It was unexpected and spontaneous. On September 12 during an Apple event in San Francisco, the world’s most valuable company shocked the audience with the announcement of the iPhone 5. Within minutes, news websites around the world were buzzing with traffic from their articles putting all rumors to rest: That 5 does indeed come after 4.

So what’s different about the greatest piece of technology Apple’s ever invented? This term is used frequently by the company to mean ‘basically the most recent product we’ve made,’ but surprisingly there have actually been some modifications to the old model.

“Nearly every feature has been upgraded, with a focus on what counts: screen, sound, camera, speed,” David Pogue wrote in the New York Times.

Pretty standard changes in the way of technology, but they’re certainly appreciated. The phone now has a larger 4” screen for doing cool stuff that you think is cool, and a panorama feature added to the camera app. No word on why that isn’t a possibility for the older models, however.

The phone can also connect to high speed LTE networks, generally being adopted by most major carriers as a replacement for now ‘outdated’ 3G connectivity. No offense to 3G.

Despite the seemingly impressive additions, there was much critique over what the phone lacked, such as NFC, a near field communication technology that people tend to use with their other phones as a way to hold up the line when struggling to purchase something from McDonalds or the 3 other stores that currently support it. Apple says no.

Another point of criticism is the new ‘Lightning connector’ released to replace the 30-pin connector previously used on iPods and iPhones. Apple has clearly thought of the best way to make things as difficult as possible for anyone who purchases an iPhone 5 and wants to use an older dock. They’ve decided that it’s out with the old and in with the inconvenient. Worry not though, for Apple has been kind enough to offer adapters for sale at $30 from their online store, where you can also find a friendly asterisk stating that they won’t be compatible with all accessories. Hospitals are now also considering moving to Bluetooth wireless connections to remain compatible with older accessories commonly used with iPhones by doctors. I predict a rise in death rates. Probably not.

But it’s not Apple’s loss.

Pre-orders of the iPhone 5 “sold out” almost instantly, with orders topping 2 million in the first 24 hours. That’s double the 1 million for last year’s iPhone 4S in the same time period. A round of applause for everyone who made that possible.

The phone hits stores Friday in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom. It rolls out in 22 other countries on September 28.

For those angered by what they are reading, I’d like to point out that it is simply a phone. A phone that you do not have to buy. Apple has demonstrated they know what people want, so I think I’d rather sit back and watch, than to be the only person to question consumerism.

“Siri, can you do a search for iPhone 4s early termination fee?”