12:03: One more thing: According to the new iPhone 5 video (now available for your viewing pleasure, the the smartphone's new\ shape is cut (by interns) using crystalline diamonds.

11:45: And now, as NYT tech scribe Jenna Wortham points out, Foo Fighters have hit the stage at Yerba Buena to sing a ditty. This is where we leave. Until next time, folks!


11:41: We completely forgot! CEO Tim Cook is wearing an untucked (grr) black button-up dress shirt and tailored jeans. Said shirt, if we may, is buttoned one button too much. However, he looks lovely overall. Nice 'do too.

11:35: Holy smokes, new headphones (i.e., EarPods)!

11:23: Also, a new iPod that, according to Macworld, has a the same "Retina display, same 4-inch screen in the iPhone 5."

11:20: Apple has introduced their seventh generation iPod nano. It looks very pretty, of course. Super thin, easy to read, 2.5-inch display.

11:10: Now they're talking about iTunes. Eh.

11:05: Pre-orders start on September 14 for US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore.

11:00: Below, Scott Forstall, Apple's senior vice president of iOS Software, stands next to an image of the new phone.

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10:51: Style-wise, it's got an aluminum back. Far better than the breakable glass back,yes? Macworld says, "iPhone 5 comes in all-black design with slate back, but there's a white iPhone as well, glass is white, got a bright silver aluminum finish."

10:48: Siri, who can't hear shit (or needs to come equipped with thick So Cal accent-recognition capabilities, because we're not giving up glottal mumbling anytime soon), has also been improved. She can answer questions about sports, movies, and other popular trivia.

10:46: "Safari now has a fullscreen mode, which looks even better on the iPhone 5," says Macworld. Also, you can now post tweets and Facebook updates in notification. Rad.

10:45: LA Times reports that Apple's iPhone will help economic stimulus. "Analysts have predicted that Apple could sell as many as 10 million iPhones in the first 10 days and as many as 50 million in the holiday quarter. Last year, the Cupertino, Calif., company sold a massive 37 million iPhones in the holiday quarter after the fall release of the iPhone 4S."

10:42: As expected, they've introduced a smaller 9-pin connector.

10:38: Below, Phil speaks on stage during an introduction of the new iPhone 5:

10:35: Face Time will now work over cellular networks. (We mainly use it as a mirror, though.)

10:31: Camera time. Engadget notes: "Backside illumination, hybrid ID filter, five-element lens, f/2.4 aperture. It's like the iPHone 4S camera but a leeetle bit thinner." And Gizmodo reports, that the new camera will have "40% faster photo capture, and a smart filter that does better color matching. Okay those last two sound promising"

10:30: Next up, battery life. Macworld reports, "They've not only matched but exceeded battery life of 4S. 8 hours of 3G talk time and browsing, and LTE browsing, 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music, 225 hours of standby time."

10:25: Oh, it's also got a brand new processor, Apple A6, which, of course, will make it faster.

10:20: Dan Moren of Macworld reports, "There's now a fifth row of icons on the Home screen. More apps on every screen. All the software that comes on the iPhone 5 has been updated to take advantage of larger display. Everything shows more data."

10:17: 20% lighter! And, as rumors stated, the new phone comes with a 4" screen and 1136x640 resolution.

10:15: Phil Schiller now takes the stage to talk iPhone. "It's really neat to stand here and see all the Apple logos glowing from all the computers," he said, according to Macworld. He introduced the iPhone 5 (at last!), calling it the "most beautiful product ever made bar none."

Update 10:10: Apple CEO Tim Cook takes the stage at Yerba Buena Gardens. He's discussing the Barcelona Apple Store, iPad's success (iPad has 62% market share, Mountain Lion, and more.

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Scene outside Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco where the iPhone announcement is taking place. (Brock Keeling / SFist)

Good morning from San Francisco, where it's Apple announcement day! The noted Cupertino, Calif.-based company will soon reveal the new iPhone 5 in just a few minutes. SFist will breathlessly cover the action live with baited breath while totally out of breath. Just breathe. It's that exciting.

What will the iPhone 5 do? What will it look like? Here are just a few rumors leading up to this morning's big announcement.

- Larger screen (4 inches compared to the previous generations' 3.4 inches)

- Smaller dock connector (we're hearing the iPhone 5 will come with a 9-pin connector; the current one comes in at an massive 30-pins)

- Flash (dream on!)

- It will, in fact, be called the 'iPhone 5" (what many, including us, had assumed would be the iPhone 5 was christened the iPhone 4S. But since some invites boast a "5," we're guessing this is the official fifth installment)

- Is this the iPhone 5 keynote video?

We should point out that Steve Jobs had a hand in designing this particular phone. As noted in the LA Times, "What would be surprising is if Jobs helped design a 4-inch screen phone after once criticizing larger-screen smartphones, saying no one would want to buy a device they couldn't wrap their hand around."

(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)