( CNN ) -- Gadget fans waiting anxiously for the next iPhone to be released may be reaching the home stretch . Apple , which has made no official announcement , is planning a September 12 event at which the next generation of the iconic smartphone will presumably be announced , according to multiple reports . iMore , an Apple-oriented blog , was the first to report that `` sources who have proven accurate in the past '' said the phone will be introduced at an event that day and released nine days later . Observers are calling it the iPhone 5 , although no name has been announced . Others , including The Wall Street Journal 's All Things D blog , followed with similar reports . Quoting anonymous sources at Apple , All Things D said an event is planned for the week of September 9 . The 12th would be a Wednesday , which follows with previous Apple events . A September release would be slightly ahead of Apple 's established one-iPhone-per-year pace . But the iPhone 4S took longer than usual , its October unveiling coming about 16 months after the iPhone 4 . A fall iPhone release has been considered a foregone conclusion by most observers for months . Speculation has focused on a handful of expected new features , including a slightly larger screen , a smaller dock connector and NFC technology that would make it easier for shoppers to make payments through their phones . iMore also says that the mythical `` iPad Mini '' will be unveiled at the event . Speculation has increasingly ramped up that Apple , faced by competition from Amazon 's Kindle Fire and Google 's Nexus 7 tablets , is making a smaller version of the iPad . The move would fly in the face of statements made by the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs , who favored full-size tablets . But Apple faces unprecedented competition in the space and may argue that screen technology that would have made a smaller iPad impractical before is now available . On the smartphone front , Apple also faces a landscape that 's arguably more challenging than it 's seen in a while . The iPhone is still the most popular handset in the field , but the total number of phones running Google 's Android operating system has been greater for some time . And while competitors in the past have arguably spent the time between iPhone releases trying to catch up , many reviewers feel that several models among the current crop of Android phones have surpassed the 4S in terms of features and performance . Notably , the Samsung Galaxy S III has topped 10 million in sales in two months -- a number it took the Galaxy S II five months to hit . Reviewers have praised its bigger screen , sleek design and a set of new features . The iPhone 4S was , in some senses , a glorified update of the iPhone 4 , with its advances coming in new software features and improved camera and display . It outsold its predecessor , although with anticipation high for the looming iPhone 5 , sales have begun to flag . According to its recent earnings report , Apple shipped 26 million iPhones from April to June , which was less than the 28 million to 29 million that Wall Street analysts had predicted . It was a steep drop from the 35.1 million that the company sold in the previous quarter .
A 11 months event would be September 12 after Apple 4S rolled out . Apple has made no official announcement . Some say a smaller All Things D blog also could be announced . iPhone faces unprecedented phone competition , slipping sales .