Apple iPhone 5S Release Date Nears: Event Invitations May Arrive Tuesday [UPDATED]

Update 1:10 p.m. EDT: As we predicted earlier today, Apple has released its invitations for its Sept. 10 event. We've embedded a sample above.

IBTimes was one of the first news companies to predict the Sept. 10 event, at which Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is expected to introduce two new iPhone models; if Apple indeed holds its event that day, we believe Apple will release its event invitations Tuesday afternoon.

Traditionally, Apple has chosen to release its event invitations exactly one week prior to the event dates; this has been true for last year’s iPhone 5 in September, the iPad 4 and iPad mini in October, and even the iPad 3 in March.

The big Sept. 10 event has been all but confirmed by Apple itself. The Loop’s Jim Dalrymple, who has a 100 percent accuracy rate at confirming or refuting Apple rumors with his signature one-word posts, corroborated a report by AllThingsD on Aug. 26 with a simple “Yep.” Dalrymple had previously rejected a different report saying the iPhone would launch on Sept. 6 with a clear “Nope.”

At its Sept. 10 event, Apple is expected to announce the official release date for iOS 7 -- which was introduced in June at WWDC 2013 -- shortly before it's expected to unveil two new pieces of iOS 7-friendly hardware, including the security-driven iPhone 5S and the budget iPhone, either to be called the iPhone 5C, iPhone Light, iPhone 6, or simply “iPhone.” Here, we’ll break down what consumers can expect from each announcement.

Apple iOS 7 Release Coming: What To Expect

At its Sept. 10 event, we believe Apple will reintroduce iOS 7 to the crowd shortly before announcing its release date -- we believe Apple has chosen Wednesday, Sept. 18, for its iOS 7 release, which will precede the release date of its two iPhones by two days.

For those unversed in the newest mobile operating system from Apple, iOS 7 features a complete revamp of the style, colors, icons and textures of the previous iterations of the iOS; it's designed to be both familiar and an entirely new experience. But iOS 7 isn’t just a cosmetic update; iOS 7 offers game-changing new features and tools designed in the hopes of making iOS 7 the most intuitive and most useful iOS release to date. Most notable among the new iOS 7 features: the helpful Control Center that contains quick access to important settings; the built-in parallax that shifts the background image in response to one’s movements; a new way to multitask apps; the AirDrop feature for sharing photos or documents with other iPhone users in the area; and many others.

For more on iOS 7, check out our visual guide on iOS 7 to learn more about the new design, some surprise features we discovered in the very first iOS 7 beta, plus our collection of 80-plus screenshots of iOS 7.

Apple iPhone 5C Release Coming: What To Expect

The iPhone 5C is expected to release with many of the same features of last year’s iPhone 5, but the key difference is said to be the form factor, which has reportedly replaced the anodized aluminum body of the iPhone 5 with a cheaper, albeit sturdier and more scratch-proof, polycarbonate shell. Back in January, iLounge editor-in-chief Jeremy Horwitz said the iPhone 5C will release as a "cross between the iPhone 5, the fifth-generation iPod touch and -- wait for it -- the iPod classic." With its 4-inch screen like the iPhone 5, a tapered bottom like the latest iPod touch and a rectangular shape like the iPod classic, the budget iPhone 5C is said to be substantially made from plastic but feature a hybrid chassis made of both plastic and metal. The right side of the iPhone 6 features a flat, centered SIM card tray like the iPhone 5, with the locations of the camera, microphone and rear flash located similarly to where they were on the latest-generation iPod touch.

We believe Apple will release the iPhone 5C with most of the same specs as the iPhone 5, including a 4-inch Retina display at 326 ppi, an A6 chip, a FaceTime HD camera and an 8-megapixel rear side camera; the 8-megapixel camera has already shown up in allegedly leaked photos of the iPhone 5C components. The major difference between the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5C, besides the new polycarbonate enclosure, will be its availability in five different colors (red, green, yellow, blue and white), as opposed to the iPhone 5's two black and white options.

Apple iPhone 5S Release Coming: What To Expect

The iPhone 5S is said to look nearly identical to last year’s iPhone 5, but with a number of enhanced specs and new features for the camera and home button. In late June, Apple rumors site MacRumors posted alleged photos of the alleged iPhone 5S, which revealed a nameless Apple-built CPU that appears to be a new A7 chip rather than a modification of the A6 chip currently featured in the iPhone 5. The iPhone 5S logic board is slightly narrower than the iPhone 5’s logic board in order to make room for new components and connectors, and the 5.45 Whr lithium-ion polymer battery in the iPhone 5 also looks to be upgraded to a 3.8-volt battery with a capacity of 5.92 Whr in the iPhone 5S.

Apple has reportedly made some major enhancements to the camera in the iPhone 5S. Whereas the iPhone 5 featured an 8-megapixel camera with a singular circular flash module, rumors point to a new 12-megapixel rear side camera in the iPhone 5S, and photos also revealed a new pill-shaped dual-LED flash. Both of these new camera features in the iPhone 5S may be key to the inclusion of a new feature called "Mogul," which was discovered in code embedded within the latest beta release of iOS 7. But since the new "Mogul" feature won't activate on the iPhone 5 due to "unsupported hardware," it looks like Mogul will be an exclusive feature of the iPhone 5S in the same way Siri was previously exclusive to the iPhone 4S.

The iPhone 5S “Mogul” feature, according to 9to5Mac’s “analysis and testing of the code,” will allow the iPhone 5S to capture video at “an exceptionally fast and precise rate,” indicating a potential recording rate of 120 frames-per-second. With such a fast frame rate, it seems like the Mogul feature in the iPhone 5S will support slow-motion video, since slow-motion effects require frames to be captured at a fast rate that appear slowed down when the video is replayed at a standard speed. With a presumably enhanced camera -- the iPhone hasn’t received a camera upgrade since the release of the iPhone 4S -- this additional Mogul feature should give the iPhone 5S the “cool factor” it desperately needs when it sees its release date next month.

Mogul won’t be the only “cool factor” in the iPhone 5S, however; the showstopper of the iPhone 5S is said to be its fingerprint sensor, which is the technology that caused Apple to urgently acquire Florida-based AuthenTec last July. At just 3mm high and 1.3mm thick, AuthenTec's first Smart Sensor, which was announced in May (right around the time Apple upped its efforts to buy the company) crams a 500 ppi, 192x8 pixel detection matrix and all the fingerprint matching technology necessary to accurately and securely detect and encrypt data about your finger. Furthermore, AuthenTec's "anti-spoofing technology" ensures that only real fingerprints are read by measuring the unique properties of the skin on your finger and translating those traits into digital data that's then compared with the "expected [fingerprint] properties." Many believe Apple’s plan is to release the iPhone 5S with the Smart Sensor embedded directly in the iPhone’s signature home button.

The fingerprint sensor may allow the iPhone 5S to automatically authenticate one’s identity, possibly negating the need to input personal data on one’s phone again and again, or even the need to remember a passcode combination. Patently Apple offers a fantastic description of how this biometric fingerprint technology in the iPhone 5S could enhance iPhone activities like e-commerce.

What do you think of iOS 7, the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 5S? Are you looking forward to the upcoming Sept. 10 Apple event? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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