Apple’s two new iPhones, announced this morning Australian time, have been greeted with an underwhelming response, and rightly so.
As widely predicted, there are two new iPhones, the 5C and the 5S. The 5C was to have been a lower cost version of the existing iPhone 5, but it is nothing more than the existing phone with a shiny plastic (sorry – polycarbonate) case and a new version of the operating system. And it is still expensive.
The new 5S, the premium model, is an even bigger disappointment – same screen size, same Lightning connector, same memory, same ridiculously high price. It gets a faster processor (of course) new colour (gold, known as “champagne”), the new 64 bit iOS (which will make no immediate difference), and a slightly better camera (not more pixels, but bigger pixels) with a smart flash that makes skin tones better.
And more games – just what we need.
That’s it. No bigger screen, no amazing new features, no Android killer. What was Apple thinking? Does it really believe these minor improvements are sufficient? It’s hard to imagine it doing less than it has. Yawn.
With these disappointing devices Apple will continue to lose market share, and deservedly so. It knows it is facing a great challenge from Android, and especially Samsung. But it has done nothing. Has its arrogance turned to hubris? Has it learnt nothing?
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| "Wait, wasn't Apple cool at one point?" |
successive new and impressive models. Now it is boring.
Sorry Steve.
How quickly things change.
Every new product from Apple seems to meet with disappointment from the peanut gallery upon its announcement… and then it proceeds to sell like hotcakes. The critics never learn.
ReplyDeleteApple: Going out of business any day now for decades.
If you want to call the mainstream media, Apple customers and every tech reviewer out there the "peanut gallery", that's your delusion. Apple no longer innovates, they will spend the rest of their days playing catch-up. You, Brett, are an ignorant person.
ReplyDeleteThis cycle of piling on Apple after every product announcement is nothing new. There are always people who loudly proclaim their disappointment, and a sensationalizing media echo chamber to amplify the sentiment. "Too expensive" "No real innovation", "Missing essential features", etc. Don't try to tell me it's different this time, 'cause it's not.
ReplyDeleteThe truth will come out in the sales figures. We'll see who is ignorant.
Could you please not use my name when you say stupid shlt like that? You obviously aren't someone in the tech field or have any knowledge of how the real world works. Apple is a status-symbol niche product. People that buy Apple do so because they think it's better. I've asked several people why they bought Apple and they just shrugged their shoulders and said something like "I don't know. Isn't it better?" Apple is the new AOL. Once people realized they didn't need it, they leave it. It's all the same to me. I'll save a lot of money and get superior products.
DeleteI started posting comments under my name on this site long before you did. Go suck a lemon.
DeleteThe reason Apple products have status associated with them is that they have a deserved reputation for elegance and high quality. And if Apple creates niche products, they are for a rather sizable niche. In fact, the argument can be made that Apple appeals to the majority with relatively few models, while allowing its competitors to create specialized niche devices in a variety of configurations for those with particular priorities (ultra cheap, ultra huge, ultra rugged, ultra customizable).
True, many Apple customers don't really research their purchases, but the same can be said for tech product customers in general. Often times people buy whatever their friends have. Apple products may not be "better" in ways that matter to you, so buy whatever suits you. I really don't care.