The iPhone 5S rumor mill continues to churn -- this time about the type of processor Apple's next smartphone could carry.
Television anchor Clayton Morris reported on Twitter that the new iPhone will have an A7 chip that runs 31% faster than the chip in the iPhone 5.
Sources are telling me the new iPhone's A7 chip is running at about 31% faster than A6. I'm hearing it's very fast.— Clayton Morris (@ClaytonMorris) August 25, 2013
Meanwhile, 9to5Mac reported that Apple is testing 64-bit A7 processors in some of its iPhone 5S prototypes.
A 64-bit processor could potentially enable the phone to better handle graphical animations, as well as provide better performance per watt.
@ChrisHumphreys_ it has many advantages but higher performance per watt being one of them.— √üen √üajarin (@BenBajarin) August 25, 2013
Of course, just because there are rumors that 64-bit chips are being tested doesn't mean that they'll be released this year. As per discussions on Twitter, chances are a 64-bit A7 won't happen, but a 64-bit A8 would likely arrive in 2014.
From what I've been hearing the 20nm Apple A8 chip will be 64-bit (coming in 2014), not so sure about this year's A7 making a jump to 64-bit— Christian Zibreg (@dujkan) August 25, 2013
If Apple can deliver a phone that benchmarks 31% faster than the iPhone 5, that should be enough to compete with other high-end smartphones from LG, Samsung and HTC.
What spec would you most like to see in the new iPhone? Let us know in the comments.