The A6 will succeed the dual-core A5 processor used in Apple's iPad 2, said Linley Gwennap, founder and principal analyst at The Linley Group. The A6 will likely be made by chip foundry company Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), Gwennap said, citing multiple sources. The A5 is manufactured by Samsung, and Apple is embroiled in a legal dispute with that company.

The manufacturing schedule for the A6 suggests it won't be in production until the second quarter next year, which means the next iPad might not appear until June, Gwennap said.

A report in the Wall Street Journal last week, , said Apple hopes to launch the iPad 3 early next year.

The A6 should bring more performance to Apple devices while preserving battery life. Many of the improvements will come from TSMC's 28-nanometer manufacturing process, Gwennap said. The process will shrink the circuitry compared to the A5, which is manufactured on a 40-nanometer process, making the A6 smaller and faster.

"The tablet guys are excited to offer more performance with the same battery life," Gwennap said.