Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd has confirmed that they will start mass production of Apple's next-generation iPhone later on this month.

This means the iPhone 6 should be unveiled at least by early September.

Mass production of a 4.7-inch successor to the popular iPhone 5 smartphone is expected to begin by the third week of July, according to Taiwan's Economic Daily News, without providing any sources.

Production for a 5.5-inch device will start sometime during the second week of August.

Hon Hai Precision is the world's largest contract manufacturer of electronic goods.

Another report issued by China's state-run news service on July 17 said that Hon Hai is planning on hiring 100,000 workers at its mainland facilities to meet future demand for the gadget.

The report cited comments made by the chief of the Henan Provincial Commerce Department.

Pegatron Corp, a fellow Taiwanese contract manufacturer, also started recruiting over 10,000 workers for its mainland facilities to meet future demand for the smartphone, according to a report by the Economic Daily News.

Hon Hai has not commented about the report yet.

Apple is expected to announce its iPhone 6 the first or second week of September, before releasing it later on in the month.

Usually Apple waits to release its new smartphone on a Friday, which means the iPhone 6 could become available for purchase on September 12th, 19th, or 26th.

Rumored specs for the next iPhone device include: 1704 x 960 pixel resolution, a faster A8 processor, a thinner profile, bezel-free design, camera upgrades, and a more durable, sapphire screen.

A new iOS 8 operating system that the next iPhone will utilize debuted at Apple's 2014 Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month.

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