Keynote is over, and I have to say, the iPhone 5 is disappointing.

[cbutters]

Not terribly impressed, but not unsatisfied.

I can't believe how many people are poo pooing on this device vs. other apple upgrades...
3G to 3GS -same design, same screen, just speed differences. nobody was crying here.

3GS to 4 - Incredible screen upgrade, new design and speedier.. probably the best upgrade from a previous gen we will ever see.

4 to 4S - This is the device refresh that everyone should be pissed about! sure, a little more speed, but essentially the same device, most users couldn't tell the difference between the two anyways. except... Siri.... what a joke... a hardware refresh that relies primarily on software to be successful. I'm still pissed about this refresh, and wouldn't have upgraded to the 4S if my 4 still worked.

4S to 5 - Actually this is a pretty incredible refresh if you look at it from an overall standpoint. completely redesigned hardware... larger screen... double the cpu and graphics performance (which are already pretty incredible on the 4S) new camera, and have you seen the black aluminum edges on the black model???? Sexxy..... The leaked parts in raw form didn't look that great, but now seeing them all together, the "two tone" is blended much better and consistently in the final product.
The only problem with the iphone5 refresh is that it should have happened 1 year ago... (at least the screen size change).
Apart from any debate on screen sizes, I actually don't see much apple could have done differently... i would have liked some sort of NFC option.. but thats about the only thing I could think of that is missing.

That said... I think that apple in a later refresh are going to listen to the consumer and offer a larger sized iphone alongside the 4" models. an iPhone5XL if you will... I would love to see a 4.3 or 4.6" sized iphone option alongside the 4" ones. That way apple could still say that they offer the perfect sized phone, but with additional options for those with larger hands.
I don't see why not... they already offer so much variety in ipod models... (shuffle, nano, touch), why not offer more phone size options as well? I think it will happen someday soon.

 

[onthecouchagain]

Hmmmm...by any chance are any of them replying to someone who told them the iPhone 5 us just a stretched 4S and iOS is crap and they should buy a Galaxy S3 instead?

Sure. I'm sure there's plenty of those. There are also plenty who are just incapable of seeing fault in Apple, and more specifically, the iPhone.

If you don't like the iPhone and don't want to buy and iPhone, then why would you continue to discuss the iPhone in an iPhone-centric forum? The only answer I can come up with is that you are childish and like to cause trouble. (and I'm not pointing at you specifically, but a lot of what I see going on)

Fair enough. Check my post history, if you'd like. You might see why I try to call certain people out on their inconsistencies. To sum it up in one line: not honestly criticizing Apple is ultimately a disservice to them (especially now that we know they actually pay close attention to consumer feedback thanks to the details revealed in their recent court trials).

EDIT: You seem to think only "haters" criticize the iPhone, which I think is actually part of the larger problem; that Apple fans can't criticize an Apple product. Just FYI, I'm a huge Apple fan (Macs in the home, thunderbolt display, airport extreme, ipad 3rd gen, ipods, and former 4S owner).

It ought to be Apple fans that are first in line to criticize Apple. But it's just not that kind of world with Apple. It ought to be Apple fans first to be embarrassed every time the line "it just works" is uttered.

 

[nikhsub1]

640 is outdated. Every other high end phone either has a 720 HD display or they are moving towards it quickly. Still no SD card slot or LED light is absurd. There are bargain basement phones for under $100 with these basic features.

There will never be an SD card slot... SD cards are so awful in portable devices that many would never use them, I know I wouldn't, been there done that. LED? I don't know what you mean there. As for screen size, sure I would have liked it a bit wider but I guess there are reasons for keeping it the same width... no product is perfect and there are always things we want that aren't there yet but such is life. As much as I think the Galaxy S3 is an awesome piece of hardware I can't stand the OS - it's clunky and super counter intuitive (to me at least) and that is what keeps me with iOS for now.

 

[tigress666]

640 is outdated. Every other high end phone either has a 720 HD display or they are moving towards it quickly. Still no SD card slot or LED light is absurd. There are bargain basement phones for under $100 with these basic features.

