Apple's next iPhone rumored to have "very fast" A7 chip

Rumor surround Apple's next iPhone are flowing in ahead of the tech giant's imminent announcement of its new flagship smartphone.

A tweet from a Fox News reporter claims that new Apple silicon rumored to land in the iPhone 5S is "very fast," while an Apple-centric blog says it will be 64-bit -- echoing a previous rumor.

Clayton Morris tweeted Sunday that Apple's next-generation A7 chip "is running at about 31 [percent] faster than A6. I'm hearing it's very fast." The iPhone 5 and iPad 4 are currently powered by an A6 chip. 

9to5Mac added to Morris' tweet by claiming that some A7 prototypes are 64-bit.

The 64-bit A7 speculation first popped up about ten days ago from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

If accurate, this is significant, as Apple's previous A series processors and other ARM chips from other suppliers, like Qualcomm, are 32-bit.

Generally, 64-bit chips can address more memory and, thus, can be better at running more demanding software. 9to5Mac speculates that a 64-bit Apple chip will be more adept at handling "animations, transparencies, and other iOS 7 graphical effects."

And it wouldn't be surprising to see similar silicon land in the iPad 5. The iPad 4, for example, uses a high-performance version of the A6 called the A6X.

This article originally appeared on CNET under the headline "Chatter surfaces about 'fast' Apple A7 chip for iPhone 5S."