Apple has revealed the latest version of its mega-popular iPhone at an event in California.

The iPhone 5 features a 4-inch, 1136x640 touchscreen, making it larger than the previous generation devices, measuring at 3.5-inches and 960x540.

The California giant used the larger screen to add a fifth row of icons onto the homescreen. Additionally, older apps not updated for the larger screen will feature black borders on the edges.

Aesthetically, the iPhone 5 is similar to previous models but is 18 percent thinner, measuring just 7.6mms, according to Apple's Phil Schiller.

The iPhone 5 features an eight-megapixel camera with better low-light performance and 1080p video recording. Additionally, the camera also supports panorama modes, with photos being up to 28-megapixels in size.

Under the hood, the new iPhone is powered by an A6 chip, with Apple claiming that it's twice as fast as the A5 chip in the iPhone 4S.

The iPhone 5 also supports super-fast LTE cellular connectivity (not available in South Africa yet).

The handset will cost $199 (16GBs), $299 (32GBs) and $399 (64GBs) on a two-year contract and ships on 21 September in the USA.

The iPhone 5 will ship to more countries on 28 September, with Apple hoping to launch in 100 countries by December 2012.

Apple also unveiled new versions of its iPod Nano and iPod Touch.

The new iPod Touch features the same screen as the iPhone 5, along with a five-megapixel camera and A5 chip.