It is highly likely that Apple will soon dabble into the production of new iOS devices with screen sizes that break the limits of the tech giant's existing standard. Suspect products would be the iPhone 6 and an iPad with a sprawling front-face, a new report said.

Prototypes of these devices have been submitted for series of tests, the Wall Street Journal reported this week, indicating too that Apple is closely working with its manufacturing partners in Asia to explore the possibility of expanding its iOS device line up.

The WSJ report, though short in specific details, supported earlier rumours that the iPhone maker is entering the phablet market via the iPhone 6, thought to sport a radically-redesigned body structure and a screen size that surpasses the iPhone 5's 4-inch.

Reuters had reported earlier that Apple is experimenting on mobile phones with stretched screen, suggesting in the process that the iPhone 6 would introduce screen sizes that start at 5.7-inch and beyond.

In the new report, no mention was made by WSJ on iPhone screen sizes but an iPad prototype is allegedly under study, its screen size "slightly less than 13 inches diagonally."

It could be that Apple is seriously working on a hybrid device - a stand-alone tablet that is dockable on compatible keyboard accessories, making for a touchscreen Mac notebook that will directly compete with Windows 8-powered Ultrabooks, Apple Insider said in a report.

This move will somehow address the clamour that Apple should come up with a Mac notebook variant with full touchscreen function, which the tech giant, Apple Insider, is unlikely to do.

As for the iPhone 6, analysts are convinced Apple will play along with natural market forces by unleashing a handset that deviates with its current smartphone screen size standard of four inches.

The first Apple phablet is pegged for an early Q1 2014 release date or a few months after the Q4 2013 debut of the iPhone 5S. While the latter is viewed merely as incremental jump from the iPhone 5, the iPhone 6 will deliver the major upgrades, containing more of the killer features recently revealed in the iOS 7's third beta instalment.