Apple staff have been told to cancel all leave for the first two weeks in October – which would appear to confirm industry talk that the arrival of the iPhone 5 is imminent.

Al Gore, Apple board member and self appointed eco-warrior, poured fuel on market speculation that the next generation phone is about to launch earlier this week at an event in South Africa.

But closer to home, sources familiar with the situation told El Reg that senior management had informed UK staffers of the temporary holiday freeze for the "first two weeks of October".

Samsung may try to ban the iPhone 5 in Europe as the patent wars between the tech giants continues.

Channel sources reckon Apple will experience huge demand and that shortages are likely. Although more factories are producing the phones for Apple, a dearth of some components means there may be a problem in the completion of the latest Jesus phones. ®