Tim Cook to unveil Apple iPhone 5 on 4 October

Apple will unveil the iPhone 5 at a special media event on 4 October hosted by the company's new chief executive Tim Cook, according to a media report.

AllThingsD cited unnamed sources in reporting that Cook will make his first major product announcement since taking over from Steve Jobs in August.

Phil Schiller, vice president of worldwide product marketing, and Eddie Cue, senior vice president of internet software and services, are also expected to appear.

The iPhone 5 is the most anticipated and discussed smartphone launch this summer.

Reports had suggested an early September unveiling followed by an October launch, but then word spread that Apple had lost an iPhone 5 prototype during a field test by its engineers.

The company dispatched its own investigators to recover the lost handset, which was said at one point to have been sold on Craigslist.

The subsequent enquiry led to Apple investigators searching a man's house with the co-operation of local police.

The iPhone 5 also features in the ongoing legal battle between Samsung and Apple, after Samsung lobbied unsuccessfully for iPhone 5 prototypes to be admitted as court evidence.

Among the rumoured features in the iPhone 5 are a slimmer case and a card system that supports a smaller SIM design.