Apple iPhone 5 Release Date Set For Sept 21, Device To Debut Along With iPad Mini On Sept. 12 (REPORT)

Just a day after a Chinese website shocked the tech world by posting new photos of the supposedly fully assembled Apple's next generation iPhone, complete with redesigned dock connector and a ear panel, a new report surfaced early Monday further supporting the ongoing rumors that the highly anticipated Apple flagship smartphone would be made public sooner than later.

The news was reported by Rene Ritchie of iMore, who said, citing "sources who have proven accurate in the past," that the Cupertino tech giant "is planning to debut the new iPhone at a special event on Wednesday, September 12, 2012, with the release date to follow 9 days later on Friday, September 21."

As per the report, the new iPhone won't be alone during the announcement event Sept. 12 as it would be accompanied by the long-rumored "iPad mini," with 7.x-inches display, and also the new iPod nano.

"We haven't heard a release date for the iPad mini yet, but it could be the same as the iPhone 5. It seems likely the new iPod touch will make an appearance on September 12 as well, though we haven't heard any specific information about that yet either," Ritchie said.

The current iPhone 4S was introduced Oct. 4 last year with the final release of the device taking place Oct. 14. Thus, the "4S" came into existence some 16 months after the iPhone 3GS launch. However, if the release information in question, revealed by Ritchie's sources, turns out to be true, the iPhone 5 would be out just over 11 months after its predecessor made its public appearance.

In case of the iPhone 4S, the later-than-expected release of the device allowed the company to enter the market with a big fall product release and rule the holiday season. It gave some time to the Verizon variant of iPhone 4, which was launched only in February 2011, and also let Apple to work on iOS 5 for another four months.

So what about iOS 6, when it comes to its inclusion in the iPhone 5? According to Ritchie, the upcoming mobile OS from Apple, announced at WWDC 2012 on June 11 with fresh features including a new Google-free Maps app and Passbook, is expected to "get a final presentation during the September 12 event as well, and if Apple sticks to previous patterns, a release sometime around Wednesday, September 19."

As per the "educated guesses" of Ritchie, who has an impressive track record in terms Apple-related predictions, all new iOS devices will feature the new smaller dock connector, the nano-SIM and the rumored in-cell touch display technology that allow more space for the LTE radio and a bigger battery.

Last week, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also said in his report that Apple would release the new iPhone and iPad mini in September. He predicted that the company would "be tweaking the internals of the current full-size iPad around the same time, making changes to address thermal issues and reduce costs."

Last month, J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz said in a note to the investors that the next Apple iPhone should be launched in September, ramping up production throughout the fourth quarter. However, he believed that it won't be a smooth ride for Apple as the iPhone sales could see a decline prior to the launch of the "iPhone 5."

The ongoing rumors suggest that the iPhone 5 will be powered by a much-improved processor. According to some earlier reports, that chip would be a new variant of the A5X processor while some other reports are betting on Samsung's Exynos 4 quad-core processor.

Rumors are also rife that the new iPhone would sport a larger 4-inch Retina display, 4G LTE technology, Near Field Communication (NFC), a smaller dock connector, 1GB RAM, iOS 6, improved Siri, liquidmetal casing, an 8 megapixel (or even higher) rear camera, a 2 megapixel front-facing camera for video chatting and a much-improved battery life.