Apple Unveils $99 Low-Cost, Multi-Colored iPhone 5C

As expected, Apple on Tuesday unveiled a low-cost iPhone known as the iPhone 5C.

As the"C" in the moniker suggests, the device will be available in a variety of colors - green, yellow, blue, white, and pink. The 16GB will run you $99, while the 32GB will cost $199 on contract (for more, check out international and unlocked pricing).

Pre-orders begin on Sept. 13, and the iPhone 5C will arrive in stores on Sept. 20 in the U.S., Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the U.K.

Apple said that it normally offers a price reduction on older iPhones when unveiling an updated model, but said today that the business has become so large that it has decided to go a different route with the 5C. The colors in the new iOS 7 - which debuts Sept. 18 - mesh well with the colors on the 5C.

Still, Apple will offer an 8GB version of the iPhone 4S for free starting Sept. 20.

Apple said the device, which sports a 4-inch Retina display, is made of a hard-coated polycarbonate material. The steel reinforced structure is also multiband antenna. There's an 8-megapixel iSight camera, and a new FaceTime HD front camera.

The 5C includes an integrated touch layer and will run Apple's A6 chip. The battery inside the 5C is slightly larger than the iPhone 5. Apple promised more LTE bands than any other smartphones.

The iPhone 5C will run iOS 7, which will also be available to existing iOS device owners as a free upgrade, starting Sept. 18.

Apple today also unveiled the higher-end iPhone 5S, which will also arrive on Sept. 20 and come in a new gold color.

Rumors of a low-cost iPhone circulated for ages, but picked up steam this year. If Apple really wants to compete against smartphone behemoth Samsung, the theory goes, it needs to branch out into emerging markets, and a lower-cost iPhone might be the ticket. More recently, the "iPhone 5C" moniker was attached to the device, with the "C" referring to the various color options for the smartphone (not "cheap").

For more, check out PCMag's live blog from today's Apple event.

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 2:35 p.m. Eastern with more details.