The Ultimate iPhone 5 Retrospective - 2023 Review 

Limited Time: Save up to $400 USD / $520 CAD on Narwal Freo - the self-cleaning robot mop and vacuum - with the Accessories Pack! US - bit.ly/YTBF91TechNov ; CA - bit.ly/YTBF91TechNovCA - - - - - - This was a really fun (and long) project, hope you all enjoy! The iPhone 5 is absolutely a timeless masterpiece and it's fascinating how it helped shape the future of the smartphone industry... it's no coincidence the iPhone 14 Pro doesn't look too different. - Any of you use an iPhone 5 back in the day? How long did it last you, and how did you like it?

My favourite iPhone is a decade old, both my parents had 4S’, but my aunt had a 5, and I still vividly remember it, so nostalgic

Oh god one year from now the 5s will be 10 years old and iOS 7 would’ve been 10 years ago. I’m not even in my 20s and I feel old.

For me the 5 and 5s still the most beautiful form factor that apple made.

They have to continue the Mini iPhone series… It is a great continuation of those old iPhones style and feel. Great one handed usage, practical and now with the bezeless displays, they’re not so small either anymore. So sad they stopped producing them…

this is what I am looking for: almost one hour of gadget documentary and review. Subscribed!

Steve Jobs and the iPhone reminds me of Henry Ford and the Model T. They both created iconic, game changing products but they were slow to change as the market changed. Henry Ford thought the Model T was all the car somebody would ever need and just did incremental changes to it until market share started to be lost to other car manufactures that offered new features. Steve Jobs wanted an iPhone that was one hand useable and was reluctant to embrace the bigger screens that people were wanting. Of course, when the big screen iPhone 6 came out it is the best-selling smartphone of all time. The iPhone 5 is very attractive design, but the public was wanting something bigger.

Man the 2010s were a surprisingly good decade. Coming after a decade of economic troubles and wars, the 2010s saw the Internet come to maturity. I also consider the 2010s to be the golden age of iPhone design (so far), as almost all the most important iPhones were released during this time such as the 4/4s, 5/5s, 6s, and X

The iPhone 5 was my favorite iPhone of all time. It’s the best looking IMO and it had so many new and great features and tech. Thank you for making this, and for being one of the only people on the web to make nostalgic videos like this 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Def my fav iPhone... got 13 mini now and it reminds me so much of my old 5 and that’s y I love it it brings back so many great memories!!

Believe it or not, the Iphone 5 is the only Phone I ever had and I still use it today. Some years ago I had the battery replaced for about $30 os so. I think I'll keep it til the end of my days. It's got everything I really need: kamera, browser, email, navi, maps, music and more all in one little reliable device.And above all, it's a true design gem (unlike so many others).

What a time to be alive, everything was so exciting, so new, and well, im stuck in the Apple ecosystem, ever since the ipod touch 4 came out. From a sony ericsson to iphone ever since. Tnank you for the memories.

An amazing iPhone with the perfect size and functionality. 4 inches is like what's 5-5.5 inches now in the world of huge phones.

These retrospective videos are great. Keep up the good work man!

iPhone 5's display also had better colours than iPhone 4S's. I remember noticing the improvement back in the days! Also I think the touch refresh rate was improved as well.

This was my first iPhone and First Smartphone! After years of iPod touches, I was finally able to treat myself to an iPhone as an early high school graduation present and I was in love. I did love the feel of the 4S but I remember the lighting connector was a new feature and I wanted to be ahead of the curve. Unfortunately I didn’t get the 32GB at the time and it only lasted a year before it ran out of space

The iPhone 5 was my first smartphone having had an iPod touch 4 before the screen felt huuge to me. Mine also suffered from that chipping off color. Loved the looks and was so sad when I took it out its bumper case and saw that the frame was full of white spots caused by dust or something. Back than I thought it would have aged better if I had used it without a case. Since then I still fear that that’s gonna happen in a case but it hasn’t occurred to me on other phones…

I always think I’ve read, heard and seen everything there is to read/hear/see about these devices, but then you come and bring some new connections and history. Great job, Josh! Keep it up!

Yup! Peak iPhone, there. I'm glad they went back to the squared-off sides on the last few years of iPhones and iPads. There's just something about that design that looks ultra-premium, whereas the rounded sides on the mid-to-late 2010's iPhones and iPads makes them look that little bit more Fisher-Price.

Broke my screen a few weeks ago and used my old iPhone 5 as an emergency and was gutted when I realised WhatsApp, NatWest and other apps all required a newer version of IOS than it would update to 😔 I'll still keep it for nostalgia.

I was in Japan when it launched I remember seeing it on the train, it looked so sleek and cool. I still think it was the biggest upgrade in design they ever did.

