Apple symbol
The leaf on the Apple symbol is tinted green at the Apple flagship store on 5th Ave in New YorkREUTERS

Apple Inc. has not announced the release date of its upcoming flagship smartphone dubbed as iPhone 6, but speculations around it has been doing the rounds for the last few months. Now, a new report has emerged that it would be unveiled earlier than expected.

The 4.7-inch model of iPhone 6 is expected to be released in August, while the 5.5-inch variant could arrive in September, reported Reuters citing a report by Taiwan's Economic Daily News, which got tip from unidentified supply-chain sources. 

Reuters had earlier reported, citing sources from the supply chain, that Apple suppliers would start mass production displays for iPhone 6 as early as May, adding that the 4.7-inch screen model would be unveiled this autumn, and the 5.5-inch version a little later.

However, a research note from UBS Managing Director Steve Milunovich (via Barron's) had earlier suggested that the 4.7-inch variant of iPhone 6 would be launched either in August or September. A report by Nikkei also claimed that the device would be launched as early as September. There was another report that the much-awaited device would be unveiled at the upcoming WWDC event in June.

Apple Inc. is expected to launch two models of iPhone 6 with bigger screens this year, moving away from its earlier stand for a small handset. The flagship devices may have full scratch-free sapphire crystal glass screen and new design. They may sport a 4.7/4.8 inch or 5.5 inch display with a 1920x1080p (440ppi), or a 2272×1280 (510ppi), powered by the A8 chip (64-bit) and run on iOS 7.2, according to South Korean brokerage KDB Daewoo Securities.

The device may come with low temperature polysilicon in-cell touch panels, Touch ID fingerprint security, NFC, metal casing and an 8MP rear camera with f/2.2 aperture, according to Apple Insider website, citing analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Chinese analyst Sun Chang Xu has also claimed on her Weibo page citing a friend from MEMS (microelectromechanical systems), that Apple is planning to introduce sensors that can detect pressure, temperature and humidity.

(Ed:AJ)