Apple tests out 13-inch iPad and new iPhones: iPhablets coming soon?

Apple’s testing out new screen sizes for its popular iPhone and iPad future lineups. And they’re massive! This is according to a Wall Street Journal report. There’s a possibility of post 4-inch iPhones and a 13-inch iPad rolling out.

The iPhone is reportedly being tested out at 4.7-inch as well as a 5.7-inch sizes (phablet much?), while there’s also a new tablet coming in at a whopping 12.9-inches.

Going down this path, though, we can clearly see Apple being tempted by Samsung’s popular throwing smartphones and tablets against the wall and seeing what sticks strategy. This tactic is being used by Sony and others as they squeeze in more of the so-called “phablets.”

We have reported on the expected iPhone 5S and the lower-cost plastic model. The latter is expected to be launched in a variety of colours most likely the same as when we saw the new iPod Touch released last year.

So, together with Apple’s friendly rainbow budget lineup and an upgraded iPhone, what else can we expect coming from Apple?

As the WSJ also reports, there’s going to be a new 9.7-inch 2048 x 1536 Retina display iPad with a “lighter and thinner display structure,” that “integrates touch sensors with a thin film instead of glass which is used in existing iPads.”

Last year during one of Apple’s patent trails against Samsung, more than 40 of Apple’s designs were dug up and made public. There are some monsters out there better left in the dark!

While the WSJ’s source confirms these are in fact in production, it also suggests that we won’t necessarily see them being mass-produced anytime soon. They could be mere prototype devices that could never make the cut.

If these rumours do materialize, would you prefer an iPhablet or a 13-inch iPad?