After months of rumour, leaks, speculation and down right making stuff up, Apple has finally lifted the lid on its first cheap-ish phone.
Yes, the iPhone 5C is here in all its rainbow-hued glory - but has Apple, the golden child of mobile, succeeded where most other manufacturers have failed: has it made a cheap phone that doesn't suck?
Let's find out what the team thinks, complete with knee-jerk scores out of five. Take it away, team:
- For more in-depth thoughts on the handset, check out our hands on iPhone 5C review
Kate - News Editor (UK)
I have a perfectly good iPhone 5, but now I sort of want an iPhone 5C and I don't know why. Because they're basically the same handset. I have that handset. But I do not have that handset in yellow. Why do I want it in yellow? I don't know. Have I been brainwashed by subliminal Apple marketing? Probably. Luckily, my reluctance to pay that much (£469/$549) for a kind of out-dated plastic phone is going to win out this time. Nice try, Apple.
Knee-jerk score: 3.5
Marc F - Mobile Devices Editor (US)
Apple tends to wait on features and products without rushing anything, and it looks like the wait for the iPhone 5C might have been worth it. The variety of colors in 16GB and 32GB options gives a nice range of options for picky buyers, and the fact that its parts and performance are comparable to the iPhone 5 make it a solid buy without serious compromise.
I think the iPhone 5C is going to sell well, especially to those who have always wanted to buy an iPhone without spending too much money on one. With that said, would I buy one? Well, I'm not exactly the target crowd for this particular iPhone model.
Knee-jerk score: 4
Hugh - Staff Writer (UK)
Firstly I'd like to point out that, despite the haters and doubters, I've been a strong believer in the 5C name since it first appeared in that blurry picture. The more you think about it the more it makes sense and I'm loving the way its colours blend with the new iOS 7. OK, we knew what the deal was thanks to all the leaks, but this was always going to be the more interesting proposition. Let's hope it helps Apple to widen the net. I'm growing fonder of those colourful cases too…
Knee-jerk score: 4
John - Phones and Tablets Writer (UK)
Out of the two new iPhones Apple has announced the iPhone 5C has piqued my interest the most. There was still a question mark over whether Apple would go down the cut-price route, and it means fanboys won't be able to point and laugh at the plastic Samsung's quite so much.
The key thing here is the price. An iPhone which is pretty much the same as the iPhone 5 yet with a lower price while still retaining the new iOS 7 operating system and decent Apple engineering. Sure it's plastic, but that hasn't put us off in the past. Paint us interested.
Knee-jerk score: 4.5
Michelle - News Editor (US)
I'm confused by the iPhone 5C. On the one hand, it's specs are respectable, especially when paired with a $99/$199 price tag. It's almost a really nice smartphone, but misses. On the other, it's not quite "cheap" enough – especially off contract – to convince me that it's going to successfully target the audience Apple wants it to. Apple just didn't go low enough or bring its specs high enough for me to be smitten with what it has to offer. Like a Porsche Panamera, I see why it exists but don't buy into it.
Knee-jerk score: 2.5
Patrick - Editor in Chief (UK)
It's interesting to see Nokia take a sly dig at the 5C so quickly, because this has the power to be a big new competitor in the upper middle market of phones. Owning an Apple product could well prove a powerful alternative to the Android and Windows Phone offerings out there and the range of funky new hues is definitely going to prove attractive to a certain market. I do think that Apple has missed a trick by not getting the price even lower.
Knee-jerk score: 4
Lily - Assistant Editor (US)
The $99 price point is probably the most appealing aspect of the iPhone 5C, because honestly, it's about time Apple. I also don't mind the fact that it's "cheap" because it's plastic as long as its innards are decent enough, plus the colors definitely scream Nokia so it's nothing to jump up and down about.
Other than that, it's basically a "cool" phone parents can get for their whiny Disney teens without worrying about shelling out another hundred backs if (when) they smash the phone - so either way, it just means more dollar bills for Apple's pockets.
Knee-jerk score: 3
Total knee-jerk score out of five: 3.6
What else has been deemed worth of a TechRadar reaction?