Apple's new iPhone 5 just got smarter

Across the country this morning, iPhone owners will be waking up and looking at Apple's star product with disgust. How could they ever have loved that dated gadget, they will wonder? Look how thick it is! And that small screen! Thank goodness a new one is coming in just a few days.

Yes, it's that time of year again when Apple takes the wraps off its latest iPhone and gets thousands of people slavering in excitement.

One in every 1,000 searches online last week by Britons was for the iPhone 5, according to Experian Hitwise.

Those searchers will have found plenty of rumours to feed on in the run-up to the launch. Despite the assertion from Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, that Apple would "double down" on secrecy, a huge amount of information about the new iPhone had leaked in advance.

Nevertheless, Apple always unveils its gadgets with panache, carefully emphasising the message it wants customers to come away with.

The new handset is thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4S - just 7.6mm and 112g - but it runs twice as fast and graphics load twice as fast. That's because of the new A6 processor, said Phil Schiller, Apple's marketing chief. In addition, the camera now features a low-light mode and a panorama feature.

On Tuesday, mobile network EE announced Britain's first 4G mobile network, offering services five times faster than existing networks. The iPhone 5 is the first from Apple to be able to use such networks, and when EE's service launches next month the business will have an iPhone 4G monopoly at least until January. That's a huge development for British consumers, rather than for the iPhone.

"We've updated every aspect of iPhone 5," said Schiller.

The announcement of the new model follows a turbulent year for Apple. Just a day after last October's iPhone 4S announcement, Steve Jobs died. Some commentators speculated that without its co-founder and chairman, Apple would lose its way. There is little sign of it so far.

Apple is embroiled in a global patent war with rival manufacturers, particularly Samsung, the South Korean firm that now sells more mobile phones than any other company. Samsung has defeated Apple in London, South Korea and Japan, cases in Germany have gone either way, and in the US it is appealing against Apple's major win - a verdict that awarded the iPhone-maker $1bn in damages.

Meanwhile, Apple has continued with its regular cycle of new products: a new iPad in March and new MacBooks - with an upgraded operating system - in June. A new version of iOS, Apple's mobile operating system, is coming with the new iPhone.

This operating system could be Apple's weak spot, say some analysts. With Android evolving fast and Microsoft pushing the smartly designed Windows Phone 8, Apple could be left behind if it fails to keep innovating with the software that powers the iPhone.

Adam Leach, an analyst with Ovum, warned: "The iPhone re-defined the smartphone category in 2007 but Apple can't rely on past success to guarantee its future or rely on litigation to keep its competitors at bay."

Apple's new handset goes on sale in an environment that is tougher than ever. The stakes are high, but Apple is seldom afraid to be bold.