Shouldn't Apple Be Trying to Lower Expectations?

[SpookyMulder]

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There's a lot of discussion about the iPhone 4/4S/5 on the board right now. The rumored iPhone 5 sounds like a truly brilliant device that could be a game changer for Apple. Let's say though, that there is no iPhone 5 as the evidence is beginning to suggest...why is Apple allowing the rumors to persist?

I'm not in charge of Apple obviously, but if I was I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable going on stage to announce a 4S when so many people are still expecting a 5. Expectations for the keynote are so high that anything less than an iPhone 5 is going to disappoint a lot of customers, fans, shareholders, etc.

If Apple is announcing only a 4S on Tuesday then Apple should be trying to do everything in their power to crush the iPhone 5 rumors to bring expectations back down to a reasonable level. Apple should be intentionally leaking the fact that there will only be a 4S to every major newspaper or tech websites.

The fact that we're still hearing iPhone 5 rumors suggests to me that we are either getting an iPhone 5, or that Apple has made a serious error.

What do you think? Are the continued iPhone 5 rumors the real proof of the devices existence? And do you believe if there is no such phone that Apple's first keynote in the post-Jobs era will fail to meet the high expectations people have after 16 months.

 

[mholtz2323]

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There's a lot of discussion about the iPhone 4/4S/5 on the board right now. The rumored iPhone 5 sounds like a truly brilliant device that could be a game changer for Apple. Let's say though, that there is no iPhone 5 as the evidence is beginning to suggest...why is Apple allowing the rumors to persist?

I'm not in charge of Apple obviously, but if I was I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable going on stage to announce a 4S when so many people are still expecting a 5. Expectations for the keynote are so high that anything less than an iPhone 5 is going to disappoint a lot of customers, fans, shareholders, etc.

If Apple is announcing only a 4S on Tuesday then Apple should be trying to do everything in their power to crush the iPhone 5 rumors to bring expectations back down to a reasonable level. Apple should be intentionally leaking the fact that there will only be a 4S to every major newspaper or tech websites.

The fact that we're still hearing iPhone 5 rumors suggests to me that we are either getting an iPhone 5, or that Apple has made a serious error.

What do you think? Are the continued iPhone 5 rumors the real proof of the devices existence? And do you believe if there is no such phone that Apple's first keynote in the post-Jobs era will fail to meet the high expectations people have after 16 months.

I still think we are going to see a redesigned phone. 4 inch screen. I think they have done a great job keeping the new design under wraps.

 

[ImperialX]

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If Apple is announcing only a 4S on Tuesday then Apple should be trying to do everything in their power to crush the iPhone 5 rumors to bring expectations back down to a reasonable level. Apple should be intentionally leaking the fact that there will only be a 4S to every major newspaper or tech websites.

They are.

 

[CompletelyApple]

They are.

No...they're really not...They are actually trying to just increase hype.

 

[Shrink]

Unless I'm missing something (always a distinct possibility), aside from announcing the presentation on Tuesday, Apple still hasn't said anything about anything.

 

[applefan289]

Unless I'm missing something (always a distinct possibility), aside from announcing the presentation on Tuesday, Apple still hasn't said anything about anything.

This.

 

[SpookyMulder]

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Unless I'm missing something (always a distinct possibility), aside from announcing the presentation on Tuesday, Apple still hasn't said anything about anything.

No that sort of IS the point. Apple doesn't have to say anything for there to be very strong, almost concrete evidence, of the 4S and each day that goes by the lack of hard evidence if the iPhone 5 becomes more apparent.

And yet, the rumors persist and many people still think that the iPhone 5 is coming. IF it's not then those people, myself included, are going to be seriously disappointed. IF there's no iPhone 5, then Apple should be trying to find use the rumor mill to lower expectations back down to a reasonable level.

Apple can't afford to disappoint.

 

[applefan289]

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No that sort of IS the point. Apple doesn't have to say anything for there to be very strong, almost concrete evidence, of the 4S and each day that goes by the lack of hard evidence if the iPhone 5 becomes more apparent.

And yet, the rumors persist and many people still think that the iPhone 5 is coming. IF it's not then those people, myself included, are going to be seriously disappointed. IF there's no iPhone 5, then Apple should be trying to find use the rumor mill to lower expectations back down to a reasonable level.

Apple can't afford to disappoint.

Can't we all just sit tight until the 4th?

Unless there is real evidence to post, stop with the speculation!

 

[ryuok]

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If Apple is announcing only a 4S on Tuesday then Apple should be trying to do everything in their power to crush the iPhone 5 rumors to bring expectations back down to a reasonable level. Apple should be intentionally leaking the fact that there will only be a 4S to every major newspaper or tech websites.

