Apple Reportedly Planning iPhone 5S for June, Ahead of Larger iPhone 6

Apple will start test builds of the iPhone 5S in March for a June or July Launch according to an analyst who believes Apple is planning a 4.8-inch iPhone 6 for the next generation iPhone.

Peter Misek, an analyst with Jeffries issued a new note to investors, shared by Apple Insider this week commenting on the iPhone 5S release, which may arrive this summer.

In the note Misek focuses on the iPhone 5S, the name he gives to a minor iPhone 5 upgrade. In December Misek talked about the iPhone 6, saying that it could feature a 4.8-inch display with no home button, based on a prototype.

Misek believes Apple is pushing up the pre-production of the iPhone 5S to March for an iPhone 5S release date in June or July 2013, months ahead of the Fall release schedule Apple moved to with the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5.

iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 and Cheap iPhone

In his notes Misek talks specifically about three devices, an iPhone 5S, an iPhone 6 and a lower cost iPhone. In the note issued this week Misek speculates that the cheaper iPhone would focus on low-cost instead of being, ‘cheap’ and speculates on possible specs, “polycarbonate case with 4″ non-Retina display and no LTE.”

The iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 rumors are of the greatest interest as they impact phones that may arrive in the U.S. by summer, and could impact buying decisions as early as March as shoppers start to wait for the next iPhone.

Read: iPhone 6 Release Date, Specs, News and Rumors

Apple routinely announces an ‘S’ product that delivers small improvements to the last iPhone before rolling out a new product. We’ve heard speculation that Apple may jump straight to an iPhone 6, but if Apple launches an iPhone 5 this summer around WWDC here are some features Misek previously noted as possibilities for the iPhone 5S.

iPhone 5S Rumored Features

In a note to investors in December, Misek suggested Apple could use a Retina+ Display in the iPhone 5S. This would reportedly be a Sharp IGZO display that offers a higher resolution. In addition to a higher resolution, IGZO displays offer better battery life, a thinner design and better touch responsiveness. I’s more likely that Apple would save this jump for an iPhone 6 release, but again, this is all rumor and conjecture.

The video below shows a Sharp IGZO display in a phone from CES 2013.

If Apple does switch to a Sharp IGZO display it will make mIsek’s predictions of better battery life easier to achieve. This may be one way to deliver longer battery life without increasing the thickness of the phone.

Read: iPhone 5S Release Date, Specs, News and Rumors

We also heard rumors of a larger capacity 128GB iPhone 5S and a better camera for the iPhone 5S, which Misek calls, “Super HD”. Rounding out the rumors, Misek suggests Apple may finally bring iPod touch-like color options to the iPhone line when the iPhone 5S arrives.