Apple Testing iPhone 6, iOS7, Release Date in Early 2013? Report Says So; Rumored Specs

Having just released the iPhone 5 in September, Apple is already testing its new iPhone 6 and iOS 7, tech site the Next Web reported.

Traces of the new iPhone and iOS surfaced in developer logs. Developer logs display app usage. App creators use this inforation to see what types of software and devices people are using to download and use apps.

"One developer showed us that Apple has been testing hardware relating to a new 'iPhone6,1′ identifier, powered by a device running iOS 7, which is expected to be released by Apple in the middle part of this year," said The Next Web.

While we always caution putting too much stock in any kind of "leaked" information regarding a technology, especially in Apple's case, The Next Web makes a convicnig case that the information in its report is indeed legitimate.

"From the developer logs that we have seen, the app requests originate from an IP address on Apple's Cupertino campus, suggesting that members of Apple's software development and app teams are compatibility testing some of the more popular or well-known applications already on the App Store," the site reported.

The Next Web added: "Although OS and device data can be faked, the unique IP footprint leading back to Apple's Cupertino campus leads us to believe this is not one of those attempts."

Apple launched iPhone 5 in September and it has been reported by numerous sources that the company could be shaking up its product refresh cycle to release the new iPhone within the first quarter of 2013.

Asymco market analyst Horace Dediu recently published a note to investors claiming Apple is in the midst of transforming the way it releases its devices, and that the company will being releasing a redesigned smartphone every six months beginning with the iPhone 6, as opposed to the one-device-a-year product release cycle we've come to expect.

Deidu also claims Apple will start pumping out redesigned iPads at a similar refresh rate starting 2013.

Deidu's report is apparently somewhat based on a recent statement to the press from former Apple CEO John Sculley. The ex-exec noted that Apple is "going through a very significant change now in terms of product cycles... now it's really introducing products twice a year."

Of course, Sculley, who left Apple in 1993, doesn't elaborate as to say where he's getting this information from, so, keep that in mind when you evaluate the credibility of that claim. However, many in the tech-sphere have echoed Sculley's belief now for over a month, so that might lend his words some weight.

Rumored specs

The latest rumors about the purported specs of the iPhone 6 will feature, among other things, 3D mapping sonar, a new super HD camera/screen beyond the Full HD displays in HTC Droid DNA, a Near Field Communications (NFC) chip, a better battery, a 128GB version of the device, and 8 different color options.

"According to those inside the manufacturing industry Sharp is working on making its super HD display iPhone-ready however because the technology is so advanced it's unlikely to appear on the iPhone 5S with Apple saving the bleeding-edge tech for the likes of the iPhone 6 and possibly even the iPad Mini 2," reported T3.