Al Gore Apparently Confirms ‘iPhones’

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Former Vice President Al Gore apparently forgot that Apple board members aren’t supposed to talk about unreleased Apple products. Either that, or he figured word wouldn’t travel very quickly from South Africa.

Gore, who joined Apple’s board in 2003, was speaking at the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit in Johannesburg, where he reportedly let slip that the next iPhone is on track for an October launch.

(MORE: Report: Apple’s Tim Cook to Unveil iPhone 5 on October 4)

“Not to mention the new iPhones coming out next month. That was a plug,” was the exact quote, according to Stuff Magazine editor Tony Shapshak, who was covering the conference.

Over at The Next Web, Matthew Panzarino thinks Gore’s plural use of “iPhones” means that Apple is releasing both the iPhone 5 and a cheaper iPhone 4, as rumored. Regardless of what Gore meant, Apple has released a cheaper version of its older iPhone alongside the new model for the last two years running, so I’d be surprised if the same thing didn’t happen this time around.

Earlier today, All Things D reported that Apple will announce the iPhone 5 on October 4, and will release the phone a couple weeks later. The Loop’s Jim Dalrymple, another well-connected Apple reporter, seemed to agree. So Al Gore’s not really doing anything new for the rumor mill.

But still! Al Gore, breaking Apple news. Exciting stuff, even if Steve Jobs is the better showman.

MORE: The Best iPhone 5 Rumors We’ve Heard (So Far Today)