Update: iPhone 5 in shops soon

APPLE has revealed its new iPhone 5: larger, thinner, lighter and more powerful than before - and available in France next weekend.

A new processor makes the new phone twice as fast in both performance and graphics as its predecessor, the 4S, and it is 18% thinner and 20% lighter.

It is also taller, with a 16:9 ratio like a widescreen TV, and now fits an extra row of icons along the bottom of the 10.2cm screen.

In the hand, the iPhone 5 is still smaller than rivals from Samsung, Nokia and Sony and Apple vice-president Phil Schiller said it was "designed to fit in the hand" but until apps were redesigned for the new 1,136 × 640 screen they would display with a black border.

However, Apple has also changed the power connector from the 30-pin connection that is on millions of stereo docking stations and other peripherals worldwide. It now uses an eight-pin "Lightning" connector and owners will have to buy an adapter to continue using their peripherals.

A new battery gives eight hours of talk time and 225 hours of standby.

The new phone can be ordered online now - and pricing in France starts at €679 for the 16Gb base model. The 32Gb model is €789 and the 64Gb is €899. The phone will be available in-store from September 21.

The US sim-free pricing is $199 with the 32Gb at $299 and 64Gb at $399. In the UK, pricing starts at £529 for the base model iPhone 5 but the 4S will be cut to £449 for 16Gb.

While market leader Orange had no reference to the new phone on its website today, rival SFR offers clients the chance to sign up for first news of availability. The companies are putting together the pricing packages for their forfaits.

Apple is also releasing a new operating system, iOS 6 which will be available for download from September 19. The company is also replacing Google Maps with its own mapping and is getting rid of YouTube.