Latest iPhone hits stores around the globe

After all of the hype, Apple’s iPhone 5 is finally hitting the shelves.

The latest phone, which was unveiled last week, went on sale first in Australia. Hundreds of people queued for hours in Sydney to get their hands on one.

Apple says initial deliveries will be made in the US and most European markets on Friday. By the end of the year, it plans to sell the new handset in 100 countries.

The latest piece of technology has a larger screen and is slimmer and lighter than the previous model.

However, its mapping feature has come in for criticism and the lack of a payment chip, which would turn the phone into a mobile wallet, has been described as a “bit of a letdown.”

Apple has booked more than two million pre-orders for the device in the first 24 hours, double the first-day sales of the previous iPhone 4s.

Some analysts expect the company to sell up to 10 million iPhone 5 models in the remaining days of September.

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