“The iPhone 4S is what cruise control looks like,” Omar El Akkad reports for The Globe and Mail. “After a decade in the fast lane, Apple showcased a new smartphone, a new CEO, and a tacit admission that it can’t produce revolutionary products at the drop of a hat.”
“All eyes were on the world’s most valuable technology company on Tuesday as Apple revealed the newest iteration of the iPhone, which comes out in the United States, Canada and several other countries on Oct. 14,” El Akkad reports. “But while many fans and analysts were expecting the iPhone 5 – a faster, slimmer, entirely redesigned smartphone that would once again leave competitors in the dust – they instead got the iPhone 4S, a gadget very similar to the current model in design, but with a few new features and a brawnier processor under the hood.”
El Akkad reports, “‘Unfortunately for Apple, this is happening at a time when competitors are aggressively bringing new products to market with superior user experience in the form of wider and better screens, intuitive [user interfaces], and more integrated apps,’ said David McQueen, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media. ‘As a result, iPhone 4S could be the first disappointing device since the launch of the brand.'”
MacDailyNews Take: Please name one of these mythical devices that offer a “superior user experience” to Apple’s iPhone 4S with iOS 5 and iCloud. David McQueen is either an idiot or paid to spread anti-Apple FUD or both.
El Akkad reports, “Ultimately, it’s unlikely that a less-than-revolutionary product launch is going to persuade many Apple customers to switch to a different phone. In the short term, Mr. Cook’s wizardry as CFO likely ensures a long run of profitability for Apple, even if its hardware offerings stop improving by leaps and bounds. But the reaction to the iPhone 4S launch raises two important questions: How long before consumers start demanding the next industry-shaking iProduct, and can Mr. Cook deliver it?”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Sigh. This is what results from improperly managing out-of-control expectations. It creates openings that competitors, their PR firms, and their willing accomplices in the media can and will attempt to drive big fat trucks though. By not tamping down the “iPhone 5” hype properly, Apple set themselves up for a flood of this sort of FUDtastic crap.
I expected nothing more then a 4s. The white 4 is just out and I wouldn’t believe they were scrapping it a few months after.
MDN your a bunch of fakes… You guys were all over this iPhone 5 business and printed any and all bullshit rumors that came down the pike… Now all of a sudden Apple “failed” to clamp down on the rumors… Your right they should a bought and disposed of your rumor mill… At what cost you night ask… About 3 minutes worth of their profit generation.
It’s funny but most of this fud sounds like the same fud that was put out when the 3Gs came out and all the hype had been about the iPhone 4. I don’t remember the 3Gs being a huge flop but rather a large success.
Most analysts aren’t thinking far enough ahead to what yesterday’s announcement of the 4s means to next years release of the 5. The present brouhaha both pro and con is the fodder for next year’s feeding frenzy. Holiday sales this year will again top last year’s and the 5 will reset the smartphone bar once again, just as the 4s in fact did yesterday. Way to go Apple!
The iPhone 4S shouldn’t have surprised any Apple observers. They established a pattern with the 3GS and knowing how Apple likes to create products with small teams, there is only a limited number of things that you can do.
It’s obvious they put a ton of work into the things we do every day with our smartphones to make that experience even better. They wouldn’t have been able to accomplish all of that if their team was also focused on a new form factor.
Just don’t expect as large changes on the software side when they upgrade the design.
My favorite Joy of Tech cartoon regarding over expanded expectations of new Apple products.
http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/001_300/250.html
I predict a lot of these reporters and commentators will end up eating their words after they try the iPhone 4S for themselves. A lot of them probably didn’t even watch the whole special event (if any) and are rehashing other peoples ill-informed rants. They will be particularly blown away by Siri.
Sure. Either way the FUD would have come out in force.
Anyone who knows anything can see the iPhone 4S is a great phone and substantial improvement over an already great phone. I’m not sure it would have made a hide difference to have it called the iPhone 5, have a different form factor or a different color option. FUD’s all they’ ve had to compete for a while now. Hands-on reviews, real-life user experience will call the shots in the end. That and a few classic Apple commercials would be great.
It’s Al Gore’s fault, isn’t it? Didn’t he “confirm” that TWO iPhones were on the way?