Apple's iPhone 5 announcement: everything you need to know

Just as predicted, Apple's brand-new iPhone 5 comes with a 4-inch display with a 16:9 aspect ratio and an 1136 x 640 resolution. That's good for 326 pixels per inch, exactly the same as the Retina display in the iPhone 4 and 4S. The OS now allows for a 5th row of icons, and Apple has updated all of its first-party software to let users take advantage of the bigger display. As for third-party apps, those will initially be displayed at their previous resolution with black bars on either side for padding — but Apple gave some developers some advance time to get their apps set up.

Phil Schiller also said that Apple was able to remove a layer from the display and build the touch sensors right into the panel, which makes for a more accurate display. It also has improved color saturation as well. While it's certainly not the biggest or highest-resolution display on the market, the iPhone 5 still has one of the highest PPI counts you'll find on a phone — or any other device, for that matter.

Apple has confirmed 4G LTE on the iPhone 5, promising better performance across a swath of carriers. The company touted its LTE iPhone, which will support voice and data over the network using one radio chip and a "dynamic" antenna. The phone will also support HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA. Altogether, three models for different carriers are planned: two GSM versions and one with CDMA. Apple isn't breaking hugely new ground with this announcement — LTE has been standard for the last year on many phones — but it is confirming a feature that we've been waiting on for a long time.

At its big iPhone 5 reveal today, Apple announced that a number of apps will be optimized for the new handset's screen resolution and size. Apple has updated its core apps to take advantage of the iPhone 5's extra screen area, and as rumored, has added a fifth row of icons to the home screen. The email and calendar apps now show more events and information, and Apple says it has updated the Keynote, Pages, Numbers, iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand apps as well. Apple says the iPhone 5 will display third-party apps in a letterbox at their native resolutions.

The new iPhone is finally official. Apple has named its sixth-generation smartphone the iPhone 5 and Phil Schiller has detailed its full set of features, specs, and release details. Measuring 7.6mm in thickness and 112 grams in weight, this is the thinnest and lightest iPhone that Apple has ever made, and is constructed "entirely" out of glass and aluminum. The new iPhone looks pretty much identical to all the leaks and mockups we've seen in the past few weeks — evidently Apple wasn't able to keep a lid on its most anticipated product, after all.

And yes, it has a 4-inch display! The new screen resolution is the oft-rumored 1136 x 640, meaning the display of the iPhone 4 and 4S has simply been elongated, both physically and in terms of pixel rows. To quote Phil, "you see, we're able to add a fifth row of icons." All of Apple's own software has been updated for the new resolution and screen size, while third-party apps will be letterboxed where necessary. Also in line with pre-launch rumors, the new iPhone's display features in-cell touchscreen technology, integrating the touch sensors right into the display itself. This should make for a thinner panel overall, though Apple also touts it as "the most accurate display in the industry."

Apple just kicked off its iPhone 5 event, and as it does at every new major product release, the company shared a wide variety of stats on how the iOS and Mac platforms are performing. For starters, CEO Tim Cook announced seven million copies of Mountain Lion have been sold since launch, up from three million in late July. He also noted that the new MacBook Pro with Retina display and the new MacBook Air helped Apple to the number one position in US laptop marketshare over the last three months — that represents a whopping 27 percent share.

As for iOS, Cook said that the App Store is now home to 700,000 apps, 250,000 of which have been "tailored for the iPad." Moreover, 90 percent of those 700,000 apps are downloaded every month, and the average customer uses over 100 different apps.