iPhone 6 Release Date Sooner Than Expected; Verizon iPhone 5 Discount, Parts Arrival At Chinese Manufacturers Point To Early Release

The iPhone 6 may be released sooner than expected, as much as a year earlier than analysts forecast. Apple hasn't released a new version of their ubiquitous iPhone in almost seven months, when the iPhone 5 was released, but that may soon change. 

The iPhone 6, or iPhone 5S--as it may be called, would probably be released in June of 2014, say analysts. However, a recent development by Verizonmight change that.

Verizon, one of the top U.S. carriers of Apple's iPhone, might begin offering a $100 discount on the iPhone 5 by the middle of this month, reports Twitter user @evleaks, who tweeted: 

"Upcoming Verizon promotion: $100 off iPhone 5 beginning mid-month."

The @evleaks account is well known in the tech community and has a solid track record when reporting scoops of this nature. 

If Verizon offers the $100 discount, Verizon users will be able to purchase the entry level 16 GB version of the iPhone 5 for only $99 with a two-year contract. Unfortunately, there's no word as to whether this discount will extend beyond a couple weeks or a month.

If Verizon is discounting iPhone 5's, it could mean they're trying to clear out inventory because the iPhone 6 is on it's way, much sooner than expected. 

It's a growing trend for carriers, reports Business Insider, "AT&T will give you $100 off a new smartphone, including the iPhone 5, if you trade in your current device. Sprint will give you $100 off several phones like the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S4 if you switch from another carrier."

Slashgear doesn't really buy the connection though, writing, "Verizon could just be doing this for giggles, without even knowing about a new iPhone coming." But they didn't dismiss the possibility, either, "it's also possible that Big Red needs to quickly clear some of its inventory to make way for something new."

Patently Apple, an Apple-focused tech blog, reported that new parts and components for the new iPhone had arrived at Chinese manufacturers, suggesting a much-earlier than expected new-device launch. According to a Chinese report, it takes a couple months for the production process to reach the assembly phase, which would mean we could be seeing an iPhone 6 or iPhone 5S a year earlier than analyst prognostications: sometime in July of this year. 

A TechRadar report said: "The implication in all of this is that Apple has moved up its parts deliveries so that it can launch the next iPhone earlier than the traditional annual September release it stuck to in the past." 

These are just rumors now, but with the lag behind Android and the advancements with the iOS 7 technology, it's not outside the realm of possibility that Apple--whose stock is down--would move up the release date in an attempt to lock down the smartphone market once again and stop losing money on Wall Street.