With the iPhone 5 launch event still ringing in our ears, it is already being rumored that the iPhone 5S is just around the corner.
According to DigiTimes, Apple is on course to begin trial production of the new model as early as next month with the smartphone scheduled to hit the shelves early in 2013.
It quotes a Chinese language site as reporting that next month’s pre-production run could be between 50,000 and 100,000 units while “full commercial production” could begin as early as the first quarter of 2013.
DigiTimes said: “Facing low yield rates in the production of iPhone 5, Apple has accelerated the certification processes for related parts and components for the iPhone 5S.
“While the speculated iPhone 5S is expected to enter volume production in the first quarter of 2013, Apple is also likely to release a new version of iPad a quarter later than the iPhone 5S, since the display resolution of its latest version of iPad has come out lower than expected.”
However Luke Peters, editor of T3 magazine, said that even if pre-production did start as early as next month he would not expect to see a new generation iPhone released until nearer the end of 2013.
He said: “It is usually six to seven months until we see a launch, and so I would expect to see a new version, be it an iPhone 5S or a 6, late next year.”