The Best and the Worst of the iPhone 5c

The iPhone 5c, marketed as the cheery little sibling of the more serious, secure, and stuffy 5s, is advertised for those who want a little colour in their lives. Two new changes will strike you right out of the 5c’s box - first, this is no longer the sleek grey or stark white instrument of Apple’s past, but a smarties-toned jelly bean of a phone available in grass green, sky blue, bubblegum pink, butter yellow, and white. Unfortunately for those whose colours of choice run more on the darker side of things, there is no option for a palette darker than pastel green. And second, the 5c is one of the first that runs the crisp new iOS 7, a toned, flattened, and ultra-powerful new interface for the iPhone operating system. Here’s a look at some of the essential pros and cons of the new device.
We’re very glad to see that the 5c cleverly hangs onto the best aspects of the retired iPhone 5 - its A6 processing chip, 326 ppi retina display, and iSight camera with 8 megapixels. But the 5c gains two whole hours of talk time on battery life, more LTE bands on the global network, and a little weight in its polycarbonate exterior. Those upgrading from the iPhone 4 will find themselves with a beautiful new phone, and those upgrading from the iPhone 5 will find themselves with very nearly the same phone, with better battery life and a new paint job. If you find yourself debating between the 5c and the 5s, remember that the 5s is heaped with extra features that the 5c isn’t…but will you actually use them?
In releasing the iPhone 5c and iOS 7, it seems like Apple was targeting those who dearly wanted to join the basic Apple family, but somehow hadn’t had the opportunity to yet. It’s an extremely user-friendly phone, but lacks the Touch ID fingerprint sensor of the 5s, as well as the larger 64GB storage option. The 5c was Apple’s nod to those who wanted to jump on board with this year’s generation of phones, without getting too deep into a more complex, expensive, and powerful phone like the 5s. But unfortunately the outer shell of the 5c doesn’t feel as quality as that of the 5s aluminum casing, and the color and size options are fairly limited. 
iOS 7 is not a complete overhaul from the previous version of the operating system, but with added features like a Control Center, even smoother transitions and transparent colors to match the 5c tones, and a more beautiful home screen layout with some new one-swipe commands, it is different enough. 
At £470 to £550 on its own from the Apple store, the iPhone is predictably not cheap - though some have joked that because of the different body materials, the S version of the phone is for Sophisticated while the C is for cheap. While the expense is not quite a con, because the phone is reasonably priced considering the level of advanced technology, it’s certainly something to consider. According to presale hype, the 16GB iPhone 5c can be had at Three for £37 a month on a two year contract with a £49 up-front handset fee
And to bring it all back to reality, we end with neither the best nor the worst, but simply the most absurd of the iPhone 5c. Thank goodness for the Huffington Post UK, who have done tests of the 5c on concrete, various other materials, and finally up against a .50 caliber rifle. Yes, that’s right.