As usual, Apple is mum about its timetable for the release of the iPhone 6. However, insiders are citing anonymous sources and previous release dates, prognosticating that the newest smartphone will hit Apple stores and other retailers no later than October.

The iPhone 6 is widely expected to arrive in two size variants: one with a 4.6-inch display and another with 5.5-inch screen, the largest to date from Apple. According to Yahoo! Tech, Apple is going big because it wants to keep up with the offerings from the likes of Samsung, especially in China, where larger smartphones – phablets, as they are called – are becoming more popular.

9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman expects the iPhone 6 announcement to come in the second or third week of September. Another person with clout in the Apple insider community, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, points to a September-October time frame, while The Wall Street Journal suggests mid-September, giving credence to Gurman’s guess.

The guess-game with new Apple products – especially the iPhone – always heats up around this time of the year, so it’s hardly a surprise. The release of two new iPhone models is certain to shake up the industry and tech retailer space worldwide. Even the smaller iPhone 6 is going to be larger than its predecessor, the iPhone 5S, whose 4.0-inch screen is going to look tiny and outdated in comparison.

Ironically, the larger iPhone 6 may actually cannibalize the sales of the iPad, the sales of which have slipped as the rumors of a larger iPhone have come down the pike. In the pecking order of large-screen phablets, the iPhone 6 is still going to come behind the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and its 5.7-inch display.

Of course, Samsung – and fellow South Korean firm LG, two of Apple’s fiercest rivals – run Google Android and not Apple’s vaunted iOS.