Rumours point to overheating processors as problem

So, just when we kick back and wait for the arrival of the iPhone 5, we hear it might not be coming after all. Reason? Faulty processors apparently.

Of course, it’s all rumour so far, with the latest tale coming out of China and reported by 9 to 5 Mac. It claims that the A5 chip used in the forthcoming iPhone 5 has a tendency to overheat, hence why the iPhone 5 was put back from July to September in the first place. However, a couple of months on and the problem is said to persist, not helped by the iPhone’s tiny enclosure, where space and battery are at premium.

If the story is to be believed, Apple is looking at postponing the launch for ‘an unspecified period of time’, possibly into 2012, and arriving with the A6 chip, which is due at some point next year. So no new iPhone? Not quite. The story throws the idea of the iPhone 4S into the mix, a ‘modest’ upgrade from the iPhone 4 with an eight-megapixel camera, a Gorilla glass display and an unconfirmed dual-core chip.

It makes sense if Apple is having problems with the new chip, although it’s not exactly going to have us dashing for an upgrade if true. All will no doubt be revealed in September, which still sounds like the date when Apple will have something to show us, giant leap forward or not.