For the last decade, Apple has set the gold standard for product launches, and credit has always rested unequivocally on the shoulders of Steve Jobs. The company always knew how to woo loyalists, but when Jobs returned, he found a way to speak to the rest of us when presenting products like the iPod, iPhone and iPad.
Wednesday’s iPhone 5 launch saw Apple return to preaching to the converted. While I have little doubt that Apple users everywhere will applaud the iPhone 5, I doubt whether it will continue to reel in customers from other platforms like Android.
The reason actually lies more in the presentation than in the product. Steve didn’t focus on the technology, he focused on the magical experience. Tim Cook can’t quite seem to capture that, and it’s going to hurt Apple.
A page from the darker eras of Apple history
Before Jobs returned to Apple, the struggling company was stuck in a monotonous cycle of products that made good upgrades to existing lines, but seemed to ignore what was going on with competitors. As loyal Apple users eventually gave up, the company’s strong business started to erode, until its engineer CEOs didn’t have a clue how to turn this around. Jobs came back and brought forth the idea of creating products that competed on impression, not “speeds and feeds.” Apple reached amazing new highs on this formula.
Now look at the iPhone 5 launch. If you watched it live, you heard about bigger screens, faster radios, better-performing camera software, and improved case manufacturing. You heard about the wonders of LTE, a very fast but still lightly deployed cellular technology. You even heard about the unique tools used to build the case. Engineers had plenty of specs and numbers to chew on, but mainstream consumers didn’t hear anything magical enough to pull them from another current-generation phone.
Show me the magic
Competing based on sheer specs has never been a strength for Apple, because other companies have always been able to adopt new technologies faster. This made Steve Jobs’ approach a much better fit for Apple’s carefully thought-out designs.
Watch the iPhone 5 launch with a critical eye, and you’ll see a device that has a smaller less-brilliant screen than competitors. It has a slower CPU and graphics processor. It’s more fragile. The vastly improved antennas may be Apple’s only technical edge – a necessary one considering the Antennagate woes of the iPhone 4.
The iPhone 5 still makes a strong upgrade from the iPhone 4 it replaces, so loyalists dedicated to buying Apple products should still love it. But former customers who have defected to Android will likely not move back, and people who actually chase technology will probably take their business elsewhere.
This doesn’t foretell a decline for Apple, but it likely will mean slowing growth next year as we start to look someplace else for magic.
Like Amazon.
Amazon has figured it out
What really struck me about the Amazon Kindle launch last week was how Apple-like it was. Jeff Bezos spent little time on the technology in the new tablets, preferring to focus on the magic of the device. The launch even ended with a classic “one more thing” moment when Amazon announced 4G data service for $50 a year.
Amazon’s new Kindles hit hard on three vectors that buyers care: value, experience, and services, or, in other words, magic. You don’t care what technology is in the box, you care that you will get a great experience without having to learn any new strange technology.
If Apple wants to continue pitching its products in the light that suits them best, it should study – well, Apple. Amazon clearly has been.
The Spirit of Steve
The issue with the iPhone 5 isn’t that it isn’t a technology leader, it’s that we’re missing the shiny veneer that used to cover up that fact. We should only care whether the iPhone 5 provides a great experience, but Wednesday’s product launch seemed to lose track of that all-important factor.
Luckily for consumers, Amazon is selling amazing experiences, so Steve Jobs’ legacy lives on. Sadly, it just seems to live on with another company.
Guest contributor Rob Enderle is the founder and principal analyst for the Enderle Group, and one of the most frequently quoted tech pundits in the world. Opinion pieces denote the opinions of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of Digital Trends.
Spot on Rob… Unlike previous product launches under Steve Job, there was not a single “WOW” moment for me watching the live presentation of the iPhone 5 launch. The sense of occasion, excitement and anticipation expertly created by Job for pass launches were definitely not there. The iPhone 5 launch was a bit under cooked (excuse the pun) and feel more like a white good or car launch where specifications like lighter, bigger and faster were frequently mentioned. You are 100% correct by stating that other devices already have better specifications… If Apple really want to complete on these, then they will lose the war.
Thanks John!
I carry an iPhone4S and a Samsung S2. I hate Android. Everything about the phone is sloppy and disjointed: uninteresting feature sprawl with buttons randomly placed at opposite ends of the screen exaggerating the fact that it’s annoying to use with one hand (I’m a 6’0″ man). It’s a perfect phone for hobbyists that are willing to spend hours of their precious life tweaking and customizing it. I’m sure your proud of your phone hax0r skills; some of us prefer to save our pride for actual achievements.
