The iPhone 5c is Apple's mid-range iPhone . It's colourful, slightly cheaper than the iPhone 5s , and 'unashamedly plastic,' according to Apple. But, as the iPhone 5c nears its first birthday, should you buy it? We revisit our iPhone 5c review to determine whether it's worth buying.

This iPhone feels great to hold; There's great choice of colours to suit any personality; Cheaper than iPhone 5S

Colours won't be to everyone's taste; Not as cheap as expected; No Touch ID fingerprint sensor; Almost one year old

Apple's iPhone 5C is a quality device that is as easy to use as its predecessors. However, its price and position in the market mean it doesn't seem to serve any particular demands.

Fast; light; comfortable to hold; good camera

Expensive; no Touch ID fingerprint scanner; plastic design; not Apple's flagship device

On its own merits, the iPhone 5c is a wonderful phone. If you're not fussed about large screens or the awesome tinkering-powers of Android, you'll love its cheery design, seamless software and plastic fantastic build.

In the trailer above, legendary Apple designer Sir Jonathan Ive sings the praises of the iPhone 5c, calling it "unashamedly plastic"; That might sound like a polite way of saying it's cheap, but it's also how he described the original iMac - the desktop PC that made his name and signalled the...

We have few qualms with the hardware: the iPhone 5c is as delightful to hold as Apple claims; After several days using the final software however, we're still not completely taken by iOS 7's new design.

The iPhone 5C is quite a surprise, coming from a company which traditionally creates premium, high end products. It makes sense though as there's a lot of money to be made in the mid-range smartphone market. The question is can the iPhone 5C really compete?

Intuitive OS; great screen and reasonable specs

Plastic build; overpriced

The C in iPhone 5C stands for colourful, and that's the experience Apple wants you to have with its plastic-backed reimagination of the earlier iPhone 5. We've had the iPhone 5C in our pocket since the Apple launch event in Berlin.

Colourful; solid; iOS 7 on board; good camera

Virtually same as iPhone 5; still as expensive as iPhone 5 was; cases don't look considered

If you can overlook the cases, colours and marketing (and they're big ifs), the 5c's a powerful, smart package, with a great OS

An iPhone 5 for less; iOS 7 lives up to the hype; Excellent new camera app

Colour theming will alienate diehards; Legibility issues with some fonts and icons; Still too darn expensive

The iPhone 5C is a cheaper alternative to the iPhone 5S and marks the first time that Apple has changed its mobile line-up. Traditionally, if you were looking for a cheaper iPhone you would have to step back in the series to an older handset, this time it has released two phones at once.

Excellent screen quality; Smooth; swish OS; Snappy camera

Quite expensive; Not a huge upgrade over an iPhone 5

The Apple iPhone 5C is a great device, with a decent spec, great build quality and a stigma of being the cheaper and inferior product. Which is true but also slightly unjust, the iPhone 5C is a totally different product.

Lightweight and compact; Nice mature OS with nice optimised apps; Fast feel throughout the entire OS; Great camera; Great sound quality

Battery life; Casing quite slippy; iOS 7 still lacks in certain areas

Summary: If you're an existing iPhone user and weren't tempted by the iPhone 5, then the colourful 5c is worth considering as an upgrade. However, iPhone 5 owners should think carefully: there's very little difference between the core specifications of the two handsets, and iOS 7 is just a download...

Excellent 4-inch Retina display; Solid build quality; Available in a range of colours; Good battery life

Relatively expensive for a mid-range smartphone; Similar specifications to the iPhone 5

The iPhone 5C is Apple's plastic and colourful smartphone. Read our iPhone 5C review to find out more about what we think of the iPhone 5C one year on.