Apple to launch iPhone 8 on 12 September in California

The iPhone 8 will launch on 12 September at a special event in California.

According to rumours, the new flagship will bring in a number of significant changes with its arrival, as Apple prepares to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the iPhone.

According to commentators, the biggest of these will be the possible include of an all-glass display, a revamped home button, 3D facial recognition as also  beefier hardware and larger base storage.

The iPhone 8 is likely to be the most expensive smartphone ever made by Apple, starting from the $1,000 mark.

Meanwhile, a special 10th anniversary "iPhone X" could launch alongside the iPhone 8, according to Dutch site iCulture, which claims the rumour came from a "reliable" tipster.

The site reaffirmed rumours that Apple will not use the iPhone 7s and the iPhone 7 Plus nomenclature and jump to iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 plus, with the iPhone X (pronounced iPhone 10) being the flagship model.

"There will be an iPhone 8, but it won't be the top model ... it will be the successor to the iPhone 7," the site said.

Explaining the iPhone X name, iCulture continued: "iPhone X is a logical name: the letter X represents 10 in Roman numerals, referring to the 10th anniversary of the iPhone."

According to some commentators, the iPhone 8 is expected to be a massive step forward in design and honour the device's 10th anniversary, but from indications the new phone may turn out to be a flop.

A new survey from investment firm Piper Jaffray showed iPhone users were not quite as excited over the latest release, than they were, for the iPhone 7.

"We believe the survey suggests that awareness of potential for this year's iPhone to be a more robust upgrade is relatively low," the investment bank's analysts wrote in a research note for clients on Tuesday.