iPhone 5S to feature A7 chip, will the iPhone 6 follow suit?

An image, which purports to show the motherboard used in the upcoming iPhone 5S has apparently let slip some info – namely that the new iPhone will be running on Apple’s next-gen A7 chip, which should mean a significant boost in power for the incremental upgrade.

The snapshot, which was leaked by iOSDoc, shows the board which is currently being prepped for use in iPhone 5S production, and there in pride of place on the middle of it we can clearly see the A7 CPU and the ‘reliable’ source which leaked it apparently confirmed the clock speed of the new quad-core piece of silicon too: 1.2GHz.

This, along with the knowledge that the 5S will launch with 2GB RAM, suggests that the device might finally be an iPhone which can compete with Android devices on the hardware front – and we’re excited about the iPhone 5S' potential with Apple’s software magicians pulling the strings.

Other hardware clues are pretty thin on the ground, with the mobo looking virtually identical to that used in the iPhone 5, so we aren’t expecting much more in the way of updates. That said, if the iPhone 5S launches with a 1.2GHz quad-core chip and iOS 7 later in the year we expect most people would consider it a worthy upgrade.

We aren’t sure at this early stage whether the A7 chip will be making its way in to the iPhone 6, but sources in China who have viewed both devices in their prototype form seem to think it will. Other rumors surrounding the iPhone 6 have also reportedly been confirmed, such as the device being thinner and lighter than current models, and of course the inclusion of a 5-inch display replacing the 4-inch seen in the iPhone 5 and 5S.

The iPhone 5S has been slated for a summer release, with its production cycle set to begin early next month, and the iPhone 6 isn’t due to be far behind if current sources are correct, as we’re told that 2013 will be the year of two iPhones – but, as ever, we recommend you take all rumors with a pinch of salt.

[Update - After umming and ahhing we've come to the conclusion that this image isn't authentic, but the inclusion of an A7 chip is still very much on the horizon for the iPhone 5S and beyond]