The iPhone 6 release date may come soon as reports claimed that handset's production already in progress in China.

GSM Arena claimed that the Cupertino-based company is shielding the fact the iPhone 6 is already in the production stage in China. This is further fuelled by sources from UBS Research cited by 9to5Mac that Apple supplier GT Advanced Technologies has already shipped the sapphire screens for the new iPhone on the assembly line in China.

The report also cited analyst Matt Margolis as saying that "approximately 100,000 to 115,000 sapphire screens could be produced from 2,200 kg of sapphire ingots." It was estimated that GT will sell the sapphire screens to Apple between $8.50 and $10 as the first wave of supply from GT Advanced to Apple suppliers was worth around $1 million.

Sources close to Apple's supply chain once said that the screen panels of iPhone 6 will enter production this month. This will yield to a product launch in autumn following the yearly tradition.

There were previous claims that iPhone 6 will come with 4.7 inches screen display, which will be produced first. The rumoured 5.5 inches panel will be delayed.

According to a report quoted by Reuters, both screens will use in-cell touch technology with capacitive matrix fused into it. This will make the display thinner. The report continued that since it was harder to manufacture a bigger screen with such technology, Apple has reportedly decided to mass-produce only the smaller panel at first. Production of the bigger panels will begin several months later.

Japan Display, Sharp and LG are the main suppliers tapped by Apple in making the said displays. Japan Display is said to be the first to start production in its flagship Mobara plant in Tokyo this month. LG Display and Sharp are expected to commence in June.

According to grapevine, the iPhone 6 is a smartphone to watch out for. Aside from the rumours that the company finally caved in and will increase the old 4-inch screen, the handset will also pack the upcoming iOS 8 that will surely come with improved and additional features. Under the hood, waiting fans expect to see a new A8 chipset with 64-bit architecture, a bigger internal storage and an improved Touch ID sensor.

As for its release date, it is unlikely that iPhone 6 will make an appearance at this year's Worldwide Developers' Conference in June since IBTimes AU reported that OS X 10.10 and MacBooks will take the limelight at the said event. Thus, it is expected that the devices will arrive later this year in fall.