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For the iOS faithful this is a no-brainer upgrade. This is without a doubt the best iPhone yet. This is a hallmark of design. This is the one you've been waiting for.

Overall, the iPhone 5 is an absolute homerun. Apple has taken what I consider to be the best smartphone and perfected it in nearly every way.

Apple has taken an already great product and made it better, overall. Consumers who prefer huge screens or certain marginal features have plenty of other choices, but the iPhone 5 is an excellent choice.

With a sublime, but familiar design inside and out, a speedy new processor, fast LTE, and the best apps in the business, the new iPhone is like the old iPhone, just much better.

In a world where the typical mobile phone contract is now 24 months, perhaps the real comparison should be with the iPhone 4 and the older 3GS along with its contemporaries - that's where we truly see a night-and-day difference in performance, and where an upgrade makes the most sense.

Once again, Apple hasn’t reinvented the iPhone. All it’s done is make the best smartphone around even better.

For all the talk of the new iPhone being boring, iterative, or lacking that trademark Apple flavor of cutting-edge innovation, it is undoubtedly the best handset you can buy.

If you have an iPhone 4S, getting an iPhone 5 would mean breaking your two-year carrier contract and paying a painful penalty; maybe not worth it for the 5’s collection of nips and tucks. But if you’ve had the discipline to sit out a couple of iPhone generations — wow, are you in for a treat.

The iPhone 5 completely rebuilds the iPhone on a framework of new features and design, addressing its major previous shortcomings. It's absolutely the best iPhone to date, and it easily secures its place in the top tier of the smartphone universe.

The iPhone 5 improves upon a great smartphone in every way while offering a shockingly thin and light design.

With iPhone 5, Apple once again delivers.

Existing iPhone owners with anything older than a 4S should be extremely happy with the iPhone 5. But for those who own a 4S already, the differences may not be worth the upgrade right now.

As for the iPhone 5, it's a lovely piece of equipment. Boring? Lacking wow? With its market value now crossing $700bn and iPhone 5 pre-orders through the roof, Apple might disagree.

Earlier in this review, I referred to the iPhone 5 as a creature of grace. I want to say it again, because it’s a pretty thing to say that matches in its simplicity and beauty the object which it is describing. The iPhone 5 is a creature of grace. It’s exquisite.

Right now, the iPhone 5 has the best balance of everyday usability and performance, without the distraction of functionality that is clever but unintuitive. It’s an area in which Apple excels, and it’s the reason the iPhone 5 is one of the best smartphones on the market today.

The bottom line, in case it isn’t clear already: The iPhone 5 is one terrific smartphone. Ignore the naysayers — even without any awesome technological breakthroughs, it’s a sizable improvement on the iPhone 4S. For many upgrades, LTE alone will be worth the price of admission.

The iPhone 5 is a phone that makes you feel safe. A phone that you know exactly how to use as soon as you take it out of the box and that is perfect for a wide range of people.

The iPhone 5 is hands-down the best smartphone for the masses. While there are many other phones out there with similar spec sheets, this is the one all those people were waiting for.

It’s sure to remain king of the smartphone mountain for another year until Apple figures out how to improve it some more--and I can’t wait to see how.

Unlike the Android devices I’ve tried, the iPhone 5 is a “real” camera, all the time...not just in good lighting and fair weather.

The changes to iPhone 5 and iOS will be appreciated by current users of the iPhone, but Apple's rigid design principles may have many looking to the alternatives.

The iPhone 5 is a great smartphone made even better. It's fast, lightweight and backed by the largest application store for any device. It's also probably the most beautiful smartphone anyone has ever made.

The level of care and engineering that has gone into the handset is unprecedented, and while iPhone owners are no doubt already reaching for their wallets, for anyone who was on the fence, the iPhone 5 puts clear water between Apple and its competitors.

...the iPhone 5's primary selling points are a lighter body, quicker execution and excellent multimedia capacities. Its weaknesses? A GPS function in need of revision and average battery life that isn't quite enough for intensive use.

The iPhone 5 is by no means perfect, and we’re lucky there are a lot of really good smartphones on the market. But only one great one.

The question everyone who hasn’t yet pre-ordered wants answered: Should you upgrade? My answer is simple. If you can afford it, yes.

Even though we’re still yearning for an updated platform experience with iOS, the iPhone 5 hits a grand slam homerun out of the park with its svelte design, sharp looking display, raw processing power, and detailed photo capturing quality to clear the bases entirely.

Ultimately, this is an iPhone that underwhelms in terms of specs, but packages it all together in a way that works.

Redesigned in every way but shape, compromised but true to its purpose, the iPhone 5 is once again the best iPhone Apple has ever made, and one of the best phones ever made. Period.

