Apple Inc's suppliers in China are reportedly set to begin the mass production of bigger iPhones next month.

The American smartphone giant is beefing up the production of iPhones featuring 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screens. The suppliers may begin shipping the products to sellers in September, according to a Bloomberg report cited by China Daily.

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Apple is gearing up for its yearly iPhone unveiling after rivals Samsung Electronics Co and HTC Corp have released phones that boast 5.7-inch displays. The new iPhone models will be rounder and thinner compared to earlier units, according to a source familiar with the matter.

For some time now, word has been circulating about Apple's plan to produce a smartphone with a bigger screen. This is part of the company's bid to gain traction over Samsung's phones with larger displays, which have now become very popular in Asia and other regions.

In China, 40 percent of Android mobile gadgets that were sold this year alone had display sizes of over 5 inches, Forrester Research estimated.

Based on a report by Taiwan's Economic Daily News, Hon Hai Precision Industry will hire more than 100,000 workers from mainland China to work on the production of the new iPhone. The Taiwanese company's trading name is Foxconn Technology Group.

To meet the expected surge in demand for the bigger iPhone, Taiwanese manufacturer Pegatron Corp will also boost its workforce in China by 30 percent.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is trying to pull up the company's sales growth using the iPhone as his main weapon. In 2013, the said product generated US$91 billion in revenue, an amount bigger than the combined sales of Yahoo! Inc, Twitter Inc, Facebook Inc, and Oracle Corp.

Apple is working on new iPhone designs, Bloomberg had earlier reported. These designs would include larger screens featuring curved glass and sensors that are able to detect various pressure levels.

Earlier this month, the American tech giant had also released new features for the iOS to boost the functionality of iPhone and iPad models. Apple's new iOS 8 mobile software allows people to monitor their health and control their home's locks and lights using their gadgets.

TagsApple Inc., iPhone