Rumor: iPhone 5S and 5-inch ‘iPhone 6’ Spotted at Apple Supplier, Set for 2013 Launch

There has been no shortage of rumors about Apple’s next-gen iPhone hardware, with rumors ranging from Apple releasing a cheap “budget” version, a larger-screen iPhone, separate “pro” and regular iPhone models, and so forth. According to a Chinese report translated by Brightwire, a new “iPhone 5S” and an “iPhone 6” have both been spotted at Apple suppliers, and will both launch in 2013 (mock-up image below via Marco Arment).

Brightwire (via MacRumors):

• 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.

According to the report, the “iPhone 5S” will be similar in appearance to the iPhone 5, while the “iPhone 6” will include a 6-inch display, and will be thinner and lighter than the 5S. There’s been a great deal of talk and speculation about a larger-screen iPhone – but as of now, there have yet to be any hardware leaks or verifiable, credible reports claiming as much.

While both devices seem plausible (with the 5-inch model targeted at devices like Samsung’s latest “phablet” smartphones), it will be interesting to see how this speculation fares against Apple’s actual product launches this year. For now, however, there’s just no strong reason to believe any of the speculation is actually true.