Pundits, prognosticators, editors, and bloggers the world over were certain Apple would announce a new phone that would once again revolutionize the industry. Instead, Apple rolled out an iPhone 4S instead of the long-expected iPhone 5. Same old, same old. Yes, it’s the same. But it’s different.
Who Do We Blame For This Mess?
My first thought after watching the presentation video was disappointment. What went wrong? Where’s the iPhone 5? Who do we blame? Tim Cook? Steve Jobs? Or, should we look closer at what Apple launched, and look closer at our obviously inadequate expectations?
Both.
What was expected was a new iPhone. Better camera. Faster CPU. More memory. Blah, blah, blah. Somehow we’re disappointed because Apple did that? As CEO Tim Cook said, everything inside is new. Only the outside remained the same.
So, we should only be disappointed in the name and the form factor, right? Right. The disappointment in the name, iPhone 4S vs. iPhone 5, is not Apple’s fault. It was iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, then iPhone 4, and now iPhone 4S. That’s a logical, predictable progression. Shame on the pundits and punditresses.
What about the form factor? Why isn’t that new? Apple is telling us it’s nearly perfect already. Any thinner and the phone might bend or break in the pocket. I’m not an electronics genius, but that’s probably not a good thing.
Shouldn’t the screen be bigger? Why? Because Samsung and Motorola have some phones with bigger screens? Have you seen those dogs? Is bigger better? Or just bigger? Apple is telling us that the iPhone’s screen is the right size. Next.
After that, what have we got? Apple gave us everything we expected. More storage. Faster CPU. More RAM. iOS 5. Long battery life. Best screen on a phone. Siri, the personal assistant. iCloud sync. iTunes Match. Notification Center. iMessage. Newstand. Wireless updates. Twitter (what happened to FaceBook?). A fabulous camera with better color, image stabilization, and full 1080p. AirPlay Mirroring.
What am I missing?
Other than the name and form factor, Apple gave us everything we expected in our dream-like state as official, unsanctioned Apple pundits. I’m actually satisfied with the same iPhone body. I won’t need a new case. Bigger screen? I don’t wear glasses. The name? I’ll get over it.
Besides, next year, when Apple introduces the real iPhone 5, it will be a world phone with true 4G.
It’s time for the Apple faithful to suck it up, get in line, and stop with all the bitching and moaning. Apple has told us what’s good for us and our job is to love it until next year.
At the beginning of the presentation it was kinda disappointing to see “IPhone 4S”, but later when realizing all the new stuff inside the old tin can, I decided to switch to the new one as soon as we get it here in Chile. This new phone fixed everything in the 4 that made me decide to hold the upgrade, and lot of new stuff that tell me that I can’t miss this “not so new” iPhone
“The disappointment in the name, iPhone 4S vs. iPhone 5, is not Apple’s fault.”
It’s not the name that is the problem. It’s the small 3.5″ display that is the problem. Every other smartphone has a more useable 4″ to 4.75″ display.
The iPhone 4s is a technological marvel, and I would rather have it than any Android phone on the planet… but…
Keeping the new iPhone with the old 3.5″ display is ridiculous. Almost every other smartphone has a 4″ to 4.75″ display. This makes a BIG difference in usability!
A 3.5″ display on a smartphone was the standard, and was fine in 2007, but we are now nearing 2012 and things have changed.
The iPhone 4s is the equivalent of coming out with a beautiful, fast Ferrari, and then selling it with 13″ wheels.
Time does not stand still. Especially in the highly competitive and quickly advancing smartphone market.
Apple did not stay with the 9″ display on the original Mac. When Apple introduced the iMac it had a 15″ screen. As new iMacs came out, larger displays were available. We are now up to a 27″ display on the iMac. The reason for the increased display size was for usability.
The iPhone needs a display with a minimum 4″ diagonal. By holding the display at the old 3.5″ size, as great as the new iPhone 4s is (and it is great in all other areas!) Apple has unfortunately made the iPhone 4s less practical than it could have been.
“Any thinner and the phone might bend or break in the pocket.”
The iPod Touch is a lot thinner than the iPhone 4 and 4S. Does it “bend or break in the pocket”?
Nope.
Uh, the iPod touch doesn’t have the same kind of antenna design as the iPhone, so it can be a little thinner. The battery doesn’t have to be as big, either, because, well there’s no phone inside.
Sure, it’s possible to make a thinner a phone, but why? What’s the reason to make it thinner? Have you held an iPod touch in your hand? It feels so light it feels cheap.