With that said, it’s a phone and you all need to get over yourselves. People have a right to buy the phone they like, regardless of whether you agree with them. The only people acting indefensibly are the ones here that bash people who don’t agree with them, or seemingly justify their own opinions by belittling the opinions of others. Yeah, I realize I did the same, but I don’t actually care what phone you buy … I’m just sick of all you trolls. Go buy the newest PoS; or masturbate; or tweak your majic card deck… just go DO something.
For the guy dancing on Jobs grave – you’re as classless as you are delusional.
Enderle – go achieve something. Or say something relevant. It’s hard to take you seriously. I’m not talking about the iPhone5 review specifically, I’m talking about your articles over the past five years in general.
You are so right about Enderle’s ramble article here.
So in other words, “whine, whine, bitch, moan, belittle, criticize boohoo, with that said, all you Android users should stop whining, bitching, moaning, belittling, criticizing and boohooing. I know I just did exactly that, but I’m a special snow flake because I don’t care what you think.”
Apparently it hasn’t dawned on you that the very people you belittle don’t care what you think either, making them special snow flakes and, according to you, justified in their whining, bitching, moaning, belittling, criticizing and boohooing… just like you.
As for your “review” of Android, I would agree with you to an extent. It is less visually refined than iOS, but it’s far more capable. That those capabilities aren’t important to you is fine, but don’t be so arrogant to suggest that those for whom those capabilities are important are all “hax0rs” as you so eloquently put it. For some people, form follows function, for others, function follows form. Neither is wrong and there’s a place for both.
We have a perfect phone for you grandpa, its called startec flip phone from 2000′s, If you are lucky you will be able to find one. I hope you know how to trun on the power, very easy to use. I agree with you grandpa , these youngsters are too smart for us. I might go back to rotary phone. I don’t need to think much.
tim cook is as boring as paint, and the fat guy who made what was suppose to be a presentation was noy only fat, but sloppy and more boring than cook.
My Samsung Galaxy S III is the most Awesome device out there bar none. I have always said Samsung is just one of the reasons that dead guy jobs dies, Samsung scared him to death :)
jobs is where he belongs 6 feet under and from the looks of things the iToys are getting very tired and boring so I hope jobs hole in the ground is big enough for the iCrappy iToys….
Your comment is more boring than than Cook, “the fat guy”, C-Span and the Richie Cunninghams’ hair style combined. I concede you are am expert on what is boring. Capitalizing the A in Aweosme was cool back in first grade; the scared to death joke died after the first clown said it.
I was thinking the other day that maybe the reason Steve Jobs choose Tim Cook to replace him as the CEO was that he knew that Cook could not do the job. Maybe he was thinking no one after him would run Apple.
Steve Jobs was a unique person. It’s unfair to expect the same from Tim or anyone else. The only person who could present like Steve Jobs was Steve Jobs. Maybe one day someone may surface who may be able to make people see a product in a different way like Steve once did, as it were magic; but that takes a unique kind of person. Tim is doing a great job in his own way. I miss Steve, too; but Steve left the company in more than capable leadership. The products are still awesome which is what really keeps the customers coming. Just like any other time, you will likely see Apple stores with ridiculously long lines with people awaiting the launch of the latest and greatest product, just like before; and there will still be obvious excitement in the air from the customers and employees alike. I’ve never seen anything like it from any other company.
Fairily ridiculous article. This will end up being one of Apples most successful product launches to date. Let’s state the obvious: Tim Cook is no Steve Jobs, but he’s an excellent CEO. I’m not an Apple purist, but I fail to see any magic with the kindle fire other than the price point. In fact I see no magic anywhere as tablets and mobile have become ubiquitous. All anyone in the industry is doing is changing the specs.
Not sure exactly what the author was expecting to see.
“Watch the iPhone 5 launch with a critical eye, and you’ll see a device that has a smaller less-brilliant screen than competitors. It has a slower CPU and graphics processor. It’s more fragile.”
Rob, you must have been watching a different launch than the one everyone else saw.
1) The display is larger (not smaller) than before… although it isn’t “phablet” sized, which is too large for most people.
2) The display is more brilliant and more color gamut correct than those of competitors.
3) It’s CPU is twice as fast as the 4S. A game demo showed real-time 3D rendering that no other smartphone can compete with.
