The wait is over.
Apple has unveiled the new version of the iPhone -- and it's faster, thinner and lighter than the previous model with a larger, four-inch screen.
After the phone was released in San Francisco on Wednesday, local time, marketing chief beat back early reviews of the phone that say not much has changed.
The new iPhone is 18-percent thinner and 20-percent lighter than the iPhone 4S and it sports a larger 4-inch Retina Display screen with an aluminum back instead of the glass one on the 4 and 4S.
The device is also compatible with new wireless networks including 4G LTE.
The iPhone 5 will start at $199 with a two-year wireless contract and will go on sale later this month on September 21st in 9 countries including the United States and Japan.
But it will not be available in Korea until the end of the year.
The release of the iPhone comes as Apple fends off ever tighter competition from key rivals, including Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics, with which it is entangled in a string of legal battles around the globe.
Samsung leads the global smartphone market with a 33-percent share,.. followed by Apple with 17-percent, according to market research firm IDC.
Samsung has sold more than 20 million of its flagship Galaxy S-3 phones since its release three months ago in June.
But analysts are predicting the iPhone 5 will catch up quickly, with some estimating sales of the new device will reach up to 12 million this month alone.
Meanwhile, Samsung is reportedly prepared to take legal action against Apple for infringing on several patents that Samsung holds over the LTE technology upon the iPhone's release in Korea.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.

Reporter : youchaie@arirang.co.kr