Rumor: iPhone 6 with NFC, stronger battery, super HD camera, 4.8-inch screen in June 2013

So, are you tired of the iPhone 5 already? Feeling the after-announcement blues, sort of like the after-Christmas let-down? Cheer up, Apple fans, the iPhone 5S (or the iPhone 6 or whatever Apple calls it) is coming next June or July. According to one Wall Street observer, the new iPhone will include a “super HD” camera and screen, stronger battery and NFC.

What’s more, the iPhone 5S will arrive in a rainbow of colors, or at least 6-8 different colors, according to Jefferies analyst Peter Misek. Also on tap: the iPad 5 with an IGZO screen and more colors…

Business Insider relays a note Misek sent to analysts this morning:

Several iPhone 6 prototypes appear to be floating around. The model with a 4.8″ screen is the most interesting. It has a Retina+ IGZO screen, a new A7 quad-core processor variant, and a new form factor with no home button. Full gesture control is also possibly included.

But what is really sparking conversation, per another Business Insider article, is Apple’s decision to return to a mid-year product announcement, something not done since the company unveiled the iPhone 3G and iPhone 4.

My colleague Christian previously wrote how Apple’s annual schedule no longer fits increased competition.

A likely reason for the earlier announcement: Apple is tired of back-loading all of its sales into the last few months of the year.

Independent analyst Horace Dediu observes:

Too many potential buyers are now conditioned to wait for fall to buy iPhones thus sapping demand for half the year. Apple ends up with an inability to meet demand for half the year and a sales lull for the other half.

Now, Misek is known to have been infected by the Apple television influenza, predicting CEO Tim Cook was already producing such a device.

But for what it’s worth, the analyst did tell clients to expect an iPhone 4S – not an iPhone 5 – in 2011. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about what might be in store for the iPhone 5S.

Earlier this month, a leaked screenshot supposedly of the iPhone 5S backplate indicated the handset’s logic board is secured by a different layout of screws. Whether this change suggests a change in internal hardware from the iPhone 5 is up for debate. In November, a publication in China reported that the iPhone 5S goes into “trial production” this month.

Both the earlier production and earlier announcement make sense.

Not only would earlier production allow for suppliers to fine-tune their operations – reducing the chance of potential shortages – but an earlier announcement also benefits Apple.

Not introducing a product update until the fall, gives competitors an opening to market their devices to consumers not able to purchase the latest gadget from Cupertino. As well, an earlier unveiling of the iPhone 5S minimizes talk on Wall Street that Apple sales are slowing, faltering or not meeting expectations.

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As if those were enough reasons for the iPhone 5S to be announced earlier than recent handsets, chief rival Samsung announced this morning it will unveil “something new” at the January 2013 CES.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWoAxkMmOLk

That new product is expected to be the successor to the Galaxy S III, the Galaxy S IV.

The new device reportedly sports many features aimed directly at the iPhone market, including a 13-megapixel camera and a 5-inch screen with HD resolution.

The prediction of the iPhone 5S took some wind out of the sales of the analyst’s other Monday prediction: that iPhone and iPad sales are flagging, prompting Jeffries to cut its target Apple price to $800 from $900.

What will be the best feature of Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5S – more colors or an earlier release date?

With Samsung breathing down its neck, I’m guessing it won’t be the pink iPhone.