3) Not only is it LESS fragile than the 4S, but also the aluminum unibody makes it less fragile than any of the competitors’ plastic toys.
How is it possible that you see the opposite. Were you watching the launch of another Android phone instead of the iPhone 5 launch???
You missed Rob’s point, even while quoting it. He said the new iPhone is smaller, less brilliant, slower, more fragile compared to COMPETITORS, not previous versions of the iPhone.
That said…what are we, cavemen? Me hate numbers! Show magic fire again!
Yes, you caveman. ;-)
You obviously didn’t read my comment but just jumped to the conclusion that I wasn’t comparing the iPhone 5 to competitors’ phones. It was, try reading it this time.
The new iPhone outdoes all other phones in more than the ways I listed. The primary one being the best smartphone user experience there is.
The one thing that you seem to be stuck on is display size in inches… maybe that says something about your insecurities ;-)
Yes, Android has phones that are bigger and heavier, and won’t fit in my pocket. But 5.5″ displays are still too small for a phone, don’t you think? Let’s wait for 6″! No, 7″! No, 8″…
Android phone makers think that the larger and heavier they make their phones, the more you will want to carry it around with you all day.
Here’s a little trick that iPhone users know, but that Android users don’t know. If you hold the iPhone 5′s 4″ display just a little closer to you, it looks just as large as a 5″ display. It works like magic! ;-)
I can remember a time when Apple fans could put up better arguments. Seriously “you hold the screen up closer to you face and it looks bigger just like magic”?!? OMG
lol Rob, yeah it doesn’t take much to be magical to the iPhail crowd… and to viewroyal…Hold it closer? You mean go blind faster? I guess you can do that if you feel like it’s necessary. Good way to justify low quality hardware though. If you want to watch true HD videos, ask your friend to use his Galaxy S3. Apple is in hot water with LTE, so I wouldn’t expect it to stay around much longer. HTC and Samsung already has legal ground. I’d quote the source but all you have to do is google it
OK the video below was funny. Was that you?
No I found it on Google+ :D
That’s funny? Now I know why I don’t find you interesting anymore.
Oh and Rob, if you want to see something magically funny, check this video out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8loc5wyek5Q&feature=player_embedded
haha that video is pretty spot on!
Rob, I was being facetious, but obviously it went over your head. ;-)
But there is some truth involved as well. We view LCD screens of different sizes at different distances.
We view 7″ tablets further from our eyes, than smartphone displays.
We view 10″ tablets further from our eyes, than 7″ tablets.
We view 15″ notebook displays further from our eyes, than 10″ tablets.
We view 27″ desktop displays further from our eyes, than 15″ notebook displays.
We view 50″ HDTV displays further from our eyes, than 27″ desktop displays.
Etc., etc., etc.
Even between different users, people will hold a 4″ (or 5″) display at different distances, based on whatever is comfortable for them.
Display size and distance from the viewer are relative. This is why, for example, the tiny LCD displays in HD goggles (or in Google Glasses) will be described as likened to viewing a 50″ HDTV at 10 feet away (or something similar).
So, when I was joking about “magic”, I was referring to how obvious this should be to most people. Apparently, you are not one of “most people”.
We were told not to sit too close to the TV for a reason, and the glow does have an effect on the eyes (LCD is known for that) if too close. That’s why we have 50″ TV sets instead of goggles (plus it would be too 1980′s) so that we don’t have to sit that close. I have a 17″ LCD display on my notebook that I can comfortably use at arms length (I’m in multimedia graphics so I have to pay close attention to detail and it’s relieving that I don’t have to hunch forward and crane my neck in order to find the detail I need)
It is what it is. Whether it makes sense or not, people want what they want and the iPhone doesn’t have to be that. Afterall, if we wanted a better screen with HD, we’d get something like a Rezound, or the S3, or the Note 2. All of which are very beautiful displays that the iPhone just can’t match, which is still using same ‘ole LCD technology from 2000, not SAMOLED plus or anything fancy. And that kind of what makes people want things, is the stuff on paper. Eye candy is more what it is.
-Ask not what your phone can do for you, but what you can do for your phone.
-In Soviet Russia, phone make call with you!
Orange, it appears that you and I are in agreement.
As you said “people want what they want”. Some people do not understand this, and think that just because they prefer a large 5.5″ display, does not mean that everyone else in the world wants that too.
