Smartphones with dual-core processors are already being released, and some analysts predict that the iPhone 5, expected later this year, will be powered by the dual-core A5 processor.

The A6 will square off against quad-core mobile processors from Texas Instruments, Nvidia and Qualcomm. Nvidia's quad-core Tegra processor, code-named Kal El, will , Nvidia has said.

The A6 will likely be based on ARM's Cortex-A9 processor, which is the same design used in the A5. ARM has announced an upcoming Cortex-A15 processor, but the first devices based on that design won't ship until late next year or early 2013, Gwennap said.