Apple reportedly plans to acquire a mobile chip maker based in Asia for in-house production of crucial handset components beginning in 2014, with the iPhone 6 and iPad Mini 2 to initially showcase the major shift on release date.

Citing reports from SemiAccurate, Apple Insider said Friday last week that the iPhone maker is in the process of taking over United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), which is presently headquartered in Taiwan and listed in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The move would allow Apple to operate its own chip fabrication plant and possibly speed up the whole production process that involves its numerous iOS devices. Should the alleged deal pushes through, the tech giant could be using its own processing chips as early as 2014.

One handset to possibly bear such CPU is the rumoured iPhone 6, the supposed phablet-size iPhone that according to numerous analysts will debut anytime between January and March next year.

Another candidate is the iPad Mini 2 with Retina that according to reports last week will not come out until early 2014 due to production issues directly related to the high-resolution display panel.

The latest development, though regarded as rumour, is seen by analyst as reflective of Apple's ongoing efforts to steer away from its traditional manufacturing partners - Foxconn, Pegatron and Samsung, among them - and establish a highly reliable iOS supply chain.

Previous releases of iPhone and the two iPad models were reportedly fraught with delays and shoddy craftsmanship that Apple wants to put the recurring problems behind it once and for all. And manufacturing most of the important device components is seen by the tech titan as the best option available.

Also, the report is in line with the claims aired last week by KGI Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo, that Apple is very well on its way to diversify its iOS production environment by tapping on other suppliers or manufacturing partners.

Mr Kuo projected that the supposed revisions will be in full swing by the first quarter of 2014, which is a timeline that coincides with the separate iPhone 6 and iPad Mini 2 with Retina release dates.