- There is no iPhone 5
- New iPhone 4S has fast A5 chip found in iPad 2
- Handset looks just the same as the old model
- New 8 megapixel camera
- Voice control lets you 'talk' to iPhone 'like a person'
- Older models now much cheaper
At Apple's corporate headquarters in Cupertino, California CEO Tim Cook took to the stage to launch the company's new iPhone range - 'This is my first product launch since being made CEO. I'm sure you didn't know that,' he joked.
It was Cook's first launch since he took over as CEO from Apple founder Steve Jobs - and seen as a significant test of his leadership.
The new iPhone is iPhone 4S, not iPhone 5 - looking very similar to the current model, but voice-controlled and with other hi-tech features (full hands-on first impressions are below). The phone launches on October 14.
Apple CEO Tim Cook unveils the iPhone 4S - but apart from the voice-control functions, the phone does not offer a huge amount that's new
GREETINGS APP SENDS CARD COMPANY SHARES PLUMMETING
Apple release of a new app that lets users create and mail greeting cards with their iPhones sent the stocks of traditional greeting card companies tumbling.
Scott Forstall, Apple's senior vice president for iOS mobile software, released details of the $2.99 app yesterday.
The announcement of the new technology, perhaps the perfect app for procrastinators, sent shares of American Greetings Corp., based in Cleveland, down more than 6 percent to close at $16.68.
Shutterfly Inc. fell more than 2 percent to close at $39.42. Shutterfly lets people print and share digital photos or make personalized greeting cards or photo books.
Apple also saw its stock fall because of rampant speculation that the company would release a more radical upgrade, an iPhone 5. Its stock fell more than 4 percent in afternoon trading before rebounding to close at $372.50, down 0.6 percent.
Apple's share price plunged 3 per cent after it was revealed that the new phone would be the 4S, not an all-new iPhone 5.
It is a significant upgrade from the old phone, though, even if the casing and the Retina screen remain the same.
The new handset will have a dual core A5 processor like the one in iPad 2, and an eight-megapixel camera - all of which puts it back in competition with rivals such as Samsung.
The new camera will also shoot in full 1080p HD.
The most talked-about feature, though, was the phone's new 'artificially intelligent' assistant.
The feature, called Siri, will allow you to 'talk' to your iPhone like you talk to other people - for instance, you can ask the phone 'What is the forecast today?' while holding down the Home button, and it will bring up a weather forecast.
You can also simply say, 'Wake me up tomorrow at 8am,' and the device will set an alarm for you. You can even dictate your messages to the phone. The idea is that you will speak to Siri as if to a human being (see fact box, below). At launch, Siri will work in English, German and French.
New release: But the IPhone 4S looks similar to its predecessor and has few added functions
Voice control will be a huge part of the new iPhone - but will it work better than similar functions already offered by Android handsets and apps such as Dragon Dictation?
The battery life has been improved - offering a reported 8 hours talk time.
Tech insiders, however, seemed disappointed. There was no redesign, no 4G version, nothing to put Apple as far ahead of its competitors as iPhone 4 was.
'Is that all there is?' asked the live feed on tech blog Mashable, 'I guess we have to readjust expectations.'
The phone will be compatible with fast HSPA+ networks (not 4G, but offering faster data speeds than current networks). Only around 20 phone networks offer this service worldwide, however.
APPLE iPHONE 4
Processor: Apple A4
Camera: 5 megapixel
Screen: 3.5in
Storage: 8GB-32GB
Operating system: iOS
3G talk time: 7 hours
APPLE iPHONE 4S
Processor: Apple A5
Camera: 8 megapixel
Screen: 3.5in
Storage: 16GB-64GB
Operating system: iOS
3G talk time: 8 hours
Cook revealed new touch-friendly functions for iPod Nano - quashing rumours that the smallest of the iPod family would be killed off.
It will now be cheaper, and include watch-like faces to wear on your wrist. New versions and prices for iPod Touch and iPod Shuffle were also announced. Even the bulky iPod classic survived.
'Let's talk iPhone' was the first event for new CEO Tim Cook, who took over from Apple founder Steve Jobs
The new iPhone 4S is a barely visible tweak on the old design - Mail Online had a look at one of the new phones, and you really had to squint to tell the difference
Launch: The Apple store in Covent Garden was the UK venue for the hotly anticipated event
A new version of Apple's iOS operating system, iOS 5, will release on October 12, Cook recapped some of the features of the new operating system.