I’m more concerned with quality and user experience than anything else. From what I’ve read about the new iPhone display, it has improved color saturation by 40% over the 4S, and that it covers the full sRGB color gamut (more accurate color than any other smartphone display).
And it now has a unique in-cell touch panel to improve backlight penetration, and sharper images due to the removal of the separate glass touch panel layer.
I’m really looking forward to checking one out for myself.
Glad that my views are royal :D
Okay that was a fail joke…
you speak like a true icrapphone user. If you want icrappad, you just have to put it even closer to your eyes. Right on… you are a genius …
Your comment is like gibberish. icrapphone? icrappad?
Are we to assume from your comment that you view all LCD displays at the same distance from your eyes? If so, you either have the longest arms in the world if you hold everything at the same distance as your TV screen is from you… or you have a tough time watching TV at the same distance that you hold your “crapphone”. ;-)
Notice, fanboi, the author stated “smaller and less brilliant” than competitors; you base your argument on something that wasn’t said. Same with speed issues.
Debate skills = fail.
I guess you are not literate enough to read yet.
Yes, these were comparisons to competitors. Read my response to Kendric Beachey, who like you is also illiterate.
No need for the personal attacks. :)
Let’s keep the debate fun please.
Did you read Rob’s article? Because you quoted him, but missed what he said.
The iPhone’s 4-inch screen is smaller than competitors. This is true. He was not saying it was smaller than the iPhone 4S, smaller than competitors.
“Watch the iPhone 5 launch with a critical eye, and you’ll see a device that has a smaller less-brilliant screen than competitors”
Ian, it seems I have to quote myself (how meta ;-) to prove to you and others who did not really comprehend it, that I did address that it was smaller than the largest of the large… but also that this is viewed as a benefit by millions of iPhone owners:
“The display is larger (not smaller) than before… although it isn’t “phablet” sized, which is too large for most people.”
And,
“Android phone makers think that the larger and heavier they make their phones, the more you will want to carry it around with you all day.”
Obviously, you are among the group that feel that a smartphone should be as large and as heavy as possible.
Just remember that this is your opinion. Millions of others (myself included) feel that a smartphone should be usable, but at the same time be as small and as light as possible.
Rather than having a phone that requires large pockets, and feels like an anchor, others want to have a phone that they can carry around with them all day without feeling burdened.
The Samsung Note is more than twice the volume, and almost twice the weight of the iPhone 5. Some people apparently like that, but many people do not.
Just as some people want to drive a big-ass Lincoln or Cadillac, others feel they have a better user experience driving a BMW 335.
There is no absolute rule that a 5.5″ phone display is “better” than a 4″ phone display. It’s all a matter of taste. And Apple has clearly designed a phone with the most desired attributes, since the iPhone continues to be the best selling smartphone (BY FAR!) in the world.
The fact that you and others who like larger displays, or smaller displays, have settled on those other sizes, does not mean that your choice is somehow “better” than someone else’s choice… it’s just different. But again, the iPhone may not be to your liking, but it remains the phone that more people own than any other smartphone.
Ahhh man, no matter how nice you try to be, you just can’t stop poking can you?
“Obviously, you are among the group that feel that a smartphone should be as large and as heavy as possible. ”
I am not obviously. You have no clue how large or small I would like a smartphone to be. I simply pointed out your error, that is all. I am sorry that you took a lot of time to type a response that has no affect on me. You painted me as a certain type of person with certain tastes, but you were wrong friend.
So are you saying that you are NOT in the group that want a phone display larger than the iPhone 5′s 4″ display, and you agree that it is an optimal size for you as well?
If that’s the case I apologize for misinterpreting your comment, and I welcome your support in the discussion of display sizes, and that the value of display size is totally subjective.
My question is that if you do agree that display sizes are irrelevant to how useful a smartphone is, then why were you so up in arms because you thought that I didn’t address the fact that the iPhone’s display is not as large as other humongous ones (Even though I clearly DID address that in my comment). That’s what led me to infer you thought that larger was “better”.
I am pleading the fifth with everything. You will have to continue to be mystified by what my personal preferences are!
Ian, ou wrote: “You painted me as a certain type of person with certain tastes, but you were wrong friend.”