The iPhone 5 is one of the best smart phones ever ever made, the design is my favorite iPhone design ever that’s why I got the 13 mini.

I just bought and iPhone 5 last night! Also the iPod 5.5. 5th gen everything seems to be top tier.

I read some articles that described the black iPhone 5 as looking like “Darth Vader’s belt buckle “. From 2012 through 2020 I kept an iPhone SE form factor. Used the 5 in 2012, 5s from 2013 to 2016, then had the SE from 2016 to 2020. I loved the size of that device. Now using SE 2020. Though I’m ok with the 4.7 inch, I will never ditch the home button/fingerprint sensor

I enjoy this video, thank you. The iPhone 5 was the very first one I bought brand new and I loved it. When iOS 7 came out I was so disappointed with it I ended up selling my iPhone 5 (32GB) for a Samsung Galaxy S3. I hated iOS 7 very much haha

I got my first iPhone in early 2019, it was as a gold iPhone 5s, it was handed down to me from my mom, but because she used it in an otter box case it’s in great shape and is my favorite iPhone to this day, but the iPhone 5 is in 2nd place too

this was a great video!! I loved it!! I learnt a lot!!

man i love these retrospective videos so much

Man Love your stuff.

One of the best tech videos I’ve seen. Thanks for making it!

Great video as usual! I can’t believe we get to watch this for free, keep up the good work man!

The greatest iPhone design and probably my favourite iPhone ever. Most people say the iPhone 5S is the better designed phone but I never loved the colour options (i.e the space grey iPhone 5S had nothing on the slate iPhone 5).

This is one of my favorites iPhones all time, I can't afford this but I have the iPhone 5S, the design was beautiful, compact and I love to used, then at work I have the iPhone 5 and I was so happy, one of the best iPhone ever made

I feel like the 14 Pro Max or even 15 Pro Max are the MOST refined, very simple (I know it’s not two-tone & cool) but it’s classy, beautiful, elegant. Apple Tracks 14 Pro/15 Pro Drop Test was insane! Glad I have my 14 PM 💜

It’s just crazy to me how those early bigger Android phones were considered thablets when they are tiny compared to regular size phones today

The first iPhone available on T-Mobile with no yearly contract obligations, monthly payments with zero down and it came fully unlocked from the get go. No Sim Restrictions. 😂 The Good Old Days of T-Mobile when it truly didn’t give a damn. A time when CEO John Leger took a leap of faith that paid off big time for T-Mobile.

Josh.. You sir are an awesome historian. Love all of your iPhone videos.

Amazing video, found your channel when the 14 launched and have been going back and enjoying older content even👍 Especially the console stuff would LOVE to see a Gamecube one! Keep up the great work

Man the iPhone 5 was super legendary!

Wonderful video! I remember getting the iPhone 5 as a gift from my wife upon return from a deployment. It was a great phone.

I remember back when the 5 released and people made a lot of jokes at how the iPhone is just going to keep getting taller. I wish those jokes would come back about how the cameras would consume the back of the phone like how the 5 would get taller

Thanks…. It’s 4:34 am , your video kept me awake almost an hour 😂

ngl, this inspired me to dig up my old 5s and man it feels so good in the hand like i can actually use one hand ugh i miss it

Omg my first iPhone was the 4s and my second one was the 5 and they were my favorite iPhones of all time!!! So much nostalgia

Absolutely my favorite tech RU-vidr. While I wish you would cover Android more often as that is what I stick to, It is undoubted that Apple had a larger cultural influence regarding smartphone technology in my childhood and you do an amazing job infusing & explaining the past nostalgia & overall cultural impact.

Love that bit at the end about Apple Maps crashing us into to the ocean 😂 😂 😂

I kept the iphone 5 as my main phone since last year. That's how good it was.

This video brings me so much nostalgia

My first iPhone ever was the IPhone 5 and to this day is my absolute favorite iPhone I have ever had. I currently have a 12 Pro max however coming from my last terrible BlackBerry Curve phone I was blown away by the iPhone 5. It worked really really well, I miss this era of IOS too! It will hold a special part in my heart.

still using my iphone SE 1gen...just love the design, light, cheap and all apps works great!!!!!

yeah... 5 is the most polished and refined iphone and ios experience there ever was and will be. ligning usb 2.0 speed was a great fit for the time, no camera bump, one hand usage, great grip, perfect industrial / durable design, most polished ios itteration. after that it all went downhill. ios up untill this day feels like a tweak gone wrong, soo many wierd design solutions, and quick patches for the original design after it was stripped away. not to mention all the crazy hardware tweaks they made over the years, that simply go against the iphone design language and user experience. like taking away the home button, which made them throw its functions over to other buttons randomly, or make the control center unreacheable for one handed usage. or the camera bump which is the weakes spot to crack the back these days. left alone the fact that ios is not even evolving in terms of productivity, only getting minor visual tweaks and updates. great video! huge work!

