The rumor mill has largely settled on September 12 as the date for an Apple event where the Cupertino-based company is expected to unveil its next-generation iPhone. Now, the manufacturer has finally sent out the official invitations for the event to members of the media.

The minimalist invite doesn’t give too much away. It confirms that the event would kick off at 10 AM at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco, the same location where the third-generation iPad was launched earlier this year. However, the invite’s design – which states “it’s almost here” with the number “12” and a shadowed “5” – suggests that Apple may call its upcoming smartphone as “iPhone 5”.

The internet has been abuzz with rumors about the next-generation iPhone that have been bolstered over the past few weeks by a series of component leaks from Apple’s manufacturing partners in Asia.

The likely headliners of the smartphone’s new features include a larger, possibly 4-inch widescreen display; compatibility with 4G LTE networks; and a substantially smaller dock connector.

An earlier report by the iMore claimed that after the September 12 unveiling, the iPhone 5 will become available nine days later, on September 21. Apple is supposedly readying for two product announcement events in the next two months.

The first should be the iPhone 5 event, while the second would be the iPad Mini unveiling. The company is also supposedly readying updated iMacs, iPods and a new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro for the 2012 holiday season.