iPhone 5 release date, photos leak: report

Apple will begin shipping its next-generation iPhone in mid-September, with the device to hit stores later in that month, according to a report.

The device has previously been reported as having a September 21 release date.

According to iLounge, the rumoured 7in iPad Mini will arrive later and will ship in November. A mini version of the iPad's Smart Cover and Smart Case will also reportedly be available for iPad Mini owners to purchase.

Photos leak

Chinese case manufacturer Cool Zone PDA has reportedly taken photos of an iPhone 5 smuggled out of the Foxconn factory in China.

The pictures appear to confirm reports of a smaller dock connector.

The headphone jack has been moved to the bottom of the device, while the rumoured 4in screen also appears to be present and accounted for.

Apple's iPhone 4S sits at 9.3mm thick, but analyst predict the next generation device will be merely 7.9mm thick - around the same size as Apple's iPod Touch.

Rumours of in-cell touch tech being incorporated into the iPhone 5 first surfaced earlier in the year.

Soon to drop

European mobile carriers are stockpiling the Apple-designed nano-SIM card, in anticipation of the iPhone 5's launch, according to the Financial Times.

The 4FF nano-SIM is 40 per cent smaller than the current micro-SIM.