The iPhone 6 release date could come earlier than expected as Apple appears to have stepped up its talent hunting in Asia, which new reports said will likely speed up development and production of iOS-related components.

The Wall Street Journal has reported this week that some 600 engineers have been recruited by Apple to fill up technical positions that are currently based in mainland China and Taiwan. Specifically in Taiwan, the iPhone maker has reportedly poached workers from troubled device maker HTC, which is based in Taipei.

"Apple is building an engineering team in Taipei to drive new iPhone product development," Apple Insider reported The WSJ as saying. The same report suggested that the hiring blitz was mainly for Apple's product expansion and to accelerate the company's production calendar.

This is aligned with Apple CEO Tim Cook's earlier assertions that his company is working on new product categories. Apple watchers would love to believe that when referring to fresh products, Cook is also giving out clues of the radically-redesigned iPhone 6, which is anticipated to sport a larger screen than the 4-inch iPhone 5S.

Apple Insider has also clarified on its report that the new Apple hires will be deployed in numerous Apple-sanctioned facilities around Asia to specifically work on innovative features that involved touchscreens and camera for iOS devices.

With the approach, the tech giant is looking to introduce wider-range of products with little production issues, the tech site added.

However, The WSJ report also stated that even with its beefed up engineering roster in Asia, Apple intends to maintain the bulk of its research and development activities in Cupertino, California.

Amidst the latest indicator that production of the next iPhone could be in full-swing soon, speculations about the gadget's nearing release date are heightened anew, spiking up further by reports of the smartphone's seemingly confirmed camera capabilities.

From Asia still, BGR has reported that the iPhone 6 camera will certainly get the expected upgrade treatment but Apple will shy away from the megapixel race. The handset will still flash an 8MP main shooter but the specs bump up will focus on sensor and aperture improvements plus optical image stabilisation.

"The iPhone 6's iSight camera will reportedly feature a 1/2.66-inch sensor and an aperture size of f/2.0," BGR said, pointing to Chinese social media site Weibo as source of its info.

Note that that the new leak runs in counter with previous rumours that the iPhone 5S replacement will boast of camera sensors between 10MP and 12MP.

Nonetheless, all these new developments only seem to support the persistent whispers that Apple could elect for an earlier iPhone 6 release date, which could come as early as July 2014 or some two months ahead of the expected September launch of the device.