Report already mentions iPhone 6

If you’re curious about the iPhone 5, you’re already behind the times.

Dan Heyler, a semiconducor analyst who works for Merrill Lynch in Taipei, was quoted as saying the iPhone 6 stands to begin production in 2012.

While that isn’t likely to surprise anyone, it’s the first time such a high-ranking analyst has said anything about the device that will replace the as-yet unannounced iPhone 5.

Details of the iPhone 5 remain unclear, as conflicting reports suggest there may be a new version of the iPhone 4, or a direct jump to the number “5,” or perhaps even two new devices coming out at nearly the same time.

Of course Apple is being tight-lipped about the whole situation. Many expected to hear something about a new iPhone at the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month, but that didn’t happen.

Before that, there were even hints that a new iPhone would be released this month. Clearly the plans are still not perfectly known, but the current scuttlebutt pins the next device as coming out in September.

While there may not be any huge technological advancements for the iPhone 5, it’s expected the iPhone 6 will introduce the A6 processing chip from Apple, which could possibly be a quad-core mobile processor, something that hasn’t been seen before.

Whatever tech ends up being used in the iPhone 6 is likely to be the same in the iPad 3. Yeah, we just love the smell of obsolescence in the morning.