Apple unwraps 4-inch iPhone 5: Top 10 features

Apple on Wednesday took the wraps off the iPhone 5, the thinnest-ever version of a smartphone that yields the majority of its profit and helped it become the world's most valuable corporation.

The latest iPhone comes as Apple tries to fend off competition that has reached fever-pitch. The iPhone 5 sports a larger 4-inch "retina" display, ability to surf a high-speed 4G LTE network, and is 20% lighter than the previous iPhone 4S.

Here are the top 10 features of the sixth generation of Apple's iPhone, called the iPhone 5:

1. The phone has a 4-inch Retina display with a resolution of 1136 x 640 pixels at 326 ppi.

2. The iPhone 5 weighs 112g, and is 20% lighter than the iPhone 4S.

3. At 7.6 mm, the iPhone 5 is 18% thinner than its predecessor.

4. Apple iPhone 5 runs iOS 6. iOS 6 software will be available on Wednesday, September 19 as a free software update.

5. The iPhone 5 comes with an 8 megapixel (3264x2448) camera. The lens is the same as the 4S, but thinner. The Apple iPhone5 comes with 4G LTE.

6. The iPhone 5 "is made entirely of glass and aluminum," said Tim Cook, CEO, Apple, at the iPhone 5 launch event, adding "You see we're able to add a 5th row of icons."

7. Apple iPhone5 boasts of 40% faster image capture than the iPhone 4S.

8. It is powered by the A6 chip - 2X faster CPU, 2X faster graphics, 22 per cent smaller.

9. Apple iPhone 5 gets panorama mode. Resultant images are 28 megapixels huge. Apple iPhone 5 lets users take photos while recoding video.

10. Apple iPhone 5 gets a new connector - Lightning. It has all digital, 8-signal design, and is 80 per cent smaller than its predecessor.

iPhone 5 comes in either white and silver or black and slate, and will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of USD 199 for the 16GB model and USD 299 for the 32GB model and USD 399 for the 64GB model.

Apple's iPhone 5 will be available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the UK on Friday, September 21, and customers can pre-order their iPhone 5 beginning Friday, September 14.

The iPhone 5 will roll out worldwide to 22 more countries on September 28, including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Now, iPhone 4S will also be available for just USD 99 (US) and iPhone 4 will be available for free with a two-year contract.