Dual-core processor on tap for iPhone 5?

According to Digitimes, “the chance is high” for Apple to adopt a dual core processor for the next iteration of the iPhone. The note comes in a report detailing new dual-core processors being developed across the mobile device industry. With new graphic intense applications and games, along with higher-resolution displays, dual-core processors are almost becoming essential for high end smartphones.  As for tablets, most Honeycomb Androids will be sporting Tegra 2 dual cores.

Apple is likely to launch an updated A4 system-on-a-chip (dubbed A5?) when they launch the iPad 2, and if history repeats itself, this A5 CPU will carry on to the iPhone 5 and later the fifth-generation iPod touch. Apple has been rumored to enhance their custom-made mobile device CPUs for a while now, with recent reports coming from China, and Engadget.

Apple has traditionally used Samsung processors in every one of its iOS devices.  The A4 is manufactured by Samsung and bears a resemblance to the Hummingbird CPUs found in Galaxy S phones.  In that vain, Samsung is expected to release its Orion Dual Core processor at MWC in Barcelona in February which means the A5 could be right behind it.

The iPad 2, most likely the first device to sport the A5, is rumored to include dual cameras, with the back one being one megapixel. There has also been some debate over the iPad 2’s screen resolution with some pegging it to be Retina, and others saying the screen will be the same 1024 x 768 resolution as the current iPad. We have even found evidence in the SDK to back up this claim. Overall, the first hardware update to the iPad 2 does not seem like it will be anything revolutionary, as much as needed for the emerging tablet industry.

The iPhone 5 on the other hand has been referred to as a “complete redesign” by Engadget sources. Besides the faster CPUs, there has not been too much chatter about iPhone 5 specifics. There have also been reports pointing to an updated Apple TV with the described A5 dual-core CPU.