Apple launches two new iPhones Apple put improved security and bright new colours before aggressive price cuts at the launch of its latest iPhone models, as it sought to broaden its appeal without compromising its premium brand. For the first time since the iPhone's launch in 2007, Apple introduced two new handsets at the same time: the 5S, which carries a fingerprint reader and comes in new silver and gold colours, and the cheaper 5C, sporting a range of brightly coloured plastic casings. The retail price of the iPhone 5C handset will be $549 in the US, cheaper than the top-of-the-range 5S but still more expensive than many of the Chinese rivals that have taken a larger portion of the market in countries such as China and India. By pricing the 5C towards the upper end of Wall Street's expectations, Apple has signalled that it is unwilling to sacrifice margins and its aspirational brand as it attempts to win back market share from Samsung and other smartphone makers running Google's Android operating system. Apple's chief executive, Tim Cook, unveiled the new devices at the company's headquarters in Cupertino. It is the first time the company has hosted a product launch there since its co-founder, Steve Jobs, died two years ago. In the past we've lowered the price of the older iPhone, making it more accessible to new people. This year we're not going to do that," said Mr Cook. This year, the business has been so large, that we're going to replace the iPhone 5 with not one but two new designs. This allows us to serve even more customers. The higher-end iPhone's new fingerprint reader - which is called "Touch ID" and is built into the home button - will allow users to do away with the lock screen's numerical passcodes that some smartphone owners use to prevent other people from using their device. The reader can be used to replace a keycode on the home screen or in place of a password for iTunes and App Store purchases. The new hardware will be accompanied by the updated iOS 7, a radical redesign of the operating system which will be made available to existing owners of recent iPhones next week. The first Apple software to be created by Sir Jonathan Ive, who also oversees its hardware designs, iOS 7"s bright hues, flat layers and new touchscreen gestures, has polarised opinions and prompted comparisons with Android and Microsoft's tiled Windows Phone. Analysts have said that the introduction of colour to the iPhone line-up may represent a slowdown in technical innovation. Nonetheless, Apple is the first leading smartphone maker to incorporate a fingerprint reader into its products to offer extra security and convenience. Some law enforcement authorities have criticised Apple, Samsung and other smartphone makers for not doing enough to prevent thefts of their devices. A fingerprint reader, alongside other security features in iOS 7, will help to address this problem and could boost the iPhone's appeal in enterprise markets, at a time when the former business favourite BlackBerry is struggling. In one of its largest acquisitions of recent years Apple paid $356m to acquire Israeli biometric technology company AuthenTec in mid-2012. The company's patented technology allowed fingerprints to be read even if they are dirty or damaged. Google included face-recognition technology in Android in 2011, and has used it in devices such as Samsung's Galaxy Nexus. Apple's shares were down 2.2 per cent at about $495 shortly after the end of the launch event, suggesting that investors were hoping for more competitive pricing on the iPhone 5C.