By Binu Paul email: b.paul@mobilenapps.com | Feb 08, 2013 07:46 AM EST
Amid repeated rumors about the next-generation iPhone, fresh reports from China suggest that Apple will release an iPhone 5S and a larger 5-inch iPhone in 2013.
According to a Chinese micro-blogging post, the much-rumored iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 models have surfaced at an Apple supplier in China. The author of the post claimed that his friend has seen the models, which are scheduled to be released sometime this year, with the supplier, the Sina Tech reports.
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"A source told Chinese mobile phone information site Laoyaoba.com that he has seen the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 at Apple's suppliers. Both models may be released in 2013, according to the website's microblog on Thursday evening. The source noted that the iPhone 5S resembles the iPhone 5, and the five-inch iPhone 6 is lighter and thinner," investment news wire BrightWire translated the report.
Although the rumor comes without any images of the products in question, the report does excite the iPhone-crazy masses waiting for the next version of the flagship Apple smartphone.
It was recently reported that Apple may possibly release a 5-inch 'iPhablet' later this year. Analyst Ben Reitzes of Barclays Capital speculated that the company will first introduce the highly speculated iPhone 5S in the middle of the current year, then the low-cost device will hit the market and later the company may consider releasing a brand new iPhone with a 5-inch screen in the last quarter of this fiscal year or the beginning of next year.
Several rumors have been doing rounds about a larger form-factor iPhone lately with reports speculating the device to have a 4.8-inch screen and an 8-megapixel camera. According to a recent China Times report, the large iPhone is pitted for a June release along with updated iPhone 5.
There were significant amount of speculations about how such a big screen smartphone would make a sense to Apple's iPhone product line-up. Arguing that a larger iPhone could make a perfect sense, prominent Apple developer Marco Arment said Apple could create an iPhone with a nearly 5-inch screen without disrupting the existing app ecosystem. According to his theory and the mock-up images he shared on his post, the iPhone Plus featuring a 640 x 1136 screen with Retina iPad's 264 pixels-per-inch would measure 4.94-inch diagonally.
"It's clear that other manufacturers have found designs and techniques to make larger-screened phones require smaller bezels. Apple could achieve similar results and shrink the 'forehead' and 'chin' even further, limited primarily by the size of the Home button and the desire to keep the forehead and chin equal height," he writes.
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