Apple announced today that the new iPhone 5 will be available for pre-order September 14th with a ship date of September 21st.

Among other things, the new device is the thinnest and lightest iPhone yet. Made entirely out of glass and aluminum, it’s 18 percent thinner and 20 percent lighter than the iPhone 4S.

Apple took the human hand into account when designing the new phone, which now features a 4-inch screen. Five rows of icons are displayed in addition to the four shortcuts along the bottom — previous versions only displayed four rows.

However, a thinner design also means a new connector. Apple has introduced Lightning, a double-sided connector that is 80 percent smaller than the current model. The company has created adapters to help with older docks.

Other notable features include, LTE support, updated iSight with 40 percent faster image capture, shared Photo Streams, and panorama support, FaceTime over cellular networks, and an enhanced audio system for better voice recognition and noise cancellation.

The iPhone 5 has tremendous value for professionals. The new size adds more screen real estate for apps, and with just enough of a battery boost (eight hours of 3G or LTE talk time or browsing, 10 hours on WiFi browsing) it’s sure to get you through the work day and then some. It also boasts a faster performance. According to Apple, Pages is said to launch 2.1 times faster than before and Keynote attachments load 1.7 times faster.

This announcement coincides with the launch of new iPhone software, iOS 6, which features deeper Facebook and Yelp integration, an all-new Maps app and enhanced Mail app, Passbook, call controls, and more. This will be available for download on iPhone 4S, 4, 3GS, new iPad, iPad 2, and iPod touch on September 19th.

The iPhone 5, available in white and black, will be released for pre-order on September 14th with a price point of $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, and $399 for 64GB. The iPhone 4S will sell for a lower price of $99 and the iPhone 4 is free with contract. Shipping will start on September 21st for the U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, France, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore — 20 more countries will follow next month.

[Image credit: Apple]