Um, I don't think the iphone will ever have an SD card slot. That's something I'm pretty sure Apple hasn't forgotten to put in but actively avoids (it adds extra structure and more thickness and I think the thinking goes that people tend to just buy one big SD, put it in there, and never change it so why make it thick for them to do that when you can just give them an integrated "big SD" slot. Plus it adds the benefit that Apple can charge a lot for which size you want . So Apple has no motivation to add an SD slot at all ).

Not that I think an SD slot is bad, but honestly, I had a Compaq Ipaq before I had the phone. That had a compact flash and an SD slot. And yes, I tended to just stick one SD card in there and use it and it was a bit of a pain to move SD cards around depending on what I used. The iphone when I got it I had to eat my words about not liking it's lack of SD card cause it was nice to just have enough storage not to worry about that crap. Though I have to admit I think Apple needs to upgrade its storage offerings faster if they want that philosophy to work (won't work if people are starting to notice they need more space before they upgrade phones).

 

[Geckotek]

EDIT: You seem to think only "haters" criticize the iPhone, which I think is actually part of the larger problem; that Apple fans can't criticize an Apple product. Just FYI, I'm a huge Apple fan (Macs in the home, thunderbolt display, airport extreme, ipad 3rd gen, ipods, and former 4S owner). It ought to be Apple fans that are first in line to criticize Apple. But it's just not that kind of world with Apple. It ought to be Apple fans first to be embarrassed every time the line "it just works" is uttered, but it just isn't that kind of world.

Not true, I criticize Apple as well. Before I bought my first iPhone I wrote a blog post on everything that was wrong with the first iPhone. I can pick several things I think is wrong with the current iPhone. But I don't think Apple deserves some of the extreme criticism I've seen. For one, the expectations are too high. And two, a lot of it is just as you've mentioned, trashing a phone because they don't like it (whether that be the iPhone or and Android).

So criticism I understand. But comments like "just catching up" completely ignores the entire Apple philosophy. Sure, from your point of view they are just catching up, but Apple has been "just catching up" in some form since they started business. Apple has a history of this pattern of innovation followed by slow careful growth. The worst part of Apple's history is when they tried to be everything to everyone and tried to stay on the cutting edge. They almost went under. Jobs came back and started the trend again....innovation followed by careful steady growth. And it works. An example....rolling out high DPI screens (retina) but then waiting on LTE chipsets to get to a point where they work as well as the previous 3G chipsets. So to say they are "just catching up" may be true...but it's what makes Apple successful and criticising that is just frustrating because you ignore the postitive side of that equation.

What I really think is this. Apple's methods were really understood well by their past loyal customers (which you appear to be one). But then guys like me become Apple customers due to the newest and hotest toys (my first Apple purchase was an iPod nano) and then we begin to have these expectations. After several years I now see how Apple works. But in the meantime, Apple now has millions of new customers who have never really known much about Apple before. And here they all are expecting the same jump from the iPhone 3Gs to the iPhone 4 every time.....and that's just not sustainable.

Apple will have another revolutionary device, but it probably won't be another iPhone for a long time. They will proably make some very innovative changes in the mobile phone industry again, but it won't be every year or even every two years. And in between those times, they will be slow to adopt technology that doesn't fit their comfort level of readiness. And Apple customers will either accept that or run off to Samsung for the latest toy...that may or may not be buggy (I own a lot of Samsung items so I feel justified is saying that since some are in fact buggy).

And I don't think there is any reason to be embarassed by the phrase "it just works", because that's what finally sold me on Apple. Not having LTE is not as important as making sure it works well....and from my experience with many mobile devices....it does.

 

[MuddyPaws1]

EDIT: You seem to think only "haters" criticize the iPhone, which I think is actually part of the larger problem; that Apple fans can't criticize an Apple product. Just FYI, I'm a huge Apple fan (Macs in the home, thunderbolt display, airport extreme, ipad 3rd gen, ipods, and former 4S owner).

