John Gruber:
Yes, it’s plastic, but there’s nothing cheap about it. It has a far better fit and finish, and feels way better in your hand, than Apple’s previous foray into plastic iPhones, the 3G and 3GS. The 5C feels like a premium product.
This move is about establishing the iPhone as a two-sibling family, like how the MacBooks have both the Airs and the Pros. Think of the 5C as the Air, and the 5S as the Pro. Or iMac and Mac Pro. The iPhone is growing up as a product family.
Everyone got it wrong. The 5C wasn’t about releasing a super cheap iPhone, it was about releasing a superb phone for the middle of the iPhone lineup. Apple has never chased the low end of any market. In hindsight, it seems foolish that everyone (myself included) thought Apple would break from tradition.