The fact that you are now being evasive in stating your position, leads me to believe that my original supposition was correct.
ok. You are correct.
its ok , i agree with you . Smaller phone for smaller hands, Not everybody have same size of hands. I am on other hand (punt intended) iphone is too small to type, I can only listen to music or make a call. Just too small for my hands. If you have a really really small hands then you are in for the treat. Small hands and big bank acct them you are in treat for iphones
If you are a gorrilla, and you have huge ape-like hands, then I fully understand why you consider the iPhone to be too tiny for your massive hands.
You’d be much better off using an iPad to type on, because no smartphone will be large enough for you to use:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KGrXZ5pWko
I will do the icrap for phone and ipad in my pants, thats great to carry two, people will be so impress lol I don’t have massive hands you just have funboi hands. Lucky you devil….. but sorry for your bf, gf or wife….
Are you on drugs? I’m really having a hard time understanding what you’ve written.
Do you even know how heavy iphone 4s are? You don’t think you complain then. Go on and buy iphone 5, 6 , 7 or 10 . 10 will be about the length of the samurai sword. I’ve seen the prototype online somewhere lol
Apparently you are replying to something I’ve written, but I’m having a very hard time deciphering what you’re saying.
Can anyone else reading SL’s comment, please interpret it for me?
don’t be hating my massive hands .
Many thanks for this great article. I had exactely the same feelings. It was basically a good product launch and the iPhone 5 is a great product. But the magic is gone. So far I have bought each and every iPhone model first day. Not gonna happen this time. They always had little and innovative surprises. For example the clever Smart Cover for the iPad or Siri for the iPhone 4S. Nothing this time. And I saw a lot focus on tech specs and engeneering during the special event. Not so much on customer benefits. Steve is really missed. Same time I was really impressed by the Kindle fire HD launch from Jeff Bezos. It was a lot like Apple events in the old days and actually very convincing. So I guess Apple’s magic is gone and Jeff Bezos is the new Steve Jobs.
Welcome thanks for the kind remarks!
when i buy a product, i could give a crap about “magic” or “product launch formulas”. ultimately….a good product that leads the market sells me. why is apple losing ground? tim cook? the “spirit of steve jobs” is missing?. i prefer to think tough competition beating apple to the punch and selling to savy buyers who “chase technology” is a better answer. apple “loyalists” who are used to the best, are now looking down at the gizmo in their hands and re-thinking loyal. hopefully, nobody wins this battle of the bigs so the competition and hits keep on coming. when everybody is looking over their shoulders for the next steve jobs on their tail…..we all win. coconutz247
“why is apple losing ground” (too funny ;-))
If Apple has been “losing ground”, I’m sure they want to continue “losing”.
In the past year, Apple as a company has continued it’s 12-year growth, and is now the largest, most valued company in the world. And product sales have been going through the roof.
The iPad controls 70% of the tablet market, and the iPhone is still the best selling smartphone in the world.
You may not realize it, but during the same time that Samsung sold it’s new and “fab” Galaxy S III, Apple sold many more iPhones… even though those iPhones were from last year’s model, and even though sales slowed down due to buyers holding off for the iPhone 5.
The iPhone 5 pre-orders sold out this year in less than one hour! That was 20-times faster than pre-sales of the iPhone 4S last year.
Overall, this is the type of “losing ground” that Apple just can’t get enough of. :-D
the apple i phone is doing fine. android is doing better. we won’t talk about computer OS. write me next year and let’s see how the tablet market is doing. if amazon, google, and microsoft don’t make a dent in apples’s market share, i’ll eat crow anyway you prepare it. my point is, apple isn’t making better stuff than everybody else anymore. they were good and forced innovation. well…..google gave it to them. you do like competition….yes? being as rob says, a loyalist, is fine, but you would jump off apple if somebody made a better mousetrap cheaper. yes? coconutz
“apple isn’t making better stuff than everybody else anymore”
That is an opinion that is not shared by millions of other people.
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who unlike you or I has had real, hands-on time with the iPhone 5, said in his report:
“We believe that while the media bubble around the iPhone 5 has met the phone launch with mixed opinion, the reality is that when actual consumers have the product in hand, we believe they will be impressed. We view the iPhone 5 as the Rolex of smartphones in terms of quality and build, while the majority of other phones are dominated by lesser quality plastic and feel more like Timexes. Why would someone by a Timex when they can have a Rolex for the same price?”
ever wore a rolex? clunky and untechy. i and a growing number of folk don’t share your millions of other people’s apple experience. i find my brother and sister’s iphone somewhat irritating to use compared to my galaxy Note. the new Note tablet and upcoming MS Surface have a lot of innovation that the ipad needs to catch up with. i share ian bell’s thoughts about a gang of competition introducing android phones with “more cutting edge tech……considerably faster than the iPhone 5.” it’s hard to keep up when you have a bulls eye on your back and the whole tech world is trying to outdo you. everybody is serious about winning the hearts and minds of the consumer here. i think it’s a good thing apple is doing well. it drives the market to make gizmos better and better. i simply prefer Microsoft and Android’s approach and product lineup.
your response to kendrick the “caveman” was cold. hey….i’ll take a 7″ smart phone…no problemo. coconutz247
I’m like many other people. I choose products that suit my needs best… regardless of the brand.