I am tired of having to type stuff like what is above every time I have a complaint or a criticism of anything Apple related.

I have a crap ton of apple stuff. There is no PC in my house and I have 4 computers. All the network stuff, with the exception of my cable modem, is apple. The only non apple phones in my house right now (including the kids) are 2 dumb phones (One for emergencies and the other is my mom's) and my land line. Wife and I both have iPads. There are several iPods floating around this house. We have a drawer that all that is in it are Apple usb cords and charging blocks. While my wife is rather new to the Apple world, I have had a iPhone since 2007 and ALWAYS was in line for the next new one on release day.

I shouldn't have to type all that fricken stuff just so I can say I don't like the fact that I can't move the icons on my iPhone to a position of my choosing. Everything Apple is not perfect. I get sick of people that just can't handle it if there is any criticism of Apple.

 

[tigerfan41]

Keep your Nexus, it's a better device than the 5.

.....and then have fun when apps crash or the phone hardware is f'd up by a terrible firmware upgrade. Seriously, I've owned at least two Android devices (the Droid X and the GS2) that have been plagued with app crashing, firmware and hardware issues. Android is not perfect and in my extensive experience of owning phones on both platforms, you can't beat Apple iPhones for reliability and ease of use. I'm tired of Android fanboys billing Android as this superior OS without its own flaws.

There was no "wow" factor this time. So what? I was most looking for hardware upgrades, a new design and a bigger display. Apple delivered on all those accounts. No NFC? No problem, because NFC is not without its own problems and quite frankly, I'm not going to be surprised when NFC is breached and CC# are stolen. I don't trust it yet and would rather carry the hard plastic on me.

I was slightly disappointed with the camera, but having tried various Android phone cameras and the 4S, the 4S camera generally does the best. As long as the 5's camera is at least as good, I'm content there. Extra megapixels aren't everything.

No SD card? Big deal. Again having used the SD card on a couple of Android phones, I know that it's more of a nuisance than a plus. In fact, many times I recorded video on my Android phone's SD card only for the Android camera to shut down and lose the video! Nothing more frustrating than a phone failing you when you've just recorded video you kinda want to see again later.

Honestly, I think some will just find a reason to ***** and moan when a new iPhone is released. If you don't want it, don't get it. I'll be getting it because I've got an upgrade, want the 32GB version and want the bigger display.

 

[497902]

iPhone 5 is so not like Apple. Steve Jobs would not be happy.

 

[elementskins]

In my mind, this is the phone we should have seen last October. Design wise, its a stretched iPhone 4/4S, and the internals are a spec bump. Yes, some design and engineering time was spent on this device, but they have had plenty of time. iPhone 4 was released almost 30 months ago.

Last year, this would have blown my mind, but this year, it's nothing special. Too much has come to market in the last 12 months, and Apple is simply playing catch up now.

This is what happens when you put a bean counter in charge of a creative company. We saw it in the 80's, and we may just be seeing it start to unfold again.

 

[definitive]

I can't believe how many people are poo pooing on this device vs. other apple upgrades...
3G to 3GS -same design, same screen, just speed differences. nobody was crying here.

because "s" phones are internals revisions. 3g was different from 1 and 4 was different from 3g. 5 is pretty much what 4s should have been.

 

[borostef]

This is what happens when you put a bean counter in charge of a creative company. We saw it in the 80's, and we may just be seeing it start to unfold again.

I agree with this... It seems to me that Apple is going back to the "Design by committee" bad old days and becoming just another tech company that is trying to make their products appeal to the market instead of reshaping the market with new products.

 

[elementskins]

Exactly. Steve Jobs was a maverick. Tim Cook is quite possibly his exact opposite, which is probably what kept Apple well balanced for a number of years. But now the maverick is gone, and it has changed Apple in a fundamental way, and much faster than I thought it would.

Last year, there was disapointment with the 4S, as there had been a 16 month span between devices, adding higher expectations. The death of Jobs had much to do with the success of the 4S, initially at least.

