Apple has unveiled the iPhone 5C, its new assault on the lower-cost smartphone market.
The new device features a similar specs to the previous generation iPhone 5, but replaces the metal and glass construction with a polycarbonate back.
The 5C comes in five colours (white, red, blue, green and yellow) and runs the same version of iOS 7 as the concurrently accounced iPhone 5S flagship.
Apple made the announcement alongside that of the iPhone 5S, its new flagship smartphone.
Apple SVP Phil Schiller said the 4C was "made with all the incredible tech that customers love with iPhone 5".
Schiller admitted that the design had been leaked online ("and that's cool") but said that it would represent a big step for Apple, introducing the product to a new market of mid-range smartphone buyers.
Apple chief designer Sir Jony Ive said of the phone: "It's simpler, more essential, more capable and more colorful."
Apple said it will be available to pre-order starting September 13 and will be released a week later.
In Pictures: Apple iPhone Event
The key features include:
- 4-inch 'Retina' display
- A6 processor (iPhone 5-grade)
- Higher-capacity battery
- 8-megapixel camera
- Better low-light iSight camera
- Supports LTE 4G
- $99 (16GB) and199 (32GB) with a two-year contract
- A range of colourful cases with circular cut-outs (29)
"These iPhones are packed with remarkable tech," said Tim Cook. "But we've done it in a way that makes it matter to people, making things easier. We don't just pack in feature after feature."
Other news from the event included:
- iWork is now free for all new iOS devices. The suite of productivity apps includes presentation software Keynote, the desktop publishing app Pages, spreadsheet Numbers, iPhoto and iMovie.
- Infinity Blade 3 from Epic Games will be released - with a 64-bit version specially made for the iPhone 5S
Apple also announced that iOS 7, its new version of the mobile operating system which powers iPads, iPhones and iPod Touch devices, will be released on 18 September, and will be free for the iPhone 4 and above, iPad 2 and above, the iPad Mini and the fifth generation iPod Touch.
It said that the OS had been fine-tuned since its initial unveiling earlier this year, and said that 700 million devices running iOS 7 will have been sold by the end of September.
Some small updates to the OS which were not previously announced include a bunch of new 'techno-inspired' ringtones.