Apple will launch the iPhone 4S today; 8-megapixel camera, improved optics and new GPS features

With less than 3 hours until Apple unveils its new devices at its “Lets Talk iPhone” event, The Next Web has been briefed on what consumers can expect to be launched at Apple’s Cupertino campus later today.

Sources familiar with Apple’s plans have revealed to us that Apple will indeed debut the new iPhone 4S today, featuring an 8-megapixel camera with “enhanced optics” and “more definitive GPS features” thanks to Apple’s new A5 processor.

Another of our sources told us the iPhone 4S “is much more powerful than an iPhone 4” and “feels like the high-end device”, all but confirming that the device will feature Apple’s new A5 processor and include 1GB RAM, as tipped in previous reports, noting that the device will retain the same dimensions and design as the iPhone 4.

The 8-megapixel camera will output photos with a 3264 × 2448 resolution, the same resolution of a photo posted by an Apple employee a number of weeks ago. The 8-megapixel camera also lines up with Sony CEO Howard Stringer’s accidental confirmation that the Japanese electronic giant was to supply an eight-megapixel camera for Apple’s next-generation iPhone.

We were also told that the iPhone 5, which is rumoured to sport a teardrop design and aluminium unibody, is merely an Apple prototype for a future iPhone 5 “which won’t be available any time soon”, as the “iPhone 4S will have the same dimensions”.

With Apple adding references to the iPhone 4S in its latest iTunes Beta, the company had led many to believe that we would not see the iPhone 5 released today. With the additional information we have obtained, this seems all the more likely.

The news may dishearten many, who have held out for Apple to unveil its new iPhone, but with a new dual-core processor, 1GB RAM and a reported focus on incorporating Assistant – the pocket personal assistant – Nuance speech-to-text dictation and other iOS 5 features, Apple fans will still have plenty to chew on come 6pm BST, 1pm EST and 10am PDT, and you can catch all of it on our dedicated Apple channel – TNW Apple.