BBC whines that new iPhone doesn’t look different enough
Rory Cellan-Jones for the BBC:
Why rush out and buy the new, new thing if it looks just like that old phone that’s been around for more than a year?
Yes, why do that? You’d never, say, buy a new TV that looked much like the old one, because it had a better display or more features. You’d never buy a new amp and speakers, even if they looked like your existing ones, if they offered a much better audio experience. You’d certainly never buy a new electric guitar, ever, even if its sound was astonishing compared to the electric guitar-shaped object you already owned.
So, yes, the iPhone 4S is clearly a complete disaster. If we ignore digital assistant Siri, the A5 chip that’ll massively boost app (2x) and graphics (7x) performance, the improved camera (8 MP stills; 1080p video), and the revamped antenna, WHAT THE HELL WAS APPLE THINKING? It looks the same as an iPhone 4! How will tech geeks be able to show off now? They’ll have to actually speak to people and say “LOOK AT MY NEW SHINY THING” rather than nonchalantly point at a device with a new and exciting form! They’ll have to avoid chucking out all their accessories, because they’ll still work! The horror!
maybe they should have made it marine blue and have called it the the iPhone blue…
Well said!
Hi Craig,
Perhaps you’re looking at it the wrong way, maybe people see it as minor update (IE: iPhone 4.1) as apposed to a major update (IE: iPhone 5) and therefore are more concerned about the fact that the iPhone 5 could be more imminent that 1 year away.
Apple have broken their product cycles this year, for whatever reason, maybe due to the earthquake and sourcing replacment parts, but I believe this may have affected customers perception on when the next model will be released. Maybe they’re holding out thinking that a new one will be right round the corner or at latest WWDC next year.
Personally, I think it’s a great improvement, and solid device, but I won’t be upgrading my 3GS at the moment because it didn’t capture my heart. When watching the keynote, I didn’t jump out my chair, and when making a purchase like that it does need to be something special.
My 3GS works, and quite honestly I simply cannot justify the cost of upgrade at the moment. Maybe if mine died, I would grab the 4S in an instant, so the demand is there. The question is, is the desire and the ‘need’ for it there too?
I’m just happy that I can buy the new phone, and a Book Book case
http://twelvesouth.com/products/bookbook_iphone/
@Jamie: That’s not how Apple works. Its cycles, when ‘broken’ almost always lengthen rather than shorten. I suspect what they’ve done here is released the phone they wanted to, in a form factor that’s the same as the USA’s biggest-selling smartphone, but with a ton of useful upgrades. Will there be an iPhone 5 next year? Almost certainly. Will it better the iPhone 4S? Absolutely. But then there will be another iPhone in 2013, too. And at least some of these upgrades will be incremental, since that’s most often what Apple does.
I’m on a 3GS too, and while I wasn’t chomping at the bit for the iPhone 4S, I changed my mind when I saw it had AirPlay mirroring. That opens up tons of opportunities for the Apple TV, and I’ve been longing to check that out without spending loads of cash on an iPad 2.
The thing with devices like this is people like to show off their shiney new I-thing, and if it looks like the old one then no one will know. They’ll have to talk obnoxiously loud into Siri all of the time to make sure everyone around them knows that they’ve got one 😉 unless you’re a bit sad, your less likely to feel the need to drag strangers off the street to show them your new amp. 😉 Technically Apple have made some great improvements but to Joe average it looks just like the old one.