iSEE: Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, speaks about new features on the iPhone 4S.

iCAN: Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, speaks about iPhones, including the iPhone 4S, at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California.

New Zealanders will have to wait to get their hands on the latest iPhone, with Apple yet to announce a local release date for the next version of the popular smartphone.

Kiwis will also initially miss out on one of the phone's new features - advanced voice recognition technology that can answer simple questions and lets people make voice commands.

Apple shares plunged as the anticipated launch of an iPhone 5 didn't happen this morning.

REUTERS HOT PROPERTY: Apple is set to unveil its latest iPhone creation from its headquarters in Silicon Valley today.

Instead Apple launched the iPhone 4S, leaving some fans wishing for more than an updated version of last year's smartphone.

The new iPhone is faster, souped-up and comes with a better camera, but did little to lift the bar for smartphones.

It contains the powerful A5 dual-processor chip which promises to be 7x faster, an 8-megapixel camera, 1080-HD video capability and an 8-hour talktime. It will be available in 16 gigabyte, 32GB and 64Gb versions. The 16GB version will sell in the United States for US$199 with a two year mobile contract, while the 32 and 64GB models will sell for US$299 and US$399 respectively.

Reuters NEW GUY: Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks in front of an image of an iPhone 4S at Apple headquarters in Cupertino.

The new iPhone will be released in some countries including the United States, Britain and Australia on October 14 and to a second tranche of countries on October 28. New Zealand is not mentioned in either group, suggesting it could be a few months before the iPhone 4S arrives here.

Apple spokeswoman Fiona Martin said New Zealand pricing and availability was yet to be announced.

Apple has been touting the phone's new voice recognition service Siri, which, for example, can answer questions about the weather and direct people to weather information on the phone. But Ms Martin said that feature would initially only be available in the US, Britain, Australia, Germany and France.

The phone also comes with new mobile software, iOS 5, that includes a new messaging feature that lets people send messages to other iPhones or iPod Touch devices without using mobile text services.

It also has a dual antenna system, following reception and call-dropping issues with the earlier iPhone 4.

Apple also announced the launch of the iCloud service, which will let people access all their iTunes content on all their Apple devices without having to transfer it between gadgets, and its iTunes Match service, which will scan users' hard drives for music and match it with tracks in Apple's iTunes library. It then makes a quality iTunes version of the tracks automatically accessible in the iCloud.

Ms Martin said iCloud would be available in New Zealand from October 13. It includes 5GB of free cloud storage, and users could purchase storage upgrades starting at $25 a year for 10GB.

iTunes Match is currently only available in the US, Ms Martin said.

Apple has cut the pricing of the iPhone 4 and 3GS. The iPhone 4, which has had its storage capacity reduced from 16GB to 8GB, will now sell in New Zealand for $899. The 16GB model was previously $1099.

The 3GS is now selling for $599, down from about $899.

Newly minted CEO Tim Cook helmed his first major product launch with aplomb. The operations and supply-chain expert, not known for pitching products, stood in for ailing co-founder Steve Jobs, who did not show up as some expected he would.

Apple's shares had fallen about 5 per cent to US$355.62 by 8.12am (NZT) - a US$15 fall in two hours. Click here to follow Apple's share price.

Investors and Apple fans, who were looking to be blown away by some amazing new surprise, sent the shares down. "It's been 16 months and all you've got is an A5 processor in the existing iPhone 4," said BGC Partners' analyst Colin Gillis.

The latest iPhone come at a critical juncture as Android phones by Samsung Electronics and other competitors close in on Apple's lead. Android phones dominate the US market three years after Google introduced the software.

Some shareholders and analysts were expecting a cameo appearance by Jobs, now chairman. The pancreatic cancer survivor, who handed the reins to Cook in August after taking his third medical leave, has not yet appeared.

Apple launches are some of the hottest events on the tech calendar. Tuesday's "Let's talk iPhone" show marked Cook's unofficial debut since taking over from Jobs in August.

Apple must sustain the popularity of its iPhone 4, which is more than a year old. Apple sold more than 20 million units in the third quarter, which ended June 25.

The iPhone, which accounts for more than 40 per cent of Apple's sales, has been a big success since it came out in 2007, making Apple into one of the world's leading consumer electronics companies.

The company also claims inroads into a corporate market dominated by Research in Motion. It said more than 90 per cent of Fortune 500 companies are testing or using its iPhones and iPads.

- CLAIRE ROGERS/Stuff and AP