AUSTRALIANS will be the first to get the new iPhone but, for the first time, Apple fans will have to make a real choice.

Apple announced the release of two new iPhones at a live event in Cupertino, California, early this morning, Australian time.

Here's what we know:

Apple releases the iPhone 5S and 5C

Both phones will be available to pre-order from September 13

Phones hit stores Friday, September 20

iPhone 5C will be available in a range of colours

iPhone 5S will be also be available in "Champagne", silver and "Space Grey"

Fingerprint scanner lets you buy apps, music, TV shows and films

The iPhone 5C is described as the "budget" model, despite a starting price of $A739, and the high-end iPhone 5S has a fingerprint scanner built in to the home button.

The same phones cost $US549 and $US649 in the US.

Consumer watchdog Choice, which has campaigned against the price surcharge Australians often pay for technology compared to the US, has called on consumers to express disappointment that Australians will pay up to 14 per cent more than consumers in the US for the new phones.

''There is no obvious reason for a price difference like this, and we can only conclude Apple is charging Aussies more for the new iPhones because they think they can get away with it,'' Choice campaign director Matt Levey said.



Apple CEO Tim Cook called the iPhone 5S "the most advanced iPhone ever with our most forward thinking technologies".

Both the iPhone 5C and the iPhone 5S have the same screen size as the current iPhone 5. They both also have a 8 megapixel camera.

Everything you need to know about the Apple iPhone 5S and 5C

The iPhone 5S runs on the new A7 chip. Apple senior vice-president worldwide marketing Philip Schiller said the 64-bit chip was the "first ever in a phone of any kind".

"I don't think the other guys are even talking about it yet," he said.

The rumours of a fingerprint scanner built into the home button of the iPhone 5S have proved correct.

The Touch ID technology can be used to unlock your phone or to confirm your identity when making purchases at iTunes and the app store.

Apple said each person's identification details would be stored on the phone and not on an Apple server.

The phone will run on iOS7, the new mobile operating system announced at WWDC in June.

Optus says it is the only Aussie provider that is supplying the phones on a 4G PD LTE network.

The iPhone 5, which is already the world's most popular camera, is about to be usurped.

The iPhone 5S will have a new lens, made up of five elements, that has a f2.2 aperture, a step up from the f2.4 in the iPhone. That wider lens will help boost the camera's ability to take pictures in low light.

The camera remains, like with the iPhone 5, an 8 megapixel camera but also boosting the camera's powers will be a 15 per cent larger sensor and a new flash that adjusts colour and brightness for more than 1000 combinations.

The camera will have burst mode, capable of taking 10 frames per second, and a slow-mo video which can shoot 120 frames per second.

The iPhone 5S comes in three colours - gold, silver and "space grey" also known as black. Apple is selling a range of leather cases that come in beige, black, blue, brown, yellow and red and cost A$51.

Apple says the battery of the iPhone 5S will match or better the battery in the iPhone 5, which might disappoint many iPhone fans who find battery power the biggest weakness of the phone.

Apple says the battery in the iPhone 5S will give up to 10 hours of web browsing on 4G networks.

The iPhone 5S will be available in Australia on September 20 for $869 for the 16GB model, $999 for the 32GB model and $1129 for the 64GB model. The leather cases, which come in six colours, for $48.

The iPhone 5C comes in a polycarbonate one-piece case that is available in five colours: blue, green, pink, yellow and white.

Like the iPhone 5, the iPhone 5C runs on a A6 chip. The iPhone 5C has the same rear camera as the iPhone 5 but an improved front facing camera.

The iPhone 5C will also go on sale in Australia on September 20, costing $739 for the 16GB model and $869 for the 32GB model.

The phones will be available for sale in Australia and around the world including the US, UK , China and Japan from Friday, September 20. Customers will be able to pre-order the iPhone 5C from Friday, September 13.

CEO Tim Cook announced that the iPhone 5C - which he said stood for either "colourful" or "classy" - will be available in a range of colours including in blue, green, pink, yellow and white.

Apple has also released a line of soft, silicon cases that come with a matte finish and are lined with micro-fibre. The cases can be bought for A$31 and come in the same six colours as the iPhones they protect.

The camera of the 5S will run on iOS7 and have the same camera as the current iPhone 5 although with a bigger battery.

Mr Cook also announced that the world will be getting a new "champagne" iPhone 5S. The new model will be available in silver, gold and back with "diamond cut chamfered edges".

The battery life of the iPhone 5S will be "equal or greater" than that of the iPhone 5 , Mr Cook said.

The battery will support 10 hours of LTE, video, talk time and 250 standby hours, a small increase from the iPhone 5's 225 hours of standby time. The improvement in battery life seems fairly minimal. No doubt consumers will be more than a little ticked off by this as the battery life of the iPhone 5 was embarrassingly bad.

Mr Cook said people could use the new iPhone 5S to learn how to take a better photo. The camera includes a five element Apple designed lens with 15 per cent larger sensor, bigger pixels to capture more light.

The iPhone 5S will run on a new 64-bit chip, the A7, which will be twice as fast as the chip in the iPhone 5.

Mr Schiller said it the 64-bit chip powering the iPhone 5S was the "first ever in a phone of any kind".



The iPhone 5S boasts a 3inch Retina display, an A6 processor, "console level graphics", a "high-capacity battery" and it is also 4G compatible. It also boasts 4.0 Bluetooth, dual band wi-fi, an 8 megapixel camera and a new front-facing Facetime HD camera.

And now for the fingerprint scanning technology. The rumours are true, the iPhone 5S will contain a 500 DPI fingerprint scanner.



"Your fingerprint is one of the best passes in the world. It's always with you, and no two are exactly alike," said Johnny Ive.



"Every single technology. Every process, has been measured to make sure that ... it actually enhances a user's experience."

The TouchID system lets you unlock your iPhone5S or confirm a iTunes purchase by touching your finger on the home button.

The fingerprint identification is done by the phone's chip, with none of your identification details sent to Apple.

See Technology reporter Rod Chester's tweets from the launch:

Tweets by @Chesterrod

Musician Elvis Costello has just taken to the stage with a guitar and microphone.

"How y'all doing?," he said to the crowd. "Wow, that's a lot of fancy stuff. I feel under-dressed. I've got just my old Fender guitar... wow, can I say Fender in here?"

Costello launched into a new song he has recorded with the Roots. Some of the vocals were recorded on an iPad, he says.

And that's it folks. Costello was the closer, apparently. No word on an iTunes music streaming service which was rumoured to be released today. Also there was no word on whether Apple would be releasing a new iPad or iPad Mini.

Looks like there may be at least two new Apple events to look forward to at some point in the future.

While we're talking about Apple, why not download news.com.au's brand new iPad app for free from the App Store!

