bio Inside Steve’s Brain, has apparently heard from a source at a major software publisher who has seen the specs for the new iPhone that it will be 22% thinner.

Personally, I am quite inclined to believe this new rumor for a few reasons. First, the fattyPhone rumor came around the same time that pictures surfaced supposedly showing the new iPhone, but which actually showed a 3rd party casing. Seems like the picture could have led to the rumor. Secondly, Kahney is a seasoned Apple writer, and doesn’t seem as if he would post this unless he trusted his source quite well. Most importantly, however, is that I can’t think of a single instance of the Jobs/Ive Apple releasing a product update that was bulkier than its predecessor, no matter how much its capabilities had expanded.

The iPod has had its storage increased 32-fold and had color then video added since it was introduced, yet it has only gotten slimmer; never thicker. The same holds true for other iterations of iPod. Just look at the new Nano; even with video added, it’s as thin as a saltine! The iMac, as well, has only gotten thinner as time has gone on.

At Apple, products get more svelte and more powerful. So far, product updates have never taken a backwards step in either direction, which is why I never bought the idea of a fatter iPhone in the first place. We’ll know for sure in six days, but my money’s on slim to win.