Apple unveiled a new iPhone today. At 9mm thin, Apple says the iPhone 4 is the thinnest smartphone "ever" and with a new kind of screen technology called "retina display" has the highest resolution display ever built into a phone. With a dramatically improved camera system and battery life, the ability to record HD video and place video calls, Apple is touting it as the biggest leap since the original iPhone. While it will launch in the US first on June 24th, Canadians won't have to wait much longer with Rogers, Fido, and Telus all confirming that they will launch the new iPhone "in the coming weeks".

Design 

While the first three iPhone models have all carried the same, familiar look, iPhone 4 offers a new design that is not only more petite, but uses glass panels on both the front and back for the phone's casing. Since the launch of the original, Apple has developed a new kind of chemically-treated glass that allows the iPhone to be resiliant against both shattering and scratches, enough that they can make the phone's casing out of the material. It is thirty times stronger than regular glass, offering the strength of sapphire.

As A Phone 

Wrapped around the edge of the phone is a stainless steel band that is incorporated to become part of the phone's antennae system that will support the better wireless internet speeds expected to be reached by network carriers. Also to help improve it as a phone, the iPhone 4 has two built-in mics for noise-cancellation during calls. 

Battery Life 

Half of the phone's size is now made up internally by it's battery which now offers 40% more talk time. Apple says to expect ten hours from using the web on wi-fi or watching videos, 40 hours from just listening to music.

High Resolution Display

For the screen Apple has developed a new display technology called "Retina Display", so called because it can now offer more pixels per inch than the limit of the human eye to differentiate. What this means is, not only does the screen offer more detail and is vibrant when displaying photographs or videos, but it can display basic text and information with a quality reaching paper, something that has been previously associated with the special screens used by eBook Reading devices.

Still And Video Photography

A new 5 Megapixel camera with 5x digital zoom and LED flash offer a dramatic improvement over previous iPhone models. A new backside illumination system will allow it to better perform for low-light photography. It can also be used to record 720p 30 fps High Definition video with the LED flash acting as a camera and geotagging available. A new iMovie app will allow for video editing and composition on-the-go complete with transitions, themes, timelines, and one-touch focus and sharing to YouTube, etc. 

Video Calling

A second, VGA quality camera has been added for FaceTime, Apple's video calling system. Either the front-facing or rear-facing cameras can be used to place a video call to another iPhone 4 user. While the quality is high, you can transmit in either landscape or portrait, switch between cameras in mid-call, it can only be used over Wi-Fi and only between iPhone 4 models.

Gyroscope

The iPhone has incorporated a number of sensors to allow it to interact with you and the world; an accelerometer to switch the screen display, GPS to track your location, a digital compass to orient yourself on maps, etc. The iPhone 4 introduced a new one with a 3-axis gyroscope that allows the iPhone to better understand how it's being held in your hand. Combined with the digital compass and accelerometer, it can create a six-axis control, allowing to detect its position in the air much like Sony's Six-Axis game controller or Nintendo's Wii Remote. How this will be used, Apple's not sure as they are leaving it up to App creators to come up with the answer.

Better Performance

The iPhone will also include an A4 processor that will allow it to deliver on speed and better performance for use with Apple's new iPhone operating system.

New Software

Previously announced, iPhone OS 4 will be renamed to iOS 4 to accommodate the range of devices that now use the operating system. There will be one hundred new features added through the software update, including the previously announced multitasking, folders, dock, game centre, and e-mail threading. 

Not mentioned previously in detail is the addition of iBooks for iPhone which will include support for PDFs, Note taking, better bookmarks, and the ability to sync content across iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad.

Coming In July

The new iOS 4 software update will be made available for free to iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and iPod Touch users for free on June 21st. The iPhone 4 will itself follow on June 24th in the US, France, Germany, and Japan. Other countries will follow with a launch in July, and then the rest of the markets by September.

In the US the price will be $199 for the 16 GB model, $299 for the 32 GB model.

In Canada, Rogers and Fido have announced they will launch the iPhone 4 "in the coming weeks" with Telus confirming that they will also carry it. Both companies will release more details later.