Why is thinner better? Lighter? I can understand that. But what’s the right weight? I’m glad I can ‘feel’ my iPhone in my pocket. Plus, all that vibrating weight gives me some pleasure when friends call.
What has antennas got to do with how breakable it would be?
I was responding to: “Any thinner and the phone might bend or break in the pocket.”
My point was that a thinner iPhone (if that was the next design) would not be any more bendable or breakable than the iPod Touch, which is thinner but a solid device that won’t bend or break in your pocket.
You’re probably right about the antenna design vs. the iPod touch. The antenna is part of the iPhone’s structural design. Get it much thinner and that rigid design (needed as the antenna) could bend and fracture. The phone is thin enough already. How is thinner better? Only when going for lighter weight. It’s not like the device is heavy already.
Apple did the right thing. iPhone 5 will be a true 4G world phone, and probably with a bigger screen and better everything inside. Until next year, it’s iPhone 4S, and it’s not exactly a slouch.
Comparing hardware specs is a fool’s game. Some phones have faster this, or larger that, and more this. But are they better smart phones? No.
That. Is. All.
This is Apple’s modus operandi. Deal with it. Nothing has changed.
Apple will give us a bigger screen when they’re ready, not because competitors have a larger screen.
Product marketing is all about differentiation. After the iPhone shipped, how could competitors compete? They had to make something different. Larger screens were easy. More RAM is easy. Faster CPU? Easy. Better integration of all the pieces from software to hardware? Not so easy.
Besides, have you seen those 4-inch screens? Ugh. Super AMOLED my ass. Try viewing the screen in a bright room or outdoors. Bigger isn’t better. It’s only bigger. That Retina display makes all others look pale and watery and pixelated.
As soon as my upgrade rate is available, I’ll sell my iPhone 4 and get an iPhone 4S. Next year, I’ll do the same with an iPhone 5. And the year after that…
I’ll keep that up until someone comes up with a better phone, a better ecosystem, or a compelling reason to switch. For now, nobody is even close.
The problem is that iPhone 4S/iOS 5 isn’t offering anything that Apple’s competition isn’t already offering.
Consider the iPhone 4S. It has a dual-core CPU, like the Droid Bionic, Samsung Galaxy 2S, and the HTC Sensation. Unlike those phones, there’s no LTE option. It pretty much has the same guts as the high-end Android phones.
Compare the iPhone 4S with the latest Android hotness, the Samsung Galaxy 2S. The Galaxy 2S is lighter and thinner than the iPhone 4S–even with a replaceable battery. Remember when Apple told us it was impossible to make a thin phone with a replaceable battery? Yet, somehow Samsung has done it. Where’s Apple’s leading edge design? It’s a world phone and that’s great, don’t get me wrong, but that’s more for making Apple’s life easier.
About the only advantage from a hardware standpoint is the high-dpi display, which looks great if you’re reading text but is certainly not as impressive if you’re watching video.
iOS 5? It basically brings parity with Android regarding features. Notification Center? It’s basically the same as Android. Speech to text? That’s in Android right now. About the only interesting thing in iOS 5 is Siri–which is technology Apple bought, not something that Apple has developed. Also, keep in mind that Android 4.0, with all the Honeycomb eye-candy, will be out around Thanksgiving.
“It’s time for the Apple faithful to suck it up, get in line, and stop with all the bitching and moaning. Apple has told us what’s good for us and our job is to love it until next year.”
In short, it’s time to keep complementing the emperor on his wardrobe.
The problem everyone has with this ‘event’ is that they’re back to comparing feature points, where Apple always looks at the whole. Most customers look at the ‘whole’ of a product, too. Feature point comparisons, hardware or software, is a fool’s errand, perfect for Android-fanbois, and geeks, but not for the great unwashed masses.
Anyone who says Android apps have parity with iOS apps is living on a distant planet, and not connected to reality on planet earth. Hardware specs don’t seem to mesh with real world usage. For example, some Android phones have faster CPUs but the phone and apps run slower. Some Android phones have larger screens, but they have lower resolution.
The key is this: do those hardware and software features ‘perform’ better? The market says no. Reality says no. The iPhone 4S, without 4G, will be wicked fast on a fast network. Theoretical speed means diddly, yo!
This kind of noise happens whenever Apple releases something new after a long period of pundit hype. The original iPhone? Dissed. The original iPad? Dissed. Both of their replacements were dissed by the technology pundits and totally embraced by the market. People love these products because they work better as a whole product, rather than one or two or three features that appear better on some obscure, second rate manufacturer.