New iPhone screens coming this month, says Sharp

Suppliers to Apple are generally tight-lipped about their work for the iPhone-maker, particularly before a product has been released, but Sharp president Takashi Okuda let the secret slip at a briefing in Tokyo.

"Shipments will start in August," Okuda said. He did not give a more specific date, Reuters reported.

Apple is expected to hold an event in September, possibly on the 12th, to announce its new iPhone. It is thought that the company will also announce a mini-iPad at the event as well as upgrades to its iPod range.

The new iPhone is expected to be thinner than its predecessors and have a larger screen, though possibly on a device the same size as the existing model. New in-cell panel screen technology will make possible thinner screens by embedding touch sensors in the LCD itself, eliminating the touch-screen layer in current iPhones.

It has been reported that Apple will drop the familiar 30-pin dock connector from this new model, potentially making current accessories obsolete.