Apple has struggled for some time to get its 4FF SIM card standard accepted by various governing bodies. A new series of images has now surfaced online, showing the size of the new nano-SIM cards Apple plans to deploy in its next iPhone. According to the photos, the nano-SIM card standard is not as small as originally expected.

Rumors have long circulated about Apple's efforts to get its nano-SIM card standard approved by various governing bodies. In June, the European Telecommunication Standards Institute selected the Apple-designed nano-SIM form factor as the next SIM card standard. Reportedly, several European network carriers are stockpiling the new SIM cards ahead of Apple's iPhone 5 release. In the more recent past, reports surfaced online that Apple provided U.S. wireless operators with nano-SIM trays to test their networks' compatibility with the new SIM standard.

On Monday, the French blog NowhereElse.fr posted several images which reportedly depicted the SIM card tray of the next iPhone. As it appears in the photo, the new SIM tray is smaller than the SIM card tray in the iPhone 4S, but perhaps not enough to qualify as a significant change. As it appears in the photos, the new SIM card standard will be roughly 20-25 percent smaller than the micro-SIM card standard, despite the earlier reports that nano-SIM cards are 40 percent smaller.

The nano-SIM card is one of several design changes which will reportedly help the next iPhone maintain a sleek profile. To save precious real estate within the iPhone, Apple is also working on a smaller dock connector to make room for LTE and NFC chips, recent reports suggest. Apple is expected to launch its next iPhone in a media event on September 12.