Rumour mill: ‘iPhone 5S’ to be released this summer

Reports suggest a next generation iPhone 5 will be released in summer

Analyst predicts next generation iPhone 5 to be launched as early as July as Apple comes under pressure from investors for new products

Not upgraded to an iPhone 5 yet, but like me were thinking about it? Well, hold your horses because there are very strong rumours doing the rounds that a next generation ‘iPhone 5S’ with improved camera and processor will be released by Apple as early as this August – or even July.

In line with Apple’s previous ‘S’ generations of the iPhone, the next iPhone is expected to retain the design of the iPhone 5 but add improved camera and processor systems, claims a report in 9to5mac.com.

The website also quotes KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who is astonishingly accurate with his predictions, and says he expects Apple to release both an iPhone 5S and a lower-cost iPhone this July after an announcement in June alongside an iOS 7 software update.

The ‘iPhone 5S,’ following in the footsteps of the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4S, is expected to retain the new design of the iPhone 5, but it will add a smaller, faster processor (presumably an ‘A7chip’), an improved LED ‘SmartFlash’ sensor on the back, and a tweaked camera sensor, says 9to5mac.com.

Unlike the current iPhone 5, which requires different models for separate carriers with unique LTE frequencies, the so-called  iPhone 5S is expected to be a world phone that will add compatibility with new carriers, including China Mobile, says another report, published recently on appleinsider.com.

An August release would be a few weeks earlier than 2012′s mid-September iPhone 5 launch, according to 9to5mac.com. There is also talk of a budget iPhone 5 to be launched this year, aimed specifically at the Asian market.

Apple of course are keeping schtum, but as rumours of a launch of a so-called iWatch for 2013 have cooled, the company is under investor pressure to produce the goods having experienced steady declines in sales since record results of 47.8 million iphones sold at the end of last year.