The Iphone 5 still looks surprisingly good

The most Beautiful phone design ever!

iPhone 5 was my second phone after the iPhone 4 and the experience using it rivals my experience using the iPhone X for the first time

I love your videos

came from youtube recommend, gotta say, always hungry for another apple documentary!

Iphone 4 is my all time favorite.

I actually still have a few older Apple mobile devices all of which still work fine. I still have the iPhone 4S from 2011, iPod touch 2nd gen from 2008, iPod touch 1st gen from 2007, and finally, the iPod classic 5th gen from 2005.

Thank you ryan

love the tim apple in the background 😂

Awesome video. Love the Habs cap at 44:09

Still rocking a 5s as a secondary phone for my business as it is my favourite phone and works great today still apsrr from the not great battery life

5 was my favourite iphone

My first smartphone - such good memories

iPhone 5 was my first smartphone, I used it for 4 years until the screen shattered when I dropped it. It was a very solid phone! I still have it in a drawer, maybe I should replace the screen? iPhone 5 is far more usable than my old iPad 2.

Funny thing, yesturday i was rewatching the iPhone 5 announcement

awesome!

This was awesomely done. Great job! Also, like many, I really miss Steve Jobs. 😭

In my opinion, iPhone 5 black is the best looking iPhone design ever so far. No later or previous iPhone makes want to just keep staring at it as much as the black iPhone 5. Such a smart looking combination of design and color. No other iPhone design and color combination gives me those vibes.

I just had to reluctantly retire my 5 after 10 years of use for a 2022 SE. I would have kept it indefinitely but the 3G network is being shut down this month. It is nice to have apps work again, nothing works on 32 bit / iOS 10 anymore, not even gmail

For a while there I thought I was hearing Sonic 3 music in my head. Then I realized it is in your video. Nice one!

Still using the SE1 because it has the iPhone 5 design

I still have the iPhone 5 and its in great condition I can use it for taking pictures. I'm so glad I didn't sell it or trade it.

My first iPhone (and smartphone) was the iPhone 4S. Then I got the iPhone 5 at 31/12 2011! I was amazed by its thin and light design and the taller display with its improved colors! I remember it made me feel a little bit strange because the design and the feel in the hand was very different from what we’ve been used to on the previews 3.5" iPhones and iPod Touches. I also remember clearly the strong competition back then. I loved my iPhone 5 but about 4 months later I was bored of it. The display seemed so small compared to other smartphones, and iOS 6 was very limited in features compared to Android. So in spring of 2012, I sold my iPhone 5 to buy the brand new at the time Samsung Galaxy S4! I was amazed by it! The huge 5" AMOLED display with its extreme for the times pixel density and true blacks, the “limitless” features of Android, the much better battery life… (I had pretty bad battery life on the iPhone 5 as well, worse than my iPhone 4S). But not even a year later, I hated that Galaxy S4. I realized what a bad decision I had made! I hated Android, finding a new bug or bad user experience thing every single day! I realized how poor that plastic device was made. How poor its OS was, how poor that user experience was!! With UI so poorly made and inconsistent, with almost every app working and looking very worse than its iOS counterpart… So I think it was January 2014, when I sold that crappy Galaxy S4 and I got an iPhone 5S! And oh boy… that was a relief! It felt soooo home! Sooo war and fuzzy feeling! Everything was right again! Even with the iOS 7 that was so different than iOS 6 and indeed made us all have a mix of good and bad emotions about it, getting from the crappy Galaxy S4 to the 5S, was a so much amazing transition! Everything worked perfectly, everything from the built quality, to the UI, to the apps, to the performance was screaming “QUALITY”!!! Everything was so sophisticated, fast, fluid… TouchID was amazing too! And the battery life wasn’t that bad either! That day I realized for real that whatever fancy feature packed android device will come out, an iPhone will be always a better overall device. Everything else is a nock off!! And people like you and me, will always know that! Looking back to these times, I would prefer 10000% to keep the iPhone 5 with its small 4" display, that “boring” (but brilliant) iOS 6 and that admittedly poor battery life over that crappy android phone! (Or any android phone for sure!) And to this day, even if you give me for free the latest and greatest android phone, I will prefer to pay the 1.200€ to buy the latest iPhone, period!

Loving the sonic the hedgehog music in the back ain’t heard that since I was a little kid

Do more long videos like this pls😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

And thank God they did switch to USB type C. I love the fact that I can use almost any USB type C cable with my 15 Promax.

