The iPhone launch: What we know so far

IOS7 for iPhone 5: The redesigned operating system will be ready for consumers to download after the launch event on September 18.

It’s official, the invitations, promising to “brighten your day” have finally been sent out and the next iPhone will be making its global debut at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters on Tuesday, September 10.

When Tim Cook takes to the stage he is expected to announce not just one, but two new iPhones – a new flagship handset, called the 5S and, for the first time, a low-cost counterpart, expected to be called the 5C.

The iPhone 5S is expected to come in a range of colored anodized aluminium finishes – black, white, graphite and ‘champagne’, will boast a faster processor for speedier app loading and gaming but, most impressively, is expected to feature a fingerprint scanner embedded within its homekey. The biometric addition is there to boost security while removing some of the necessity to remember passwords, PINs and logins.

The iPhone 5C is targeted at consumers in emerging markets and at those who don’t want to be tied into long-term network contracts. It will forsake the expensive alloys in favor of a molded polycarbonate shell, like that of the original iPod and the now-defunct consumer range of MacBook notebooks. It will have the same screen size as its flagship counterpart but is expected to have a slower processor and less RAM. It will also come in a range of bright primary colors. Recent leaked photos and videos show it in white, red, yellow, pink and green.

At the same event, Apple is also expected to announce an updated version of its Apple TV streaming device, however, there won’t be an announcement regarding the next iPad. Or at least so says Apple insider extraordinaire, KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

He claims that although a new full-size and mini tablet are both scheduled for the shelves before 2013 is out, that they won’t be officially launched until October. And, when they are revealed, the iPad Mini is expected to have been upgraded to a Retina display, while the full-size tablet will be thinner, narrower and lighter while retaining the same display size.

Kuo also predicts that like the iPhone 5C, the iPad range will be getting a new, low-cost member but that it won’t officially launch until 2014.

Away from hardware, Apple will also formally launch its latest desktop and notebook operating system OSX Mavericks and the latest version of its mobile operating system iOS7, the first update to have been designed by Jony Ives, the company’s head of industrial design.