Apple iPhone 5: Live-Blog Recap

Updated from 12:00 p.m. EST to provide comments from the presentation.

SAN FRANCISCO (TheStreet) -- Apple (AAPL) unveiled the iPhone 5 at a media event in San Francisco on Wednesday, presenting the world with a smartphone that's dramatically different than previous versions.

The iPhone 5 has a bigger 4-inch screen, is a svelte 7.6 millimeters thick and weighs just 112 grams. The device also comes with Retina Display and runs on 4G or Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks from AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ), and Sprint (S).

Prior versions of the iPhone had 3.5-inch screens.

The iPhone 5 also features a new custom processor chip, the A6, which is 22% smaller than its predecessor, allowing Apple to save a lot of space inside the phone.

Pricing for the iPhone 5 starts at $199 on a two-year contract. The device will be available for pre-order on Friday and begin shipping on Sept. 21.

The device is estimated to have 10 hours of battery life on Wi-Fi and 8 hours of talk time on 3G, though there was no mention of how long the battery would last on 4G networks. A new camera is also included with a dynamic low-light mode. Apple also unveiled Photostreams, a way to share pictures with your friends, perhaps an attempt to compete Instagram.

"It's an incredibly quick start," said Phil Schiller, the company's senior vice president of marketing. "This will be our fastest phone rollout ever."

In addition to the iPhone 5, Apple also announced a slew of redesigned iPods, and updated its iTunes software. Apple said the iPod Nano will now include video, and the 5th generation iPod Touch will include Retina Display and have the same 4-inch screen design as the iPhone 5. The company said there are 435 million iTunes accounts around the world, including 200 million customers using iTunes in the cloud. The new iTunes will be built with iCloud right into it.

Apple also announced new headphones, known as earpods that will ship with the new products announced today.

CEO Tim Cook ended the presentation by saying that Apple has never been stronger. "Only Apple could create such amazing hardware, software & services," he said.

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--Written by Chris Ciaccia in New York and James Rogers in San Francisco.

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