They just did with the iTunes beta.

 

[batman75]

I agree that evidence suggests there will be no iPhone 5. But the question then arises - why did they wait till October to launch a 4S. Surely they could have done that in July. The A5 was already available back then.

 

[xdbuix]

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No that sort of IS the point. Apple doesn't have to say anything for there to be very strong, almost concrete evidence, of the 4S and each day that goes by the lack of hard evidence if the iPhone 5 becomes more apparent.

And yet, the rumors persist and many people still think that the iPhone 5 is coming. IF it's not then those people, myself included, are going to be seriously disappointed. IF there's no iPhone 5, then Apple should be trying to find use the rumor mill to lower expectations back down to a reasonable level.

Apple can't afford to disappoint.

I believe after seeing cases of the tapered iPhone 5 cases at AT&T stores in the US, we're in for a redesign iPhone 5.

 

[Calidude]

Clearly, they're feeding disinformation to the media about the 4S being the only model, as well as the "leak" with the iTunes beta, so they're actually doing nothing BUT lowering expectations on purpose at this point.

 

[shandyman]

Unless I'm missing something (always a distinct possibility), aside from announcing the presentation on Tuesday, Apple still hasn't said anything about anything.

Exactly this. Apple never say anything. any hype is totally from the fanboys and the techblogs total guesswork and 'supposed' leaks, which cannot be confirmed. People keep throwing up the cases, do people not remember the 3rd gen iPod touch case that had a hole for a camera?

No that sort of IS the point. Apple doesn't have to say anything for there to be very strong, almost concrete evidence, of the 4S and each day that goes by the lack of hard evidence if the iPhone 5 becomes more apparent.

And yet, the rumors persist and many people still think that the iPhone 5 is coming. IF it's not then those people, myself included, are going to be seriously disappointed. IF there's no iPhone 5, then Apple should be trying to find use the rumor mill to lower expectations back down to a reasonable level.

Apple can't afford to disappoint.

as above, Apple don't say anything, they never do. the only people to blame for any disappointment are themselves for believing stuff wrtten on forums and unsubstantiated stuff from tech blogs. Apple cannot control what people think or say on a forum and there are tech blogs that purpetuate flakey information just for traffic and people buy into it.

 

[SpookyMulder]

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No, they can have "reliable sources" leak information of their own to clear things up.

It doesn't matter if the false info isn't Apple's fault, theyre still the ones who are going to be expected to meet expectations. They're a business; if customers are expecting one thing, web if those expectations are unfounded and unrealistic, the business is still going to suffer.

You might be able to just say "screw you, morons" to people who buy into false hype, but a business can't...or at least a smart business shouldn't.

 

[shandyman]

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No, they can have "reliable sources" leak information of their own to clear things up.

It doesn't matter if the false info isn't Apple's fault, theyre still the ones who are going to be expected to meet expectations. They're a business; if customers are expecting one thing, web if those expectations are unfounded and unrealistic, the business is still going to suffer.

You might be able to just say "screw you, morons" to people who buy into false hype, but a business can't...or at least a smart business shouldn't.

the thing is tho, the general public have no idea about the rumours of the 4S and 5, it's only forums like this and tech blogs. Joe Public won't know much until the official announcement. the only people that are going to be disappointed with no redesign is people on here and forums like this, who are not representative of the general public. Such a group will realy not have any affect on their business.

I will re-iterate, as i have said elsewhere, i'm not saying there won't be, or that there shouldn't be a redesign, just that people are blowing this WAY out of proportion saying that Apple will be doomed if they don't release a re-design this year.

 

[iabacus]

Exactly!

I believe after seeing cases of the tapered iPhone 5 cases at AT&T stores in the US, we're in for a redesign iPhone 5.

Multiple companies releasing cases for a redesign. Has this happened before where the cases were wrong/recalled/useless? It seems like the leaked cases are on the money! (I hope)

 

[shandyman]

Multiple companies releasing cases for a redesign. Has this happened before where the cases were wrong/recalled/useless? It seems like the leaked cases are on the money! (I hope)

it's not actually been proven that these cases have arrived at stores, the photos on macrumors came from a reader. Cases were made for an iPod Touch 3rd Gen with a camera hole, which of course, it never had.

 

[Shrink]

the thing is tho, the general public have no idea about the rumours of the 4S and 5, it's only forums like this and tech blogs. Joe Public won't know much until the official announcement. the only people that are going to be disappointed with no redesign is people on here and forums like this, who are not representative of the general public. Such a group will realy not have any affect on their business.