5s is still my favorite iPhone

this connector is a modern connector for the next decade. Damn. iphone 15 type C finally, so next connector will be showcased on model 25 ?

I opened my iPhone 5 in storage due to my iPhone X gets a battery change which won't come back soon. It was adorable, prestige, and premium looking. I wish they do make a pro with this form factor, at least iPhone mini with Pro feature...

Oh the iPhone 5, the best design Favorite black comment if agreed

I love the Ice Cap Zone Act 1 music.

20:12 (wow, the release year of the iPhone 5): *Update December 2023:* The iPhone 15 was the first to get USB type C due to mandates from the EU, India and maybe Brazil. It also returned to a glass back (more easily replaceable this time, but also more easily breakable).

iPhone 5 is the nicest looking one but the iPhone 4 takes the cake for the best iPhone to ever be released. It felt like a huge step into the future the day I went from the 3GS to the 4 and they were only a year apart. From the crisp bright screen to the front facing camera and introduction of mobile video call, it shaped what phones are today

Damn son, this phone is almost as old as- *Nawh, just kiddin’ I ain’t that old. I’m older than that.*

I still feel like the black 5 is one if the best looking iPhones ever.. tough call between it and the four. My first iPhone was the first se.. partly because I always loved that form factor and I felt like it’s release was a second chance to get a phone I’d always loved. I also just prefer smaller phones and wanted something compact after a handful of bigger androids. I got the next se for the same reason.. would probably still be using a 13 mini atm if I hadn’t gotten a killer deal on a 13 pro. Lightning was another factor. I’d always hated micro usb and finally saw a well designed port in lightning. I’m still all about lightning.. I agree it could use an update but I really don’t wanna see the iPhone go C. Lightning just holds up better in my experience.

42:34 lol is that the same panorama photo used in the vision pro?

iPhone 5s was the only iPhone I could carry without a case. Every other one I saw or used needed a case or it would crack

Not going to lie, the iPhone 5 in BLACK was one sexy beautiful phone. It would be nice if Apple brought back a limited special edition all Black iPhone 5 style sized device with an updated ALL BLACK/DARK mode set as the standard standard (light mode will be optional toggle on) on a new version of iOS that emulates the look and style of iOS 7 which launched with the iPhone 5S, but is totally modern like iOS 17. Additionally ditch the homebutton and put the capacitive iPhone 7 touch ID home button on the device. Make it water resistant. Boom.

Apple if you're reading this, BRING BACK THE iPhone 5!!! Even iPhone 13 Mini is not as good as iPhone 5 was! 112g; no notch; physical home button; angled screen (like human eye has grown accustomed to since the dawn of cinema); no facial recognition BS; beautiful and unique icon design aesthetic; screen small enough for the thumb to reach most icons; angled edges so that it is not deliberately design to be frequently dropped; small enough to actually fit in your pocket while actually be useful enough for day to day use. And that aluminium body was sturdy enough to sustain a freefall from 8 storey building, hit the concrete and still survive! Sure, go ahead and put in some of the tech advancements like better processor, better battery, better camera, interchangeable memory storage, etc, but still keep it in iPhone 5 format. iPhone 5 was the best iPhone yet!

I started with a used 5s in 2016 and never looked back. Going from a Samsung s4 to a iPhone 5s was a huge leap in quality. iPhones will always be my main phone.

Ngl as an flagship Samsung user for the past 4 years, and Android in general pretty much the entire 2010s, I have to admit, the iPhone 4 white & brushed silver design was prob the best looking smartphone that has ever been released even to this day for me. My dad had one in 2011-2012, right before I moved out and I'd use it on & off esp after my HTC Droid Incredible II broke, and I loved the way it looked & felt. Since then, I've only had an iPhone 5c and hated that thing, and currently my main phone is an Samsung s22u, but my work made me get an iPhone 14 Pro, and it honestly kinda has that old iPhone 4 nostalgic feeling for me. 4 still looked better tho imo

I think this was the best sized phone. I would love to see this size be brought back with a screen like the mini phones

I will always remember using my iPad mini 1st generation on iOS 6 😔😔 good times

The same 8MP camrea in the iPhone 5 is in the iPad 8 which I have

Watching this video on my 5S❤

Watching this video on my iPhone 5 ❤

I had a 3GS, 4S, but I purchased i 6S, the 7S, now its time to see which i like next.

I’m still using a 5S…..in 2022…..as it fits the inside pocket in my suits……anyone out there able to tell me how to clear the OTHER items from the storage,all help appreciated 👍🚀

That Apple Tim Cook wallpaper gave me a good laugh