iPhone 5 and 4S coming next month, says Al Gore

Here's a rather convenient truth: two new iPhones will launch next month, says Al Gore. Yes, the same Al Gore who was vice president of the United States, and more recently has campaigned on environmental issues.

Gore, appearing at a conference in Johannesburg, said, "Not to mention the new iPhones coming out next month. That was a plug." Toby Shapshak, editor of Stuff magazine South Africa, noted down the comment, and supplied it to The Next Web.

Gore didn't go on to clarify the statement. He may well have been keen to move on, seeing how secretive Apple is about upcoming products. Gore is likely to be a man in the know, as he serves as a director on Apple's board (and invented the Internet), so he's not quite as bizarre a source as he first seems.

The comment would square with reports, coming thick and fast, that Apple will launch two new models of iPhone. The iPhone 5 is expected to come with a larger screen, a dual-core processor, and an 8-megapixel camera. The iPhone 4S, meanwhile, will be a slight variation on the iPhone 4, being the budget option of the two. These are all rumours of course: nothing's concrete.

Yesterday another report said Apple would make an announcement on 4 October regarding the new handset(s), which should be on sale later in the month.

Of course Gore could have made a simple slip of the tongue, but to not renege, and describe it as a plug... come on. Sounds pretty definite to us.

Do you think Al Gore's telling the truth? And are you looking forward to the new models of iPhone? Get political in the comments section below on our Facebook page.