Apple has unveiled two new handsets: the top-end iPhone 5S and a cheaper iPhone 5C at an event in California.

The 5S introduces a fingerprint sensor built into the phone's main button to identify the user. The 5C comes with a plastic back in a choice of colours.

The BBC's Richard Taylor tests the new Apple iPhone 5S and 5C smartphones

It marks a change of strategy for Apple which had not launched two distinct types of handset at the same time before.

The iPhone is the firm's most important product in terms of earnings power.

The new fingerprint system can be used to unlock the 5S and provide authentication for purchases from Apple's online marketplace.

The 5S' Sim-free price ranges from £549 for a 16 gigabyte version to £709 for a 64GB model.

The basic 5C model, with 16 gigabytes of storage, has been priced Sim-free at £469. That is more than UK retailers had been charging for the 4S with the same amount of memory.

The new iPhones go on sale in the US, UK, China, Australia and Canada among other countries on 20 September. It marks the first time China has been included in the initial wave of sales.

(Source: BBC)