Apple has revealed its new iPhone 6 smartphone at an exclusive event in California in two sizes - the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus.
The smaller model, the iPhone 6, is sized at 4.7-inches, while the larger iPhone 6 Plus is 5.5-inches, and both are slimmer than any previous incarnation.
Speaking at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts in Cupertino, California, where Steve Jobs unveiled the first Apple Macintosh computer 30 years ago, chief executive Tim Cook told the crowd he was launching "the biggest advancement in the history of iPhone".
Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president, joined Cook onstage to explain the two handsets' new features and specifications, adding they were "the best phones ever made".
Like predecessor the iPhone 5s, the two new models will come in silver, space grey and gold, and will be available to purchase from September 19.
Each will come in 16GB, 64GB and 128GB configurations, with the iPhone 6 starting from £539, £619 for the 64 GB version and £699 for the £128 model. The iPhone 6 Plus will retail from £619 for 16GB, £699 for the 64GB model and £789 for the new 128GB model.
The iPhone 6 has a resolution of 1334 x 750 with 326 pixels per inch, while the 6 Plus had as resolution of 1920 by 1080 and 401 pixels per inch, equating to 1080 HD resolution.
The new phones will feature equal or better battery life than the 5s, Schiller added, saying "they are the best we've seen and the best we know how to make," he said.
"These products have bigger screens and they’re amazing but they’re much better in every single way," Cook added.
The phones' iSight camera uses Focus Pixels for faster auto focus, and the 6 Plus uses optical image stabilisation technology to minimise blur when capturing moving subjects.
Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, talked the crowd through new payment system Apple Pay, a form of contactless payment which uses Apple's TouchID technology to verify your identity, beginning in the US before being extended to other countries.
Users will be able to pay for goods swiftly and conveniently by holding the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus near a contactless reader, while keeping a finger on the TouchID homebutton.
The new handsets are the first Apple products to ship with new operating system iOS 8, featuring new frameworks HealthKit and HomeKit, designed to enable health and fitness apps to work together, and to control internet-enabled home appliances in one place.
iOS 8 will be available to download from September 17, and the iPhone 6 will be available to pre-order from September 12.
Silicone and leather cases will be available, and Apple said it was working with TMobile in the US and EE in the UK.
Queues have already formed outside Apple's flagship London and New York stores as fans eagerly stake their claim.
(The Telegraph)
