AT&T gave out an early sign for the imminent iPhone 6 release date next month, as it offered early upgrades to its loyal customers.

It seemed that AT&T was trying to clear out its remaining inventory of iPhone 5 by offering the device at $199 even if it was less than 2 years since the consumers bought their last iPhone.

AT&T practiced this over the years, which often happened a month before the arrival of the next iPhone to clear racks of the old stocks to be replaced by new handsets.

AT&T's move will hit two birds with one stone. By doing this, AT&T was hoping to lock customers in another 24-month contract and to sell iPhones at a higher price before its price dropped to $99 when the new iPhone arrived. Thus, the carrier can still max out the profits on the current iPhone before the fad for the new Apple device begun.

Apple hinted the release date of the next iPhone this fall when it confirmed that the iOS 7 will be released around this time. The iPhone was always paired with the new iOS based on previous launch events. However, AT&T's new deal triggered speculations that the iPhone 6 will debut next month.

According to rumours, iPhone 6 will include a Retina + IGZO screen display; A7 quad core chip; 13MP rear camera and 3.2MP Facetime HD camera; wireless charging feature; and storage capcity of 16GB, 32GB, 34GB and 128GB. The new iPhone will also ditch its home button in exchange for a touchpad.