With Apple expected to introduce the eagerly-awaited and much-rumored iPhone 5 at its scheduled press event on Wednesday, September 12, industry watchers are of the opinion that the company, for the first time in years, needs a home run with the new smartphone.

Even though there is hardly any doubt that the soon-to-be-unveiled sixth-generation Apple iPhone will generate a lot of attention from the media as well as the consumers, it is almost equally certain that the handset will be launched into a notably more competitive marketplace as compared to the last few years.

The launch of the iPhone 5 is all the more critical for Apple because its closest smartphone-market rival Samsung Electronics, and several other handset-makers, have launched their Android-based smartphones this year; and these devices have not only fetched rave reviews from the critics, but also have been warmly received by the smartphone users.

As such, according to analysts, it is imperative that Apple comes up with a revolutionary device in the form of iPhone 5; more so as Canaccord Genuity and other market-research firms have revealed that, in August, the Samsung Galaxy III handset dethroned the iPhone from its ‘top seller’ position in the US for the first time since the iPhone 4S’ launch in 2011.

Moreover, posing yet another challenge for the new iPhone are the new Windows-based high-end handsets which were unveiled by Nokia and Microsoft last week; and will probably be intensely marketed by the two companies.