Prior to his death back in 2011, Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs had already started work in the upcoming iPhone 5S and iPhone 6, new reports have suggested.

According to a former Apple liaison officer, Apple’s talismanic leader worked on a number of as yet unlaunched products prior to his death from pancreatic cancer, with the recently released iPhone 5 and currently unconfirmed iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 reported amongst the mix. Jobs died just days after the iPhone 4S was formally unveiled to the world.

In a recent discussion with the US District Attorney George Gascon, Apple’s former government liaison Michael Foulkes reportedly announced that “the next two generation of iPhone have already been developed” and that both handsets “preceded Tom Cook.”

Although it had previously been suggested that the iPhone 5 was the last device Steve Jobs was actively involved in, Foulkes’ comments appear fitting with the product development cycles of many leading manufacturers, a cycle that can take years from inception to release.

Speaking with the Guardian, Horace Dediu, a formed Nokia employee, suggested that given the development periods needed, it is more than possible that Jobs worked on two more as yet unconfirmed iPhone handsets.

“Having worked in a phone company, I think it’s a given [that the phones were designed that far back],” Dediu said. “Work under way now is for products shipping in 2016.”

He added: “Software alone does not a phone make. Hardware specifications are [determined] on a different time scale.”



iPhone 6 Rumours

Whilst it is expected that this year will see an iPhone 5S release date offer up a handset largely similar to that of the current iPhone 5, a selection of iPhone 6 rumours have suggested that Apple has much change in mind for next year’s smartphone offering.

With the iPhone 6 reportedly set to come in ‘6 to 8 colours’ akin to the latest iPod touch offerings, recent reports have claimed that the iPhone 6 specs sheet will see a handset with an all new design play host to a raft of improvements from a faster processor, improved camera optics and even a larger, Samsung Galaxy S4 rivalling display.