Someone in another thread mentioned that this is exactly the sort of attitude that RIM had at one point, when they were on top. Where are they now?

Yes, the iPhone 5 is a nice phone, and yes, it's probably just us geeks that really care that this was evolutionary instead of revolutionary, but no matte dhow you look at it, Apple innovation has slowed to a crawl in the phone dept.

 

[GR33NIE]

I'm upset it's not 20% thinner, I mean I've always thought 'I wish my 4S was 20% thinner' but they've under delivered with just 18%

 

[freedevil]

Is it confirmed that wide band is coming to AT&T. He named Deutsche in the keynote which I found weird. Hello, USA?

 

[Leonard1818]

No, i want Apple to "innovate" and "rebuild from the ground up" and take notice to the most popular tweaks in cydia.

Oh. So you want apple to start over and be more like google circa the last 10-15 years... I see

 

[saba01]

Yes, fine but usually the Apple products work!

 

[Daveoc64]

As an iPhone 4 user, I thought that the iPhone 4S was a joke. What did it really offer over the iPhone 4? New software features like Siri? Faster processor? Marginal camera improvement? A fix for the dodgy antenna design?

To me, the iPhone 5 feels like a huge improvement because it has all of the features that the 4S has that aren't on the iPhone 4 (Siri, better antenna, the new iOS 6 features like turn by turn, 3D maps and panoramic photos, even faster 3G, better camera, GLONASS etc.) AND some pretty big changes on top.

I think iOS is too stagnant. iOS 6 just doesn't offer anything significant to distinguish itself from iOS 5. It's a shame because there's plenty that they could add, not just copying from other platforms, but stuff that's obvious.

Nothing at the keynote was surprising. All the rumours were accurate.

 

[SprSynJn]

There was no "wow" factor this time.

I was pretty "wowed" actually, but I guess I was the only one. I was a bit on the fence about what phone to get next, but this has sealed the deal for me. Now we just play the waiting game.

 

[Abazigal]

As an iPhone 4 user, I thought that the iPhone 4S was a joke. What did it really offer over the iPhone 4? New software features like Siri? Faster processor? Marginal camera improvement? A fix for the dodgy antenna design?

You were likely still under contract and incapable of upgrading freely to a 4s anyways. The 4s would represent a substantial upgrade for the then 3GS users.

To me, the iPhone 5 feels like a huge improvement because it has all of the features that the 4S has that aren't on the iPhone 4 (Siri, better antenna, the new iOS 6 features like turn by turn, 3D maps and panoramic photos, even faster 3G, better camera, GLONASS etc.) AND some pretty big changes on top.

Exactly what Apple wants, and oh, your 2-year contract should be just about up. Time to upgrade!

 

[The Phazer]

I would have been fine with a spec bump.

But some elements are actively worse. iOS 6 forces a vastly inferior maps. Lightning seems to give absolutely no benefit but generates considerable expense. Battery life will be worse in practice on LTE. They have, IMO, completely cocked up the screen ratio and it will be much less comfortable to use. The UK retail price has been bumped up for no good reason on the lower models.

Nothing was introduced that makes it seem like there's some benefits to justify the downsides.

 

[Zac7]

Do you guys think they went just taller on the 5 and maybe on the 5s or 6 they will go wider? Reasoning could be do this first to be easy on app developers? Or maybe going bigger altogether and updating once wouldn't been smarter.

I like the phone just wish it wasn't just taller. If they were only making it taller should have fit that screen into the same size body as the 4s and removed bezel or home button.

 

[Virinprew]

People who says disappoint should list what they want. It is almost like people need to buy something wow but don't know exactly what. We are supposed to buy what we need, aren't we?

 

[tdream]

Um, I don't think the iphone will ever have an SD card slot. That's something I'm pretty sure Apple hasn't forgotten to put in but actively avoids (it adds extra structure and more thickness and I think the thinking goes that people tend to just buy one big SD, put it in there, and never change it so why make it thick for them to do that when you can just give them an integrated "big SD" slot. Plus it adds the benefit that Apple can charge a lot for which size you want . So Apple has no motivation to add an SD slot at all ).

