iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 to launch this year

Bizarre as it may sound, Apple is rumored to release an enormous 5-inch iPhone 6 this year. On top of that, it's also been suggested that an iPhone 5S is in the works. Industry watchers and iOS-junkies alike are mostly in agreement at this point that the Cupertino, Calif. company will indeed release both of these phones in 2013. Let's take a look at how each handset is shaping up. 

The iPhone 5S is expected to look exactly like the current iPhone 5, while the iPhone 6 will measure in at a whopping five inches (and will supposedly be lighter and thinner), according to a Chinese mobile phone site called Laoyaoba. The site's source purportedly said that he's seen both of Apple's unreleased (and unannounced) handsets at one of the company's suppliers. The site also notes that the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 6 "may" be released in 2013. 

Given the lack of named sources and the fact that we're all just riding on a bunch of "maybes," we suggest you step back for a moment and hold down any real excitement (or rage?) until Apple makes an official announcement. We're guessing that will happen soon enough, but until it does, it's probably worth sort through some of the clutter.  

While speculation surrounding the iPhone 5S sounds rather likely, as everything we've heard so far is in line with Apple's usual tactics, the iPhone 6 rumors have left us scratching our heads. A 5-inch iPhone just sounds ... well, it doesn't really sound like an iPhone -- it sounds a lot more like something from Samsung's Galaxy lineup.

As iMore points out, when asked about a larger screen, Tim Cook noted on a company earnings call that Apple had selected the correct size for the iPhone 5 at 4 inches. Then again, he didn't say whether or not that would also be the case for a follow up handset. 

Getting back to that Samsung Galaxy thing for a minute, that could also be an argument in favor of Apple increasing its screen size. Samsung's Galaxy Note and Note 2 paved the way for the "phablet" set and ended up being a lot more popular than most of us expected. Apple doesn't have anything quite like it yet, so maybe it's not that crazy.