If you want a definitive iPhone news leak, go to Al Gore

The rumormill is always hard at work for (or against) Apple, particularly when it comes to imminent iPhone releases. Journalists turned to the most reliable leak on the Apple board, former Vice President Al Gore, to confirm some of what many have already speculated.

There will be multiple iPhones released in October. Whether that means simply that more than one iPhone 5 will be produced or that there are multiple models being launched is still up in the air, but most are latching on to the latter possibility since it’s more newsworthy.

While at the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, his speech was reported by multiple sources to say “iPhones”, plural, and specifically that “they” would be released next month. That matches both ends of speculation at this point.

First, Apple is known for holding out until the last possible moment before announcing new devices. They do not need buzz built up (as a company, they ARE buzz) and there is no need to compel people to stop buying the older units.

The second juicier rumor has all but been foretold by Apple, that they would eventually start offering a “lite” version of the iPhone to branch into the lower-need and lower-income markets.

As much as journalists love to speculate about Apple and hang on every rumor spoken, even those coming from ground-level employees at retail stores, one thing is certain. We won’t “know” anything until next month.