Crank up the rumor mill: iPhone 5S coming in June 2013 with improved camera, NFC and color options

An analyst who called it right with the iPhone 4S says Apple will launch an iPhone 5S handset in June 2013, sporting a better camera, NFC technology and a more powerful battery. And if neither black nor white does it for you, that's no problem – it'll be out in a range of colors.

Call it a rumor, call it a claim, call it what you like; there are no “people familiar with the matter who wish to remain nameless” to speak of, but the information comes from an analyst who has called it right in the past on the subject of the iPhone.

He – that’s Peter Misek of Jeffries & Co. – believes Apple will launch an iPhone 5S in June 2013.

So where does he think the Cupertino will go with next iteration of its popular handset? Well, according to Misek the already clear-as-a-bell Retina display will be upgraded to Retina+ with an IGZO screen, the HD camera will become a “super HD camera”, the battery will have more power and the phone will incorporate NFC technology – “not before time,” some will say.

And for those who like a splash of color with their gadgets and gizmos, Misek says Apple will release the next iPhone in a range of colors, between six and eight he claims. If that’s the case, you can probably already choose your flavor by taking a look at Apple’s iPod Touch offerings, launched in a range of colors a couple of months back.

So no major overhaul of the phone’s physical design, Misek appears to suggest with his information. No bigger screen, no thinner body, no jaw-dropping bells and whistles.

As for Misek’s reliability when it comes to predictions, Business Insider said that although his Apple TV forecasts have been off the mark (over the summer he said it was in full production and would be out by the end of the year…let’s face it, it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen), he did call it right with the iPhone 4S.

Misek isn’t the first person to pipe up about the possibility of an iPhone update coming in the middle of next year. A couple of weeks ago Taiwanese publication DigiTimes reported claims made by “market observers” watching Apple’s supply chain that the tech giant was prepping a new phone for launch in the middle of 2013, around eight or nine months after the release of the iPhone 5. But let’s not forget, DigiTimes’ record is somewhat iffy when it comes to iPhone predictions.

We’ll just have to wait and see how Misek’s turn out.