The general opinion here was that Apple would not make a smaller iPad and there were pages of reasons why it was a bad idea. Lots of pages why. Then when they did, it became the most popular iPad. It wasn't Retina, and most here stated that Retina wasn't needed and it was fine. Next, Retina was introduced to the mini, and no one could live without it.
To me the general consensus here for the past few years was that the iPhone was the perfect size and those 5" Android phones were ridiculous. Now that Apple is obviously going to make a bigger iPhone, the general opinion has changed that bigger will be better. Larger phones have been viable from other manufacturers for a few years now, and with better battery life than the iPhone currently has. Apple is just late to the game with the bigger screens, no ifs and or buts about it. 🙂
When NFC was rumored for the iPhone 5, this forum was largely in favor of it and anticipating it. When it didn't happen and I think it was Samsung? that included it, NFC became a gimmick and an outdated technology. Now that the iPhone 6 is rumored to have it, it suddenly finds favor here.
Higher quality audio has been available for a long time now. Apple just chose not to sell it on iTunes. But prior discussions here lead to the generalization that nobody could tell the difference for any quality over 256kbs and that audiophiles were crazy and couldn't tell the difference for anything above CD quality sound. I'm guessing that now HD audio will be a great idea.
Again, I am not singling out any individuals about this, just the overall forum opinion. IMO, it has swung from one end to the other on each of the items I have brought up. This isn't criticism, it's my observation. 🙂
I don't know about this whole idea of "general consensus". It's not really something one finds on the internet
😛
Anyways, my point above was that the variables change over time, so people's opinions change over time. Sure, some people were just flat out against some form factors, but a lot were against them given the constraints of the time. I tried putting large Android phones in my pocket years ago, and tried it again recently. The thickness affects the possible width.
For the iPad mini, I don't think that too many people anticipated that it would be 8" instead of 7", have smaller bezels, and be the same resolution, so that the screen size ended up not being problematically smaller, while still giving a more portable iPad at a cheaper cost. Basically, Apple engineered away the issues that people perceived it could have.
iPad mini retina pro/cons were somewhat complex. After seeing the difference between the iPhone 4 and the previous 3GS, I wouldn't want a non-retina device when reading. But I'd also value having something less expensive that lasts longer on a charge. Again, it all came down to Apple engineering it so well, to give the pros and address the perceived cons.
I'm against NFC so I don't really care or notice what other people think of it.
With the high def audio, it's true that a higher bit rate is pointless, by itself. But sampling with 24 bit at 96 KHz, instead of 16 bit at 44/48 Khz, can make a difference, and thus justify the higher bit rate. Even then there are trade-offs of more disk space and more bandwidth and download time. As people get larger hard drives and broadband or 4G data, the down sides become less relevant.
Basically, I think Apple releases features when the complete picture is ready, and competitors release them when it's initially technically feasible, so sounds good on a spec sheet. To each their own. I know what sounds more useful to me.