APPLE'S iPHONE 5: MAIL ONLINE HANDS-ON
The look may disappoint, but the Siri voice control seems very promising - it worked flawlessly. You can talk fast, conversationally and colloquially. It feels like the coolest thing on the phone.
The speed difference offered by the A5 chip is amazing, launching apps, focusing on the subject of your photo, playing games.
Current iPhone 4 users may want to think twice before buying themselves out of their contracts, though... Rating: 
Apps such as iMessage - a messaging system that also lets you send picture and video - were confirmed for the new iOS 5 version of Apple's iPhone software, as well as Notifications - an app which pulls system messages such as emails and texts into one message centre.
Notifications brings iPhone into line with Android phones, which have offered a similar 'notification' service for some time.
Likewise, iMessage will enable iOS to compete with BlackBerry's BBM.
New 'location aware' reminders will remind you of tasks when you're near the place you have to do them.
Twitter users will also be able to 'Tweet' pictures direct from their photo album on iPhone, and take pictures with one tap from the home screen.
None of these features were new, however.
Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, speaks about the iPod Nano's new 'wristwatch'-style faces
APPLE'S 'SIRI' VOICE CONTROL: WHAT IS IT?
Apple's new 'intelligent' assistant uses spoken English more akin to the language we use day to day - so you can simply ask it, 'Find me an Italian restaurant,' and it will launch the maps application, and find you one nearby, complete with phone number, reviews and a link to their website.
Android phones have similar 'voice control' functions, but you 'talk' to them as if typing into a Google search box, rather than talking to another human being.
Apple's virtual personal assistant has been described as a 'world-changing event' - a machine that we can talk to in 'natural' language for the first time.
Apple is certain to have tested the software with its engineers - a process often called 'dogfooding' after the myth that workers at dog food factories eat the product to ensure high quality - but whether it can digest the various accents, dialects and intonations of the whole world remains to be seen.
A new music sharing service, iCloud, will allow users to 'share' music between all their Apple devices, free - any music purchased from Apple Store will always be available, anywhere.
To use the new iTunes Match service, which also lets users share music they have bought elsewhere, will be a subscription-based service costing $24.99 in the US.
No launch date is confirmed for this service anywhere else in the world.
Cook revealed that iPhone now accounted for 5 per cent of the total world phone market, and a quarter of a billion iOS devices had sold.
Apple's previous launches have often been at conference centres in San Francisco, rather than its HQ, which led to a heightened sense of anticipation around this launch - headlined, 'Let's Talk iPhone,' and showing four of the company's phone icons.
Apple was also desperate to brand Tim Cook as a proper successor to Steve Jobs.
But some insiders such as uSwitch's Ernest Doku described Cook's performance as an 'understudy' performance - and said 'Others will be bitterly disappointed that what was announced was an upgraded iPhone 4 rather than a messianic new model.
'This was the stage once reigned over by Steve Jobs, the totemic former leader whose obsessive drive for perfection turned Apple products into global icons.'
It has been 15 months since the last iPhone launch, and expectations of the world's largest technology company were at fever pitch.
The sign outside Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California today served to whet fans' appetite for the latest launches from the tech giant
Apple's annual launch of new iPhones generates so much excitement it has the air of a technology Oscars - except it's only one company that walks off with the prizes.
This year, however, the surrounding technology landscape is not as certain.
HTC, Samsung and Google are all to launch new flagship phones within the next week - boasting high-speed processors and touchscreens similar to the ones in Apple's handsets. The days when Apple had the smartphone market to itself are very much over.
In some cities, you could be forgiven for imagining that Apple had the entire smartphone market to itself - but in reality, rivals such as Android phones have made serious gains
The iPhone’s U.S. market share in August was 28 percent, making it No. 2. Android was No. 1 with 43 percent of the U.S. market, Nielsen data show.
Every day, 550,000 new Android devices are activated.
Apple's corporate headquarters at 1-6 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California - few outsiders ever visit the campus, whose address is a geeky programming joke
Longer-term, investors are more focused on Apple’s international push, particularly in Asia - a push that could take Apple far beyond its 'comfort zone' of selling relatively low volumes of extremely expensive products to a 'captive market'.
The cheaper prices of some of the new models - the 'old' iPhone 4 and 3GS in particular - could be seen as an aggressive move into new markets.
Cook has said China is a key market. The world’s most valuable technology company has mostly catered to the higher end of a booming market in those countries, but may now attempt to capture a larger market in emerging economies such as China and India.
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