Apple to hold launch event on September 12

Apple’s upcoming iPhone 8 will be unveiled at an event on September 12, according to leaked information from a French phone carrier.

Tim Cook is expected to unveil three phones at the September event, including the iPhone 8 and an upgrade to Apple's current offering, to be called the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus.

Tradition dictates the three phones will go on sale a week after their announcement, with the most likely date being Friday September 22.

The iPhone 8, as the all-new device is expected to be called, is set to feature a drastic redesign with a 5.5-inch edge-to-edge display. The handset itself will be little bigger than the iPhone 7, with Apple removing the home button to make way for the larger screen.

In honour of the 10th anniversary of the first iPhone, Apple is expected to announce a host of new features for the iPhone 8, including facial recognition security, augmented reality software and wireless charging.

The date of the launch, leaked by carriers to Mac4Ever, is a week later than reports had initially suggested, but follows a well-trodden Apple pattern. The technology giant unveiled the iPhone 5 on September 12, 2012, and released it a week later on September 21.

Apple confirmed the date of the 2012 event on September 4. It could be a few weeks until Apple announces the event and confirms the report, which is impossible to verify.

If the event was to be held on September 6, as per the initial rumours, Apple would probably announce it on Monday or Tuesday. Releasing the phones at the beginning of the month would give Apple a chance to boost its sales before the end of the financial quarter on September 30.

Earlier this month, Cook dismissed reports that the iPhone 8 release would be delayed, prompting the companies value to soar above $800 billion.

As well as three new iPhones, Cook could use the platform to announce a third generation of the Apple Watch and a 4K Apple TV. He could also announce a release date for the HomePod smart speaker and iOS 11, the mobile operating system that will ship with the iPhone 8 and is currently available through a beta trial.

The news comes a day after Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Note 8 smartphone, a high-end £869 device that could rival Apple's upcoming handsets. The Note 8 has a 6.3-inch edge-to-edge display, a dual lens camera and it comes with Samsung's smart assistant Bixby.

The iPhone 8 is expected to be Apple's most expensive handset to date, with rumours suggesting it could cost between $1,200 and $1,400 (£935 to £1,090).