Apple’s recent invite for their October 4th press conference was plain and direct: “Let’s Talk iPhone”. The rumors for a release date end there, but now the biggest question that’s floating all around is how many iPhones will be released on that date.

Many are speculating that there will be an iPhone 5 released with a dramatically different design than the current iPhone 4, and a spec-bumped iPhone 4S along side. I’m sadly on the list of people that think that Apple will again keep it simple with one device, and their press conference invitation does a great job in backing-up my theory. Here’s why:

- The top left icon is clear on the fact that the event will be on a Tuesday, October 4th

- The top right icon gives us the time, which is 10:00 am (Currently, the real iPhone icon points to 10:15 am)

- The bottom left icon gives us the current Apple headquarters on a map (which is also the current Maps icon we find on any iPhone)

- But the interesting one is the icon at the bottom right. We get a phone and a badge with a number one. I think there’s no need for a bigger teaser than that one. Apple will only release one device next Tuesday, and now the biggest question is which one? My predictions follow any of the next two possible outcomes:

Alternative 1: Apple will keep the iPhone 4 design and change the name to either iPhone 4S or iPhone 4G. They’ll dramatically bump the specs and justify keeping the old design with improved functionality, and let’s hope that means LTE. Sadly with every carrier calling HSPA+ good enough to be 4G, that’s a tricky thing to predict. They’ll keep the iPhone 4 as the entry-level device with less storage, and that’s how they will only release one phone at the event. Since Apple hasn’t yet announced their new iPod line-up, the device that we currently know by leaks as the iPhone 5 is most likely the next generation iPod Touch sporting a larger screen to embrace gamers.

Alternative 2: Apple will prove me wrong. The iPhone 5 will see the light of day with a dramatically new design, and the iPhone 4 will remain the entry-level device. They could even release a similar iPod Touch 5 that looks just like the iPhone 5, but without the cellphone radio. Apple’s aggressiveness was proven with the dramatic re-design of the iPad 2, so we could be in for a surprise. Either way, this still means that Apple will only release one new iPhone.

In the end, it doesn’t really matter if I’m wrong or right. What’s important is that we’ll finally get a new iPhone announced next week. Let’s just hope that they don’t disappoint us with a launch date that goes beyond October.