Tech geeks may want to take a hit off their inhalers and brace themselves ... because TMZ has obtained possible pictures of Apple's brand spanking new iPhone 6!

We're told the phone was smuggled out of a Foxconn factory in China ... where the majority of iPhone models are manufactured.

The owner of the phone says the smuggler is his friend -- an ex-employee -- who worked in Foxconn's hardware department designing the outer casing for the new model.

As for the inner workings -- we're told it's not running an authentic Apple IOS, which is SOP during the development stage for security purposes.

We're told the new phone is noticeably lighter ... and appears to have a new sensor on the front ... though it's unclear for what.