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Apple unveils faster, thinner iPhone 5

How ’bout them Apples?

After disappointing techies a year ago with its incremental iPhone 4S, Apple yesterday unveiled its sleekest, thinnest and fastest smartphone to date — the iPhone 5.

And while it surprised no one with a larger screen, longer battery life and high-speed 4G capability, the newest iPhone finally fixes some of the device’s major drawbacks while adopting the best features of its close competitors.

Or, as Apple executive Phil Schiller put it, “This is the biggest thing to happen to iPhone since the iPhone.”

The iPhone 5 also packs a smaller and faster A6 processor — which Apple promises will run twice as fast, and its longer Retina display measures 4 inches — the first time Apple has changed the size of the iPhone’s 3.5-inch screen since 2007.

The 16:9 aspect ratio promises better viewing of widescreen videos and adds a fifth row of apps to the device’s desktop.

The device also finally brings the iPhone onto the fastest data network, 4G LTE, while allowing the videoconferencing FaceTime software to work without Wi-Fi.

But it comes with a catch: The iPhone 5 is equipped with a new, smaller connector to charge and transfer data to the device — the first upgrade to the cable port since 2003 — requiring customers to buy new adapters to connect it to current auxiliary products like stereo speakers.

“Some might say we’ve been waiting for this moment since October 4th of last year [when the 4S was unveiled],” wrote Endgadget reviewer Darren Murph.

Eric Slivka, of MacRumors.com, said, “Apple has delivered a sleek new design that is thinner and lighter while also including a number of significant upgrades.”

But tech analyst Charles King, of Pund-IT, cautioned, “I’d call it a home run but wouldn’t call it a grand slam.”

“There wasn’t anything here that dropped people’s jaws,” he added.

The iPhone 5 will be available for preorder starting tomorrow and on sale Sept. 21 — at $199 for the 16GB version, $299 for 32GB and $399 for 64GB — with Sprint, Verizon and AT&T providing service.