The image shown above – shared by +Chris Voss on Google+ yesterday – seems to nicely sum up the reaction of many folks round the web to Apple’s new iPhone 4S. I don’t mean the reaction from tech journalists or bloggers; I mean the reaction from ‘regular people’ around Twitter, iPhone forums, Google+ and other social spots I’ve been watching since yesterday’s ‘Let’s Talk iPhone’ event finished.
At least in the circles of people I follow or see on forums and social networks the reactions seem slanted about 60-40 towards the negative, perhaps a touch more. Among the most common causes for disappointment (and stronger feelings) are:
— It’s viewed as just a ‘stopgap’ device on the way to a more major upgrade in the iPhone 5
— It doesn’t have a bigger screen, like many newer smartphones on rival platforms
— It doesn’t match the hardware specs of some of the newer Android smartphones
A common sentiment seems to be ‘15 months and this is all we got?’. And the reactions from there go from outraged and selling the iPhone 4 right away to move to Android or another platform to disappointed to not terribly excited but satisfied with the 4S and ready to buy it.
Here’s a couple more graphics I’ve seen that reflect the more unhappy reactions:
There’s the iPhone 4S upgrade kit:
And this one features the word iSheep – which is the label being thrown at those who are not angry or disappointed with the iPhone 4S:
My own quick thoughts on this, having had 24 hours or so to digest yesterday’s event, are along these lines:
— This was definitely not an Apple event that ranks high on the excitement scale. I remember thinking about an hour and a quarter into it that we’d heard almost nothing really major by that point.
— The iPhone 4S itself was not far ahead of the event in terms of overall excitement factor. It’s a nice upgrade, with the beefed up processing and camera being strong highlights. If the rumors on 1GB of RAM are confirmed the performance of the 4S should be very impressive.
— Count me in the ‘not super excited but definitely getting it’ group. I think the iPhone 4 is already a superb smartphone, so a solid, evolutionary upgrade to it is fine by me for now. Also, having experimented a little with seeing if the grass is greener with a Windows Phone device, I am very keen to get back to an iPhone.
— As far as not having a slightly bigger screen or matching up / getting ahead of Android devices on overall hardware specs I think Who Cares with bells on. The appeal and power of iOS devices has never been about hardware specs. The iPhone has been getting knocked on these since the very first release in 2007 – and it has never made a shred of difference to the appeal and success of the device. And anyway, if you choose your smartphone (on whichever platform) by hardware specs then you are setup for disappointment in a few months every time.
— Will the less-than-thrilled reactions to the 4S lead to iOS losing ground to Android in the smartphone market share race? I don’t know. I think probably not as for many non-geeks, those who don’t spend their time in the sort of forums and social networks I follow, this is still going to have big appeal. And there are going to be strong sales for the iPhone 4 at $99.
What do you all think of the iPhone 4S? Are you excited and setting your alarm for 3:00AM Eastern on Friday to get your pre-order in? Disappointed? Outraged and switching platforms? Wherever you stand, let us know in the comments.
Continue reading:
- Everything New Apple Just Announced (Septembe
- Apple Watch Pre-Order
- Apple Research Kit launches with 5 Apps
- Apple TV now only $69
TAGS: Apple, iPhone, iphone 4s
