Apple rumored to begin trial production of iPhone 5S by the end of the year

While Android manufacturers come up with major hardware refreshes every year for their flagship devices, Apple on the other hand tends to release major updates every two years, with minor refreshes released in between. This has resulted in the iPhone 3G which was followed by the 3GS, followed by the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S. Based on this pattern, we can expect Apple to release an iPhone 5S next year, or whatever it will be called. According to Digitimes who relayed a report from Commercial Times, this certainly seems to be the case and word has it that Apple could be set to begin trial production of the iPhone 5S as early as December.

Assuming the trial production is successful, volume production could begin as early as Q1 2013, suggesting that the iPhone 5’s successor could be released earlier than usual. Apple’s iPhone refreshes have typically been revealed at the Cupertino company’s WWDC event in the middle of the year, although this cycle was broken by the iPhone 4S which was revealed in the Fall, and the iPhone 5 which was similarly revealed in the Fall of this year. Of course rumors being rumors, they shouldn’t be taken too seriously although with Apple refreshing the iPad less than a year since its third-gen model, an early iPhone 5S wouldn’t be surprising. Either way take this with a grain of salt for now, but let us know your thoughts in the comments below.