Apple Makes The 4 Inch LTE Packing iPhone 5 Official

As expected during today's big Apple event, the company officially announced the new iPhone 5, which has adds several changes over previous models including a taller and narrower screen 4G LTE connectivity and the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system, iOS 6.

“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.”

 The new iPhone 5 has a half-inch larger touchscreen display that retains the retina display pixel density of the iPhone 4S at 326ppi, but it now has a 4-inch 16:9 display at a 1136x640 resolution. There's a 4G LTE radio tucked inside; Apple upgraded the system-on-chip (SoC) to an A6 processor; and yes, it's officially called the iPhone 5 and not simply iPhone or 'new iPhone'.

 Aside from a larger design Apple upgraded the front-facing FaceTime camera to support 720p, and it now works over 3G with iOS 6. The rear-facing "iSight" camera, has an 8MP sensor with a five element lens, backside illumination, hybrid IR filter, f/2.4 aperture, dynamic low light mode, spacial noise reduction, and takes pictures 40 percent faster than before.

As rumored the new iPhone 5 will mark the death of the old traditional 30-pin connector Apple has used in all of its device and accessories since 2003. The new smaller connector dubbed "Lightning" will feature an 80 percent smaller 8-signal design that can be inserted in either orientation. For current Apple owners and for those accessories currently on the market Apple has also created a 30-pin-to-Lightning adapter, so that iPhone owners with tons of 30-pin accessories won't find their gadgets becoming immediately obsolete.

AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint will all support the iPhone 5 on 4G LTE, and the available colors at launch will be "black and slate" as well as white with a "bright silver" aluminum finish on the back. Apple retains the usual price structure for the new iPhone: 16GB for $199, 32GB for $299, and $399 for 64GB with a two-year contract. Pre-orders open September 14, and the phone ships September 21.

Read More: Apple Introduces iPhone 5