iClarified: Apple today announced iPhone 5, the company's thinnest and lightest iPhone ever, completely redesigned with a new 4-inch Retina display; an Apple-designed A6 chip for blazing fast performance; ultrafast wireless technology; and even better battery life.

iPhone 5 comes with iOS 6 which features over 200 new features including: the all new Maps app with Apple-designed cartography and turn-by-turn navigation; Facebook integration; Passbook organization; and even more Siri features and languages.

The iPhone 5 comes in either white and silver or black and slate and will be sold in Australia for $799 for the 16GB model, $899 for the 32GB model and $999 for the 64GB model. Apple said customers could pre-order from this Friday.



"iPhone 5 is the most beautiful consumer device that we've ever created," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "We've packed an amazing amount of innovation and advanced technology into a thin and light, jewel-like device with a stunning 4-inch Retina display, blazing fast A6 chip, ultrafast wireless, even longer battery life; and we think customers are going to love it."

iPhone 5 is the thinnest smartphone in the world, with an all-new 7.6 mm anodized aluminum body that is 18 percent thinner and 20 percent lighter than iPhone 4S. Designed with an unprecedented level of precision, iPhone 5 combines an anodized aluminum body with diamond cut chamfered edges and glass inlays for a truly incredible fit and finish.

The new 4-inch Retina display on iPhone 5 delivers even more pixels than iPhone 4S, making the already incredible Retina display even better. By making the screen taller, not wider, iPhone 5 is just as easy to use with one hand so you can tap, type and scroll the same way you always have, while enjoying even more of your content including amazing apps optimized for the larger Retina display, widescreen HD video, a full five days of your Calendar and more of every web page.

iPhone 5 supports ultrafast wireless standards including LTE and DC-HSDPA, so you can browse, download and stream content even faster. To support the latest LTE technology, Apple has pioneered a unique single-radio LTE solution that provides blazing fast speeds while fitting perfectly into the new remarkably thin design. iPhone 5 features dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi support for a wireless experience up to 150 Mbps.

The all-new A6 chip was designed by Apple to maximize performance and power efficiency to support all the incredible new features in iPhone 5, including the stunning new 4-inch Retina display-all while delivering even better battery life. With up to twice the CPU and graphics performance, almost everything you do on iPhone 5 is blazing fast for launching apps, loading web pages and downloading email attachments.



The 8 megapixel iSight camera is the most popular camera in the world and with iPhone 5, it's even better. The new camera is completely redesigned with incredible optical performance, yet amazingly it's 25 percent smaller than the camera in iPhone 4S. The new iSight camera in iPhone 5 features a sapphire crystal lens cover that is thinner and more durable than standard glass with the ability to provide crystal clear images. The new panorama feature lets you capture jaw-dropping panorama images of up to 28 megapixels by simply moving the camera across a scene in one smooth motion. New video features include improved stabilization, video face detection for up to 10 faces and the ability to take still photos as you record. A new FaceTime HD front facing camera makes FaceTime calls incredibly clear and can also be used for self portraits and recording 720p HD video. iPhone 5 also allows you to share photos with friends and family using iCloud's Shared Photo Streams.

iPhone 5 features the new Lightning connector that is smaller, smarter and more durable than the previous connector. The all-digital Lightning connector features an adaptive interface that uses only the signals that each accessory requires, and it's reversible so you can instantly connect to your accessories. The Lightning-to-30-pin Adapter is also available to connect iPhone 5 to legacy 30-pin accessories.****

iPhone 5 introduces new enhanced audio features including a new beam-forming, directional microphone system for higher quality sound, while background noise fades away with new noise canceling technology. iPhone 5 now includes support for cellular wideband audio for crisper word clarity and more natural sounding speech. Wideband audio will be supported by over 20 carriers worldwide at launch. iPhone 5 comes with the new Apple EarPods featuring a breakthrough design for a more natural fit and increased durability, and an incredible acoustic quality typically reserved for higher-end earphones.

iPhone 5 comes with iOS 6, the world's most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new user features including: an all new Maps app with Apple-designed cartography, turn-by-turn navigation and an amazing new Flyover view; Facebook integration for Contacts and Calendar, with the ability to post directly from Notification Center; Passbook, the simplest way to get all your passes in one place; new Siri features, including support for more languages, easy access to sports scores, restaurant recommendations and movie listings;***** Siri and Facebook-enabled apps like Photos, Safari and Maps; and Shared Photo Streams via iCloud.

GGG: Apple has announced an event on September 12 where it is expected to reveal the hotly-anticipated iPhone 5. What can we expect?

Where?

The company sent invitations to the media overnight for an event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. This venue is typically used for new Apple product launches.

What?

Like always, Apple has been light on details. The invitation sent to the media is simply titled "It's almost here" and has a large '12' in the centre to denote the event date, September 12.

Curiously, the shadow appearing under the number '12' is the number 5. This strongly suggests that Apple will be launching the iPhone 5. Before the invitation was sent out, many rumours suggested the device could simply be called the "new iPhone". Apple dropped the number naming convention for the iPad earlier this year, calling it the "new iPad" rather than "iPad 3".

When?

The Apple event is scheduled for Wednesday September 12 and will kick off at 10am San Francisco time. For us Aussies, that translates to a starting time of 3am on Thursday September 13.

iPhone rumours

The iPhone rumour mill has gone into overdrive in the past few months. Some of the widely expected new features are:

• A taller, 4in screen, up from the 3.5in screen on the iPhone 4S. The screen is expected to have a 16:9 aspect ratio with a resolution of 1136 x 640.

Game Features

• Try your hand at the world-famous Red Bull Balcony Shot event.
• Master up to five challenging settings - the first two of which are available for free.
• Interactive and destructible environments with unique behavior.
• Online leaderboards and achievements – with full Game Center on iOS.
• Facebook and Twitter integration – show your friends who is the top baller.
• Official Red Bull News Feed integration – you’ll be always up to date.