It’s just very irritating to listen to opinionated Android users, who feel that their choice and their opinions outweigh reality (reality being that more people have bought and use iPhones than any other smartphone). And those Android users don’t say “in my opinion” but present their opinions as “fact”, which is not in the same realm.
We also hear a lot of, how should I put this politely… “creatively manufactured data” presented by those Android users, which they also present as “fact”.
Opinions are one thing, and it is subjective not objective, but when someone goes to the lengths of being untruthful to support their claims, it’s really a reflection on how untenable their position really is.
qualify oneself with “in my opinion” eh? not a bad idea.. you might follow your own advice before you upchuck online and plagiarize gene muster’s “The iPhone 5 Is A Rolex Among A Sea Of Timexes” coconutz247
You want me to lie, and claim that Gene Munster’s quoted opinion is my own?
Why would you want me to do that?
Even more concerning, why do you think I would do that?
It’s an irrational, absurd request!
“the apple i phone is doing fine. android is doing better.”
You are comparing Apples to oranges. The “iPhone” is a smartphone product, but Android is not a smartphone, it is an operating system.
If you want to compare the iPhone to other smartphones, then the iPhone is doing much better than “fine”. It is doing great, being the best selling smartphone in the world.
If you want to compare operating systems, iOS is also doing great! iOS and Android are mobile operating systems, and currently there are more than three-times as many iOS devices (iPhones, iPads, iPod Touch, etc.) as there are Android devices. (NetMarketShare reported recently that iOS has grown its lead up to 65.27%, while Android accounts for 19.73% of the mobile market)
yep, 20x faster…but i guess those “disappointed” by the iPhone 5 don’t look at stats…
i can’t wait to get mine friday.
No I’m not counting the Iphone 5 as a downward for apple. Most likely they will take all the bad talk and revamp the Iphone with Iphone 5s next year. I remember how the Iphone 3s went from 3, the slimmer and most popular look. Even till this day Iphone 3s still gets support. So I can see apple making the Iphone 5s a bit slimmer and more features. On a side note, I remember about 2 years ago when qwerty/sliding phones like the Droid/Samsung Epic was popular it was talks that the next iphone would have a keyboard and slide out, NOPE. So you can never predict able. I’m sure they have soemthing else up their sleve like the Ipad Mini that will continue to give them their yearly spotlight.
I would argue some details, but that seems about right.
Apple is a fascinating company: It basically doesn’t have products but one eco-system. The iPod used to be that system’s corner stone, now it is the iPhone.
The future of the world’s most valuable company is effectively resting on the iPhone’s success.
That’s why I feel that presentation will go down in history as the beginning of the end. (Or the last one? The iPhone 4s wasn’t really great either, but people including me just didn’t realize it back then because of, you know, the magic…)
Agreed. The iPhone 5 is a major disappointing to me. Nothing revolutionary at all. I feel like Samsung has been really innovating out there (Quad-core CPU first, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 etc) but Apple has been getting all of the attention due to their user base and good marketing.
BUT, for as much as a disappointment as the iPhone 5 was, I’m not sure this is the beginning of the end. Apple has sold more iPhone 5′s than any other phone in history from what the reports are saying. So if it really is the beginning of the end, it will be when people find out that they hustled to be first in line to get a phone that really isn’t more spectacular than the phone they are likely replacing.
The Ax processors in iPhone and iPad have been consistently faster in performance than the performance of any competing mobile product.
Android disciples always compare core and GHz numbers to those in iPhone and iPad, conveniently ignoring how the performance compares in real-life.
