iPhone 5 Reviews: Is It Really One of the Worst Smartphones?

A recent issue of Consumer Reports that ranked the top smartphones in the U.S. placed the iPhone 5 behind its rivals among many carriers and it didn't even crack the top three for Verizon. 

The iPhone 5 is owned by tens of thousands of Maryland Heights and St. Louis-area residents, and is among the most popular phones at stores across the region.

Business Insider picked up on the magazine's story and speculated that while the iPhone has been a "mind-boggling" success for the past five years, other smartphone makers are starting to catch up, pointing to the success of the Samsung Galaxy S3 among others. 

The worry is that Apple will soon be eclipsed as the already hyper-competitive and ridiculous lucrative smartphone market continues to heat up.

Of course, slipping from complete dominance to near-dominance isn't entirely bad, plus rumors are already swirling that the software giant is prepping to have the iPhone 6 shipped by summer. 

How do you think the iPhone 5 stacks up to its competitors? What does Apple need to do to make restore the iPhone to unquestioned preeminance among smartphones?