The latest prototype of the upcoming iPhone 4G, which was found by an unnamed person from a bar in San Francisco and sold to Tech blog Gizmodo for $5,000, has reportedly returned to Apple.

Editor of the blog, Jason Chen, said they returned the device to Apple following request from company’s legal department.

Gizmodo had obtained the prototype for $5,000, but it is priceless for Apple, which firmly controls every aspect of the product development process.

Gizmodo said that Apple employee Gray Powell had lost the device, which was cleverly clad in a 3GS case.

The device was reportedly running an unreleased version of operating system. It was equipped with aluminium back and a front-facing camera. It had a camera flash, higher resolution screen and larger battery.

The prototype was 116.8 by 58.6 by 0.93mm in measurements, which makes it slightly longer, narrower and thinner than the 3GS, which measures 115.5 by 62.1 by 12.3mm.

The iPhone 4G prototype was 140g in weight that makes it slightly heavier than current iPhone 3GS which weighs 135g.