According to the Japanese blog Macotakara, citing a Chinese source, Apple‘s manufacturer’s have started the iPhone 5 production.

The Taiwan-based Foxconn and Pegatron will be in charge of the first production with Foxconn manufacturing 85 percent of the next generation iPhone and Pegatron taking care of the remaining 15 percent.

The iPhone 5 however will be stocked by the manufacturers without any packaging and without the operating system on them because Apple’s iOS 5 will only be ready in about 2 weeks.

Today’s rumors surfaced from This is my next, are pointing at October 21st as a possible release date for the iPhone 5. Read more.

The new iPhone 5 will probably have a 4-inch screen, will be as this as the current iPod touch, the glass back will be replaced with metal and have a new teardrop-like design.