Apple is definitely releasing a big-screen iPhone 6 but the launch date will likely happen in the latter part of second quarter 2014 with the display panel stretching as far as five inches diagonal, a new report said.

But prior to the Apple phablet's arrival, Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray is expecting to see the two refreshed iPads - the 9.7-inch iPad 5 and the 7.9-inch iPad Mini 2 - no later than October 2013 or some weeks after the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C commercial debut.

The iPhone 6 forecast by Mr Munster somehow fits with earlier projections that Apple will introduce a new iPhone next year that breaks the 4-inch screen size barrier. His readings, however, extend on previous analysts' calls that the large-screen iPhone will come out between January and March next year.

The handset, according to Apple watchers, will reflect a radical departure from Apple's iPhone template, particularly its 4-inch screen that Tim Cook, the company CEO, insists is the optimal display panel for smartphones minus the technology tradeoffs.

Yet for the 2014 iPhone build, Mr Cook, according to Piper Jaffray and via CNET, will go for the phablet-size display screen, which likely will range from 4.5-inch to 5-inch flat. Earlier reports have suggested that Apple is already testing prototype iPhones with viewing windows that exceed the 5-inch mark.

The tech giant, however, remains silent on the matter with Mr Cook simply implying that Apple will unleash its big surprises by fall (late September) this year and to continue on going to 2014.

But numerous iPhone concepts have been published in the past few months - some edgy and some realistic though all gravitating into a path that envisions the first Apple phablet as the most advanced and durable iPhone build to come.

Among the killer features offered by designers are wrap-around display screen, which was supported by a number of Apple patents, disappearing control buttons and a conventional iPhone profile but encased in LiquidMetal material, making for a virtually indestructible iOS smartphone.

As for the two iPad models that Apple will produce this year, Mr Munster appears convinced that it will be a twin-touchdown for the iPad 5 and the Mini 2 and it will take place by October 2013, per the report of MacRumors.

It is likely that the two devices will sport Retina display panel on release date, which is more significant for the iPad Mini 2 as it will boost the first Mini's anaemic screen resolution, plus specs bumps and killer features, the latter thanks largely to iOS 7.

Reports over the weekend by The Wall Street Journal seemed to confirm that the iPad 5 and the iPad Mini 2 are virtual clones, with the former taking on a slimmer and lighter build that first seen in the original iPad Mini.