The latest beta release of iOS 5.1, the forthcoming update to the iOS operating system, has been found to contain some hints about what to expect from the next generation of iPhones and iPads. It seems that the software’s processing core management system contains references to quad-core processing. This means that Apple likely has a quad-core chip in the works, probably meant to go into the next-generation iPad and iPhone devices.

The current generation of devices – the iPhone 4S and the iPad 2 – currently run on Apple’s dual-core A5 chip. The inclusion of references to the quad-core chip in the iOS 5.1 beta suggests that Apple is already testing such a chip – presumably to be called the A6 – in prototypes of the iPad 3 and iPhone 6.

Sidenote: Though many are still calling the next generation iPhone the iPhone 5, it will most likely be called the iPhone 6, since it is in fact the sixth generation iPhone. The iPhone 4S is the iPhone 5 in all but name, just as the iPhone 3G was actually the iPhone 2.

Digging through the code of Apple’s iOS updates is a time-honored means of looking for information on the next generation of Apple’s gadgets. Members of Apple’s developer program have been able to find references to the iPad, the Apple TV, and newer versions existing devices like the iPhone and iPad simply by digging through the operating system’s code. As launch time approaches, Apple will most likely continue to use current versions of the iOS software to text next generation devices – especially the iPad 3. Look for more juicy details to be found in the iOS code in the coming months.

[Source: 9to5Mac]