Following a rousing introduction by CEO Tim Cook, senior marketing VP Phil Schiller takes the stage at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco to announce the iPhone 5, which pretty much matches to a tee what has been leaked and rumored in recent weeks.

Wasting no time in a likely packed media event, Apple senior VP or market Phil Schiller has introduced the iPhone 5, which claims to be 18 percent thinner than the current iPhone 4S at only 7.6mm and 20 percent lighter than its predecessor.

As rumored, the iPhone 5 includes a new four-inch display with a 16:9 aspect ratio at 1136 x 640 resolution and a 326ppi Retina Display. "This is the monumental challenge we had," Schiller notes. "Can you make a phone with more features that is smaller and lighter? Anyone can make a bigger phone."

Schiller claims the iPhone 5 is designed for a user's hand, but the larger display will allow for a fifth row of icons to be displayed. All of Apple's built-in apps have already been updated for the taller display, while third-party apps yet to be updated will simply run as before with black bars taking up the extra space.

The iPhone 5 screen also includes 44 percent more color saturation and integrated touchscreen. "This is the most accurate display in the industry," Schiller boasts. "The touch sensors are integrated right into the display itself. We removed a layer and made it sharper. This is the world's most advanced display, and I couldn't be prouder of it."

Also as rumored, the iPhone 5 brings "ultrafast wireless" in the form of HSPA+, DC-HSDPA "and yes, LTE," Schiller adds. "There's now a single chip for voice and data, and a single radio chip. And we have a unique Apple advantage with a dynamic antenna."

Despite the complexities of 4G LTE, the iPhone 5 will run on an impressive list of carriers around the globe, including Canada, South Korea, Japan and a number of European locales. The faster wireless also brings 802.11n at both 2.4GHz and 5GHz for up to 150 Mbps transfer rates.

Of course, faster performance is also part of the iPhone 5, courtesy of a new A6 processor which brings twice the CPU speed and twice the graphics power. Calling it a "huge jump in performance," Schiller notes the A6 processor is actually 22 percent smaller.

Following a demo of EA Studios' new Real Racing 3, Schiller moved on to the iPhone 5 battery life, which promises to exceed the iPhone 4S with 225 hours of standby, 40 hours of music playback and eight hours of web browsing under either 3G or LTE.

The iPhone 5 also gets a camera upgrade, with a new dynamic low light mode, precision lens alignment and sapphire crystal construction, all in a 25 percent smaller form factor. The new handset also promises 40 percent faster photo capture and even better low-light performance.

In addition to Shared Photo Streams in iOS 6, the iPhone 5 also introduces Panorama mode for taking beautiful photographs with a seamless transition between multiple shots. The front-facing FaceTime camera is now 720p HD, and the rear-facing 1080p HD camera improves further on video stabilization while enhancing face detection.

Also improved on the iPhone 5 is the handset's audio, with three microphones located at bottom, front and rear, plus an improved speaker design that's 20 percent smaller than before. Wideband audio promises to better utilize more of the frequency spectrum, and the company promises 20 partners for the feature at launch.

The iPhone 5 also introduces what Apple is calling "Lightning," a new, smaller dock connector that matches the one seen in recent leaked images. The new connector is all-digital, but Apple isn't throwing the baby out with the bath water, thanks to a new 30-pin dock connector adapter that will keep the iPhone 5 working with older accessories.

Following a recap of iOS 6 features, Schiller noted the iPhone 5 will be available as usual in black or white before winding down with a video of designer Jonathan Ive exhorting the virtues of Apple's latest handset.

"Never before have we built a product with this level of fit and finish," Ive says of the iPhone 5 in the video's wrap-up.

Finally, the lights went up and Schiller hit the stage for the information you've all been waiting for. Pricing for the iPhone remains the same at $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB and $399 for 64GB with a two-year agreement, while the iPhone 4S moves to $99 for 16GB and the iPhone 4 will now be offered as the company's freebie, eclipsing the now-defunct iPhone 3GS.

Preorders for the iPhone 5 begin Friday, September 14 and will ship in nine countries on September 21, expanding to 100 countries and 240 carriers by December.

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