Just hours after we reported a group of PR experts said they believed Apple was gearing to perform a mass product recall on iPhone 4, @iClarified is reporting via @Gizmodo that the company has in fact started the recall .. or at least, they think so.

Gizmodo notes that one iPhone 4 user was able to confirm they had received a replacement model of iPhone 4 from the Cupertino-based company, but noted that the hardware was significantly different.

The reader notes:

I’ve been following all of the iPhone 4 stuff since I got mine the day before release. I was able to replicate the signal issue. I also had the proximity sensor issue, causing inadvertent mute button pushing. There were a few other software issues I was experiencing so I consulted Apple at the Fifth Avenue store in New York. They replaced my phone. The diagnostic showed that the OS was corrupt and certain utilities were failing. [They claimed that] all phones with a proximity sensor issue were being sent back to Apple for further study.

Well, when I got the new phone it was different. It was different hardware. The black [plastic] bezel isn’t as black on the new one. I couldn’t see the proximity sensor at all on the previous iPhone 4, now I can. The stainless steel band on the new phone is less ‘steel-y’ and more matte. I’ve also tried to replicate the signal drop and failure. While I can’t say for sure that it is entirely fixed, there is certainly huge improvement. I’m guessing they coated the steel with something, took some black out of the bezel and sent them out without saying too much about it. I also think Apple is willing to warranty a phone for any reason except the signal issue.

The guy next to me said that he had to press the home button several times before the phone would come back from stand-by. This happened once. The Apple tech ran the diagnostic, everything was fine. They still replaced his phone. I think they’re doing a ‘silent recall’.

Although shocking, Gizmodo notes this is just one reader report and suggests that it is highly unlikely Apple would start a product recall without informing its customers first. That said, with all the recent issues which have been reported around the use of iPhone 4, an imminent recall may not yet be completely out of the question.

[Update] – Our sources close to Apple inform us this story is as some would call complete ‘BS’.

[@iClarified via @Gizmodo]