iPhone 5 announcement next week?

The next iPhone may be unveiled next week. GameSpot sister site CNET received an invitation today for an Apple event next Wednesday, September 12, during which it is believed the company will announce the iPhone 5.

The invitation includes the phrase "It's almost here," with a shadowy "5" clearly visible. The event will kick off at 10 a.m. PDT at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater. Apple has used that venue before, most recently to announce the new iPad in March.

If the iPhone 5 is announced next week, it may go on sale shortly thereafter. Verizon is reportedly preventing its employees from taking vacation between September 21 and September 30, suggesting that there will be a significant event, like a major product launch, during that span requiring all hands on deck.

Apple has introduced one new version of the iPhone every year since the product first launched in 2007. The current iteration, the iPhone 4S, launched in October of 2011.