Apple is reportedly close to being ready to unveil an iPhone 5S model in South Korea that will use 4G LTE-Advanced technology, the Korea Times reported.
According to the report, SK Telecom reached a deal with Apple for its next iPhone to be compatible with the ultra-fast wireless capabilities. 4G LTE-A is the next step after LTE and is expected to be at least twice as fast. However, it is not widely available as of yet.
For now, Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S4 is the only smartphone that will support 4G LTE-A, because Apple and SK Telecom are still negotiating.
"SK Telecom is approaching Apple to put our LTE-A technology on the upcoming iPhone 5S. We are in the middle of negotiations," an anonymous SK Telecom exectutive said. "There's no reason for Apple not to use the LTE-A technology."
The report also stated that Apple will use the next iPhone's success with the brand new wireless technology to gauge how it would do in China.
If nothing else, the unnamed SK Telecom executive may have confirmed at least one speculation of the many awaiting news regarding Apple's next iPhone. The next phone released will be the iPhone 5S and is expected in the fall, around the time of the iOS 7 launch. However, the executive could have used the "5S" moniker as a generic for Apple's upcoming release.
Still, ValueWalk.com has reported its speculation on the features and release of the next iPhone, and the one after that.
While the iPhone 5S is expected in the fall, it is believed the iPhone 6 will be released months later. Value Walk reported Tuesday that the "6" model is rumored to have a 5.7-inch screen and an early-2014 release.
Value Walk reported in a separate article posted Monday that one blogger, Dave Smith of IBtimes.com, said both the iPhone 5S and 6 could be released in September or October, with the "6" being the low-cost version. Smith was even specific enough to pick a release date for both phones.
"We fully expect Apple to release the iPhone 5S just two days after the release date for iOS 7, on Sept. 20," he wrote in his column posted Saturday. "For the low-cost iPhone 6, Apple may wait a week or two to release its cheaper iPhone alternative, on either Sept. 27 or Oct. 4."
