The iPhone 5 was Apple's flagship handset for late 2012, but it had a very truncated lifespan, being available only a year before it was superseded by the iPhone 5S and replaced by the iPhone 5C. The latter handset had the same internal specification as the iPhone 5, but used a colourful plastic shell instead. We thought this was a pity as the iPhone 5 was a lovely phone, and the new 5C wasn't really any cheaper given its plastic construction.
You can't buy a new iPhone 5 anymore, but you can get them secondhand and O2 do refurbished handsets on contract, although they're not a particularly great deal. Still if you're looking for a smaller, cheaper iPhone then a 5 isn't a bad option if you see one cheap SIM free.
Looking for a newer handset, why not read our guide to the best smartphones currently available?
Size and weight
There's a very simple way to describe the Apple iPhone 5: thinner, lighter and a bit taller than the iPhone 4S it replaced. While that gets across the general look of the phone, it rather underestimates what's gone into the design to achieve this.For starters, Apple has managed to shave 1.4mm of the thickness of its previous phone. When you compare them side-by-side, what Apple has done is immediately obvious. While the iPhone 4S' screen and back bulged out from the side, the iPhone 5 has a flush back, while the screen is barely raised at all.