Not that I think an SD slot is bad, but honestly, I had a Compaq Ipaq before I had the phone. That had a compact flash and an SD slot. And yes, I tended to just stick one SD card in there and use it and it was a bit of a pain to move SD cards around depending on what I used. The iphone when I got it I had to eat my words about not liking it's lack of SD card cause it was nice to just have enough storage not to worry about that crap. Though I have to admit I think Apple needs to upgrade its storage offerings faster if they want that philosophy to work (won't work if people are starting to notice they need more space before they upgrade phones).

I agree. Apple really doesn't want anything to do with physical media, be it Blu-Ray/SD or whatever the next media form factor is. It wants data to be streamed or stored on it's own devices and services. Remember memory is a selling point for Apple if it were to allow other memory options, it would provide another route for media/etc to enter it's ecosystem. Apple doesn't want that. It wants the user to buy everything from iTunes.

 

[Oppressed]

Not true, I criticize Apple as well. Before I bought my first iPhone I wrote a blog post on everything that was wrong with the first iPhone. I can pick several things I think is wrong with the current iPhone. But I don't think Apple deserves some of the extreme criticism I've seen. For one, the expectations are too high. And two, a lot of it is just as you've mentioned, trashing a phone because they don't like it (whether that be the iPhone or and Android).

So criticism I understand. But comments like "just catching up" completely ignores the entire Apple philosophy. Sure, from your point of view they are just catching up, but Apple has been "just catching up" in some form since they started business. Apple has a history of this pattern of innovation followed by slow careful growth. The worst part of Apple's history is when they tried to be everything to everyone and tried to stay on the cutting edge. They almost went under. Jobs came back and started the trend again....innovation followed by careful steady growth. And it works. An example....rolling out high DPI screens (retina) but then waiting on LTE chipsets to get to a point where they work as well as the previous 3G chipsets. So to say they are "just catching up" may be true...but it's what makes Apple successful and criticising that is just frustrating because you ignore the postitive side of that equation.

What I really think is this. Apple's methods were really understood well by their past loyal customers (which you appear to be one). But then guys like me become Apple customers due to the newest and hotest toys (my first Apple purchase was an iPod nano) and then we begin to have these expectations. After several years I now see how Apple works. But in the meantime, Apple now has millions of new customers who have never really known much about Apple before. And here they all are expecting the same jump from the iPhone 3Gs to the iPhone 4 every time.....and that's just not sustainable.

Apple will have another revolutionary device, but it probably won't be another iPhone for a long time. They will proably make some very innovative changes in the mobile phone industry again, but it won't be every year or even every two years. And in between those times, they will be slow to adopt technology that doesn't fit their comfort level of readiness. And Apple customers will either accept that or run off to Samsung for the latest toy...that may or may not be buggy (I own a lot of Samsung items so I feel justified is saying that since some are in fact buggy).

And I don't think there is any reason to be embarassed by the phrase "it just works", because that's what finally sold me on Apple. Not having LTE is not as important as making sure it works well....and from my experience with many mobile devices....it does.

Great post! People like to think Apple is synonymous with innovation, but a more appropriate word would be refinement.

LTE, wait until it doesn't destroy battery life and the ability to put it into one chip for size.

Longer screen, make sure not to fragment your product line too much so it is easier for developers to make apps for.

Camera, the MP is sufficient so refine the quality in low light and lens materials.

Panorama function, million apps out there, but any with the easy of use with the quality of the final picture? (think exposure changes, ghosting, and image stability)

Hopefully you can see a trend here, and while this may appear as catch up to some, others view it as getting it right the first time, and even if that means being late to the party.

 

[sixteen12]

The 4s was a big bump from the 4 in every way except appearance. The 5 seems like a bump of similar size but including appearance.