Rumor: Next-gen iPhone, 'iPad mini,' new iPod nano to debut on Sept. 12

Coming on the heels of pictures showing a supposedly fully-assembled next-generation iPhone, website iMore cites sources "who have proven accurate in the past" who claim the three new iDevices will be announced at a special Apple event on Sept. 12.

The sources go on to say the sixth-generation iPhone will go on sale on Sept. 19, one week after its purported debut, but a rollout date for the smaller iPad and iPod nano are not yet known. iMore recently reported the iPad mini would be unveiled sometime in October at a sub-$200 price point.

Monday's launch date rumor is in line with at least one analyst's projection of an early September launch for the next-gen iPhone and iPad mini, but the tablet was estimated to be released later in the month following an August manufacturing ramp-up. Apple partner Foxconn has reportedly been hiring extra staff to accomodate the influx of iDevice orders and the Chinese company's Zhengzhou plant is said to have already rolled out a few sixth-gen iPhone test batches ahead of mass production. It is unclear where the iPad mini will be built, however, as conflicting reports claim final assembly will take place at either Foxconn's Chengdu or Jundiai, Brazil factories.

While the sources didn't offer any additional information regarding hardware specifics, they reiterated the iPad mini will "be exactly like the 9.7-inch iPad, only scaled down to 7.x-inches." The description is identical to earlier "leaked" engineering samples of the device that showed the inclusion of the same 19-pin dock connector widely expected to be introduced with the next-gen iPhone.

Not much is known about a new iPod nano, but some sources have claimed the device will eschew its current square-shaped design for something closer to a shrunken iPhone and add a home button.