The Inquirer (a site that has not been especially pro-Apple) did a comparison today between the iPad and Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, with the iPad coming out on top:
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/review/2203551/samsung-galaxy-note-101-vs-apple-new-ipad-head-to-head-review?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=Samsung+Galaxy+Note+10.1+vs+Apple+New+Ipad+head+to+head+review
Of particular note is the “Performance” section:
Performance
Apple’s new iPad comes with a dual-core A5X Apple designed chip paired with a quad-core graphics processor. The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 certainly sounds more impressive on paper, however, with Samsung’s 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos chipset.
It might sound faster on paper, but we did notice some performance issues with the Galaxy Note 10.1. Not only does its touchscreen struggle to switch between stylus and finger input, we often found the device slow to open applications, and Google’s Chrome web browser was often slow to load media heavy webpages.
We didn’t notice any performance issues with the new Ipad during our hands-on testing, as unlike on Android, all apps have been optimised to work specifically on that device – hence why Apple opted against configuring its tablet with a quad-core chipset.
Winner: Apple iPad.
In other words, even with Apple’s “slower” 1.0GHz dual-core processor, the iPad was noticeably faster than the Samsung tablet with a 1.4GHz quad-core processor.
And the A6 processor in the new iPhone is twice as fast as the A5 chip in the iPad!!!
I’m not saying the iPhone 5 is a slow phone, or even a bad one. I do feel like Apple is playing catch up to the competition. It will be another year until Apple releases another iPhone. In the meantime Samsung, HTC and Nokia will be introducing phones considerably faster than the iPhone 5. They have shorter product cycles, and have been incorporating more cutting edge tech.
An 8MP camera in the iPhone 5 (with the same specs etc as the 4S) was a major disappointment for me. Also, where is NFC or Bluetooth 4.0?
iPhone 4S had Bluetooth 4.0 a year ago, I’m sure this will too.
I stand corrected. Just checked and the iPhone 5 does have Bluetooth 4.0. Thanks for making me question myself.
Looks like the 4S has “Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR wireless technology” though according to Apple’s website.
Thanks for the catch!
Check again, Apple’s website shows the 4S has Bluetooth 4.0. The 4 had 2.1.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/compare-iphones/
For NFC to work, they would have had to made sacrifices with things like the metal back plate. I’d rather have a metal backplate than plastic with NFC, at least for the time being.
Check again, iPhone 4 had 2.1. The 4S has 4.0 and it’s on the Apple site too.
You are correct. I was looking at the iPhone 4. I hate that you are right and I am wrong.
Please sleep good tonight knowing I feel shamed!
“In the meantime Samsung, HTC and Nokia will be introducing phones considerably faster than the iPhone 5″
Yes, they “will be” introducing faster phones… but by that time they will be competing with the next generation iPhone 6. ;-)
hah I sure hope so! Going from the iPhone 4 to the 4S was a bummer and I hope that next year we get the iPhone 6, not the 5S!
As Shakespeare said: “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” ;-)
*thumbs up
That’s all nice and good, but the majority of the people buying the iPhone could care less about specs. I do not understand why the Tech Savy or the Tech Illuminati assume that they are the target user. The iPhone appeal is mainstream and the majority of those people don’t read articles by Rob Enderle. Many don’t even understand megapixels. That said, unless you plan on enlarging photos to sizes larger than 8×10 4 MP is adequate and 8 MP is more than what the average user needs or understands.
And that’s my point, Apple’s success isn’t selling specs. On spec they’ll eventually lose, but no one can catch them if they stay focused on customer experience and selling the “magic”.
grandpa you are right , you and I are going back to rotary phone.
I’ve never been much of a fanboy, but isn’t the greater, long-term challenge for Apple how they can establish themselves as a legitimate and successful tech company without always having to match the charisma of its founder?
Or rely on a single product for their success – the iPhone? Yes you are correct. The Tim Cook formula might not have been a perfect replacement for Steve Jobs, but they did a pretty good job announcing the iPhone 5. They just need to keep a lid on the leaks. Everyone knew about the phone before it came out.
Apple doesn’t just “rely on a single product for their success”. In addition to the iPhone, Apple has very nice income from desktop & notebook computers, iPad, iPods, iTunes sales, OS X sales, and other software and hardware products.
But one fact about Apple’s iPhone business alone is surprising.
Apple’s iPhone business is now bigger than the whole of Microsoft, according to recent revenue figures.
The company’s smartphone division generated $74.3 billion of revenue in the past year, whereas the whole of Microsoft generated $73.0 billion.
That includes entertainment devices such as Xbox, as well as Windows, Microsoft Office and Windows Phone.