Apple unveils iPhone 3GS: Faster; better graphics, battery

Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference is underway, and today Apple showcased their latest iPhone, the iPhone 3GS.

On the technical front, the 3GS takes advantage of the OpenGL ES 2.0 standard for "stunning high-quality 3D graphics, making mobile gaming and other graphic intense applications better than ever."

On the 3GS, launching messaging is faster, along with Excel, and loading games such as SimCity is 2.4x faster. The 3GS will include a 3MP autofocus camera, 30FPS VGA video capturing and supports OpenGL/Es and 7.2 Mbps HSDPA, along with a built-in digital compass.

The 3GS's battery life can sustain nine hours on Wifi, compared to the 3G's six, and can sustain 30 hours on audio, compared to the 3G's 24.

The iPhone 3GS is expected to be released on June 19, which is the same week that the new game-centric 3.0 firmware for the iPhone and iPod Touch will be released.

The 3GS 16GB version will sell for US$199 and the 32GB version for US$299, while the original 3G will now go for US$99.