Today is a very special day for a lot of people, because something that is happening today only happens once a year - the new Apple iPhone is finally available for purchase. Even if you had no intention of buying an iPhone, you probably already knew that today was the day that the phone came out - at least 3 of your friends probably said something about it on your social network of choice. Although every year Apple releases something different when it comes to the iPhone, this year is a particularly special year due to the fact that iOS 7 was just released, and of course the new polycarbonate iPhone 5C made its debut as well.

iOS 7 is of particular importance due to the fact that iOS has hardly changed from one version to the next, at least from a design standpoint, since its inception in 2007. While minor tweaks have been made since the release of the first iPhone to iOS, nothing has been as major as iOS 7 has. With a new flat, colorful and simplistic UI, iOS 7 is probably going to be the source of a lot of controversy over the next... well, for a while.

But aside from just the new OS, we of course have the new hardware, or as it turns out hardwares, to compare to previous models. The iPhone 5S arrives as expected as an upgraded model to last year's iPhone 5. The iPhone 5 was the first Apple device to introduce a lot of things to the iPhone like 4G LTE, a 4-inch screen, aluminum housing and a Apple's A6 processor. With the iPhone 5S you're getting the new A7 processor, along with improvements to the rear-facing camera, faster speed, introduction to the fingerprint sensor and some new color choices besides the plain black and white Apple has always offered.

The second hardware that Apple released is that polycarbonate iPhone 5C I mentioned earlier. This device took the place of last year's iPhone 5 on the lineup, so instead of the iPhone 5 being discounted to $99, the iPhone 5C moves in at $99. For the most part, the two devices are the same except for the outer shell. If you weren't fond of the aluminum housing, then the 5C might be the device for you - especially considering it comes in 5 different colors - green, pink, blue, yellow and white.

So the Apple line-up for 2013-2014 is: Apple iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, and iPhone 4S.

About this time last year was when Apple released the iPhone 5. At the time, I had been carrying an iPhone 4S. I decided ultimately that the iPhone 5 didn't offer anything that I really, truly thought I needed (having never experienced LTE before, it was one of those things where you don't know how nice it is until you have it; I was perfectly content with 3G/WiFi connectivity). I also didn't consider half an inch to be so big of a difference that I just had to have it. My 4S was holding up extremely well at the time, so I never did end up getting the iPhone 5. But with this year being such a big deal with iOS 7 and the introduction of the iPhone 5C, I'm wondering how people who already had iOS devices are feeling about this year's changes and line-up.

I think if I had still been using my iPhone 4S and interested in continuing to use iOS, I would probably end up switching to the iPhone 5S. I am very pleased that developers were able to add a dark theme as an alternative to the stark white theme that had been used on beta versions, so that solved a lot of issues I was having with iOS 7 right there. Although I'm not exactly fond of the changes in iOS 7 from a design standpoint (I think the color scheme is kind of ugly, but that's just my opinion and I know a lot of people who prefer it over the old design), the added functionality of the new OS actually are quite nice to use compared to older versions.

But since I don't use my 4S anymore, and I likely won't be switching back to iOS anytime soon, I would like to hear from you readers. For those of you who currently use an iOS device, what are your thoughts on the new hardware and the revamped OS? Do you plan on upgrading from your current iPhone to one of the new models, or even deciding to make a jump to the 4S? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Images via Tinhte, iDownload Blog