Apple Teases Big Reveal on September 12

Apple has delivered an invitation to a select few members of the tech press. 

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The location: The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Date and time: September 12 at 10 a.m. And a closer inspection of the shadow cast by the large number 12 on the invite reveals a different number: 5.

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What does it all mean? Most agree the event is the big unveiling of the iPhone 5, the long-awaited successor to the communications device that changed the world -- and spurred countless imitators.

The new iPhone is buzzed to have a new design that houses a larger, 4-inch display -- though, unlike the iPhone 4, Apple has been successful at keeping the prototype under wraps.

Among the other rumored -- but far from confirmed -- new products that could make their big-stage debut next Wednesday: an iPad mini with a 7.85-inch screen and the all-new iOS 6 operating system.