Samsung has released its 2012 flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3, in the market. Now it's Apple's turn to throw the ace of cards and retain the market shares. However, a new design alone isn't enough for Apple to record a win in the smartphone battle. Reportedly, the iPhone 5 packs better hardware features including 1GB RAM, 4G LTE, and NFC, and will debut this fall.

Citing trusted sources, Boy Genius Report reported on Wednesday that the next-generation iPhone had hit the final stage of Engineering Validation Test (EVT). The tech site claimed that the engineering sample of iPhone 5 has 1GB of RAM and comes with 4G LTE connectivity. In addition, it also packs Near Field Communication (NFC) chips.

If the report is to be believed, iPhone 5 will have double the amount of RAM than the current generation iPhone. Also, 4G LTE connectivity guarantee superior data speeds. The inclusion of NFC chips is a bit shocking, especially after a report that Apple is not eager to jump on to the mobile payments bandwagon and will hold the trigger until NFC mobile payments are standardized.

The report does not state anything about the processor. The processor is likely to be an A5X variant manufactured with 32-nm process. Rumors about the inclusion of a quad-core processor are on a spree.

We have a couple of reports that Apple's upcoming iPhone, dubbed the iPhone 5, is in production. However, BGR claims that production is yet to begin. According to the publication, the smartphone is in EVT3 stage - one of the numerous Engineering Validation Test (EVT) phases. In a couple of weeks, the smartphone will enter Design Verification Test (DVT). So there is a time window before the production begins as production cannot begin without the completion of the Validation and Verification processes.

BGR's claim discards earlier reports that iPhone 5 will debut on Aug. 7. However, fall debut rumors remain unchanged. The production will begin sometime in late summer and the iPhone 5 will debut in either late September or early October.