Apple iPhone 5S, iPad 5 already in the works?

Though Apple launched iPhone 5to blockbuster sales just two months ago, it may have already begun working on the launch of next version of its smartphone. If reports are to be believed, Apple is actively working on the seventh generation iPhone, tentatively being called iPhone 5S in tech circles. 

According to Commercial Times, a Chinese newspaper, Apple is this time working on cheaper iterations of the iPhone and iPad, along with a big screen television purportedly called iTV. It is, however, not clear if iPhone 5S is the reported more affordable version of Apple's smartphone. Apple has already broken the cycle of launching only one version of a product a year by unveiling the third and fourth generation iPads in 2012. 

Moreover, it has faced bigger pressures on its margins and marketshare vis-a-vis Android smartphones than ever before. Therefore, it won't be surprising if the company adopts an aggressive go-to-market strategy next year than ever before. 

Commercial Times also said that iPhone 5S will go into 'trial production' as early as December 2012, when only 50,000-100,000 units of the device will be manufactured. On the other hand, mass production of next generation iPhone will commence in the first quarter of next year, it said.

While the report pegs the launch date of iPhone 5S in March, the fifth iteration of iPad is expected to make its debut in April or May. iTV, the large screen television that the company is said to be making, is also expected to be finally unveiled in the first half of 2013, though no time period was mentioned.