The iPhone 5 may not be terribly innovative, but it does deliver that package better than any previous Apple product, and better than just about any other smartphone.

Given that iPhone 4S users can upgrade to iOS 6 and do just about everything the iPhone 5 can do ... we reckon the smart money won’t all be going on a new iPhone this year, even if the mass market can’t get enough of it. It’s good, very good. But it’s no longer the best around.

If you are looking for something that pushes boundaries in terms of features you’ll be disappointed. No single hardware or software feature here stands out from the crowd aside from that design. But what a design.

It really is, then, the best and the worst iPhone yet. It’s the best speed, the best performance and the best screen we’ve seen on Apple’s flagship smartphone, but simultaneously, it’s the least polished, most annoying device with the worst software I’ve seen since OS X Lion.

The iPhone is everything Apple said it would be and with iOS 6 built-in, it’s clear to me that Apple has another winner on its hands. I can’t think of any good reason why anyone wouldn’t upgrade or purchase the iPhone 5.

Apple’s iPhone represents more than sheet of specifications of processor speed, memory and screen inches, it represents the best of the best, refined every year, only like Apple can.

It's smaller, thinner and faster with a higher-resolution screen, but the new Maps app is a disappointment.

Without doubt the best iPhone yet. Build quality is good but on a design and functionality front sadly it doesn't strive to be all that it could and falls a little short in a few key areas when compared to other high end handsets.

The iPhone 5 is at once a modest and significant upgrade over the 4S. Improved in almost every way, it's LTE connectivity that is the most notable addition. An obvious upgrade for users of the iPhone 3GS or 4, but less so for the still-new 4S.

The iPhone 5 is the best iPhone ever. If you're working with an earlier iPhone, and you're eligible for a contract upgrade, don't hesitate to grab an iPhone 5 if you plan to stick with Apple. The iPhone 5 is everything the iPhone 4S was, but better.

The iPhone 5 is as ever a thoroughly enjoyable and capable smartphone. It's easy and fun to use and it's secure and stable. The latest generation model clearly gives users what they wanted (look how many have sold): LTE 4G and a larger display.

The iPhone 5 has weaknesses, certainly on the software front with the new Apple Maps app ... However, on the whole the handset represents an excellent upgrade, being faster, incredibly light, and very nicely built, with improvements all round – from the cameras to the EarPods.

It might not floor you in pictures, but in the flesh, the iPhone 5 is a delight. And if it feels just right, it performs even better, with flawless operation and a screen that's downright stunning.

The metal feels downright elegant to the touch, and the same line we've said time and time again applies here: there's no doubting the premium fit and finish when you clutch one of these things ... use it for half an hour and you'll have a hard time going back to a slower chip.

Our overall impression of the iPhone 5: It’s another iPhone. Just longer. And better. Although there may not be one individual feature about it that makes you scream, “I’ve got to have it now!”, all the improvements together make it a gotta-have handset.

Overall after our short time with the iPhone 5 I'm very positive about the end result. The combination of new silicon and LTE alongside display and camera improvements craft a very positive outlook for Apple's iPhone line.

Overall, while it feels like a very significant and substantial upgrade, it also still feels like the same old iPhone. For many of us, that’s a good thing.

Overall, ... the iPhone 5 looks like a winner. It crams a lot of powerful new features into a first-class design that people will be clamoring for.

The iPhone 5 doesn't need to be the highest spec phone in the world. It needs to be a well-built, competitive phone that does everything you expect from an iPhone, better. It looks like Apple passed that test easily.

At first glance, I’d say Apple has achieved something remarkable: making the iPhone bigger, more powerful, and possibly even better, without changing the way it feels in your hand.

In short, it’s a beautifully constructed, cohesive combination of design and materials: even if you’re not an iOS fan, you’ll have to appreciate the package Apple has put together. If, though, you are an iOS lover ... then the iPhone 5 is easily the best model yet.

The most noticeable change to the iPhone 5 is the device's weight. Once it's picked up, the iPhone 5 is considerably lighter than the design of its predecessors, the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 4. The larger screen is also noticeable once the device is picked up and powered on.

While the lightness of the phone may ultimately beat out even the expanded screen size as everyone's favorite new feature, I found myself continually surprised by the little changes and polished edges of the new phone.

The phone appears to be top-notch, its new body an impressive feat of engineering. It may not be the most mind-blowing upgrade, but that doesn't diminish its level of quality.

In speaking to people about my impressions of the iPhone 5 I have continuously made one statement: it’s not a vast departure from the iPhone 4s... to the every day man the iPhone 5 is not a leap in technology.