Digging far down into the latest beta of iOS 6, 9to5Mac was able to uncover some new information about the next iPhone model and Apple’s rumored 3D Maps app. The hints were found in layers of code, so it’s about to get very geeky.
First, a new iPhone model running iOS 6 contains references to the upcoming processor in a code snippet regarding Darwin Kernel Version 13.0.0. The processor is an ARM S5L8950X. The previous iPhone contained an ARM S5L8940X and the third-generation iPad has an ARM S5L8945X. The S in front of each of these indicates that Samsung is still the manufacturer. The fact that the new iPhone has higher digits in the processor model could suggest that a faster processor is imminent, though clockspeed or number of cores can’t be determined from the given information.
Apple’s internal name for the processor is A5-*** with the three asterisks representing characters that can’t be released to the public. From this, it’s possible the next iPhone will keep the A5 title, though there’s plenty of time for that to change. What is new is a boost in RAM to 1GB and an upgraded GPU, again according to a different model number.
The 3D Maps app rumor only gets a slight change: the 3D icon has been moved from the bottom left (previously adjacent to the current location) to the right underneath the standard flip-up menu.
9to5Mac has been informed that both iOS 6 and the sixth-generation iPhone development are going swimmingly. Apple is expected to unveil the former at WWDC 2012 in a couple of weeks, which according to a tip may include an entirely new app.