I will re-iterate, as i have said elsewhere, i'm not saying there won't be, or that there shouldn't be a redesign, just that people are blowing this WAY out of proportion saying that Apple will be doomed if they don't release a re-design this year.

This...This...This ^^^^

A voice of sanity, in a world of...

 

[Reach9]

Exactly this. Apple never say anything. any hype is totally from the fanboys and the techblogs total guesswork and 'supposed' leaks, which cannot be confirmed. People keep throwing up the cases, do people not remember the 3rd gen iPod touch case that had a hole for a camera?



as above, Apple don't say anything, they never do. the only people to blame for any disappointment are themselves for believing stuff wrtten on forums and unsubstantiated stuff from tech blogs. Apple cannot control what people think or say on a forum and there are tech blogs that purpetuate flakey information just for traffic and people buy into it.

Wrong. Apple quickly made their outlet, WSJ's AllThingsD tell everybody to not expect an iPhone in this year's WWDC, when clearly everybody was expecting it.
Apple emphasized over and over again that WWDC would be all about software this time, and even for the "One More Thing.." Steve said "no no, one small thing".

It is interesting that AllThingsD didn't shoot down the iPhone 5 rumors yet, and aren't reporting much about it.
If we were to expect only an iPhone 4S, we would've heard it from WSJ.
So the OP has some credit in what he's saying, but we'll just have to wait and see.

the thing is tho, the general public have no idea about the rumours of the 4S and 5, it's only forums like this and tech blogs. Joe Public won't know much until the official announcement. the only people that are going to be disappointed with no redesign is people on here and forums like this, who are not representative of the general public. Such a group will realy not have any affect on their business.

I will re-iterate, as i have said elsewhere, i'm not saying there won't be, or that there shouldn't be a redesign, just that people are blowing this WAY out of proportion saying that Apple will be doomed if they don't release a re-design this year.

Wrong again. The iPhone 5 event has gone public, big time. Every news station is talking about it, and saying to "expect a redesign", so the general public is fully aware.
Will Apple be doomed? No, but there's a similar preference and market indicators pointing to a few features we all want to see.

 

[greytmom]

The only thing Apple could do to manage expectations is to come out and say "Here's what we are presenting." And they are going to do that - on Tuesday.

Anything else will simply be viewed as just another rumor, and we've already got plenty of those.

 

[shandyman]

Wrong. Apple quickly made their outlet, WSJ's AllThingsD tell everybody to not expect an iPhone in this year's WWDC

Apple's outlet is with WISJ? is this something official? can you give evidence? or are you claiming it based on unfounded theories? I'm sure WSJ have claimed things before that haven't panned out from threads i've read on here over the years.

Wrong again. The iPhone 5 event has gone public, big time. Every news station is talking about it, and saying to "expect a redesign", so the general public is fully aware.
Will Apple be doomed? No, but there's a similar preference and market indicators pointing to a few features we all want to see.

All the news stations are saying is that Apple is having an event to announce the new iPhone, any sensible person will know that what they say about the phone is all theoretical until launch as joe public is not stupid. Unless the news station is stating it as fact, in which case, that station is gonna hurt it's own reputation.

 

[btrav13]

Apple's not going to engage in the speculation either way. Asking them to either quell or hype the rumors is just something they're not going to do. They have their business plan, it's been in the works for months and months, and they'll show up on Tuesday and do their thing.

As others have said, there's a small handful of customers that are absolutely crazy over these releases...and that small handful isn't the crowd you cater to when making decisions. The crazies will stick around regardless of what they release on Tuesday. A die-hard Apple fanatic isn't going to go buy another platform just because the new handset isn't exactly what they wanted. The crazies are generally customers for life, even if they're angry on occasion

 

[0x000000]

They just did with the iTunes beta.

Yes, the iTunes Beta cam after (!) the event was announced. My first thought was that surely many people would scan the files for a leak and that Apple would surely not make that mistake again.

They did, and truth to be told, I doubt they'd make the same mistake twice – unwillingly, that is.

The leak must be intended. Especially if you keep in mind that the leak has been in the beta for almost a month already. It's likely that Apple resubmitted the beta to again point to their intentional leak, because people didn't find it the first time.

If there was an iPhone 5, they could've just kept quiet that and surprise everyone in the end. If not, they had to somehow keep the expectations low. And they did.

 

[TM WAZZA]

They are.

+1

Recent rumors point to "4S".

 

[arkon]

Apple did everything, do keep the redesigned iPhone 5 under the hood. Except the document for the cases. But a lot of people still thinking, there will be no redesigned iPhone 5. And then WOW there is ONE! Everyone freaks out and ships there money to apple, so will I do ;-)

Android and Samsung is too big of a competition to just launch iPhone 4S. Think about that!