Apple has been known to give a limited number of publications early access to their products, and this is no different with the iPhone 5. In the past few hours, a slew of reviews have been posted about the device, with the majority singing praise for Apple’s latest smartphone.

We’ve compiled some of the best quotes from various websites, so you can see just what the consensus is regarding the iPhone 5:

Engadget:

• Clearly, the company is confident that it’s knocked it out of the park again, and we have to agree.
• Visually, much has stayed the same, but the biggest change is impossible to see.
• We’ve long since departed from a time when clock speed or core count could be directly correlated with performance
• Two times faster? Twice the graphics performance? Better battery life? Actually, yes.
• This is without a doubt the best iPhone yet. This is a hallmark of design. This is the one you’ve been waiting for.

Jim Dalrymple of The Loop:

• There is no doubt the new iPhone is very similar to its predecessor, but there are many small changes.
• Small design changes that make for big user experience improvements.
• If there is one problem I had with the iPhone, it would be with the apps that weren’t designed for the larger screen.
• I can’t think of any good reason why anyone wouldn’t upgrade or purchase the iPhone 5.

John Gruber of Daring Fireball:

• It feels great, looks great, has the best display I’ve seen at any size, runs noticeably faster, networks noticeably faster, is way thinner and lighter than any of its predecessors, takes better photos, and, in my six days of testing, gets totally decent iPhone-4S-level battery life.
• Is it worth devoting the first 750 or so words of this piece to the iPhone 5’s surface appeal? I don’t know how else to convey the niceness of this thing.
• The iPhone 5 is all new technically, but it’s the exact same thing as an idea. Apple is simply improving upon that idea year after year in infinitely finer detail, like a fractal. It’s nice.

CNET:

• You’re going to be shocked at how light this phone is.
• The screen size lengthening is subtle, but, like the Retina Display, you’re going to have a hard time going back once you’ve used it.
• This phone will make your home Wi-Fi look bad.
• If you’re looking for an excellent, well-conceived phone…well, here it is.

TechCrunch:

• Reading the press coverage since the unveiling, you may have heard that the iPhone 5 is disappointing, or boring. Those people, quite frankly, are fools.
• Apple did something smart.
• Even loading the Settings app was a lot faster with the 5.
• The iPhone 5 is the culmination of Apple doing what Apple does best. This is the smartphone nearly perfected.

TIME:

• What matters is what it’s like in your hand, day after day and month after month. That has nothing to do with how it’s unveiled, and everything to do with the features it’s got, how thoughtfully they’re designed, and how well they work together.
• Apple’s mojo remains fully operational.
• The Galaxy does more stuff; the iPhone 5 does somewhat fewer things, but tends to do them better.
• It’s obvious which one Apple cares most about — and the iPhone 5 is the most artful, pleasing expression of its priorities yet.

T3:

• The extra screen real-estate is welcome, though smaller-handed iPhone users might struggle to reach the standby button with a forefinger while holding it in a natural position.
• Non-optimised apps are letterboxed, which doesn’t feel right.
• Everything feels slightly slicker when navigating the phone.
• We reckon the smart money won’t all be going on a new iPhone this year, even if the mass market can’t get enough of it. It’s good, very good. But it’s no longer the best around.

The Telegraph:

• The iPhone 5 is a marvellous piece of design, arguably the most beautiful object Apple has ever produced.
• In design terms, only Nokia’s new Lumias come close.
• It’s also probably the most beautiful smartphone anyone has ever made.