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Why does everyone want an iPhone 5 on launch day?

J

jamied95

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 14, 2009
449
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This launch, more than any other, seems to have attracted a much wider variety of people, many of whom are not readers of Macrumors, the kind of people who do it due to the new tech, or their fanboyism (guilty, as charged), but still "need" the iPhone 5 on launch day.

But why do they "need" it? What is causing all these people to suddenly decide that they "need" it on launch day, not 2 weeks after, when last year, they didn't care?

The only reason I can possibly think of is to show off, a status symbol, but what is the point in showing off a phone that a predicted 8 million people are going to have by Monday? It's not exclusive anymore, it's not a symbol of technological superiority, it's not something rare and treasured, it isn't suddenly going to make you popular and yet so many people aspire to have one.

Most importantly, what happens when these people realise this? There'll obviously still be a market for 40/50 year olds who just want something that works, but the younger market's going to move on, surely?

I'm sure this comes across as all sorts of things, but it's a genuine question, don't hate.
 
jamied95 said:
This launch, more than any other, seems to have attracted a much wider variety of people, many of whom are not readers of Macrumors, the kind of people who do it due to the new tech, or their fanboyism (guilty, as charged), but still "need" the iPhone 5 on launch day.

But why do they "need" it? What is causing all these people to suddenly decide that they "need" it on launch day, not 2 weeks after, when last year, they didn't care?

The only reason I can possibly think of is to show off, a status symbol, but what is the point in showing off a phone that a predicted 8 million people are going to have by Monday? It's not exclusive anymore, it's not a symbol of technological superiority, it's not something rare and treasured, it isn't suddenly going to make you popular and yet so many people aspire to have one.

Most importantly, what happens when these people realise this? There'll obviously still be a market for 40/50 year olds who just want something that works, but the younger market's going to move on, surely?

I'm sure this comes across as all sorts of things, but it's a genuine question, don't hate.
Click to expand...
I would feel like Storm(the superhero) if i get my hands on it on release day. I can already feel the currents running though my blood stream.

Ok seriously, im the same way with any phone. When i was a sony ericsson girl, i always liked having the phone on the day of release *shrug*
 
jamied95 said:
This launch, more than any other, seems to have attracted a much wider variety of people, many of whom are not readers of Macrumors, the kind of people who do it due to the new tech, or their fanboyism (guilty, as charged), but still "need" the iPhone 5 on launch day.

But why do they "need" it? What is causing all these people to suddenly decide that they "need" it on launch day, not 2 weeks after, when last year, they didn't care?

The only reason I can possibly think of is to show off, a status symbol, but what is the point in showing off a phone that a predicted 8 million people are going to have by Monday? It's not exclusive anymore, it's not a symbol of technological superiority, it's not something rare and treasured, it isn't suddenly going to make you popular and yet so many people aspire to have one.

Most importantly, what happens when these people realise this? There'll obviously still be a market for 40/50 year olds who just want something that works, but the younger market's going to move on, surely?

I'm sure this comes across as all sorts of things, but it's a genuine question, don't hate.
Click to expand...

I think it's a fair question. I'm a heavy user of my iPhone 4, and for me it's that for the past year, my 4 has started to show its age -- lagging when using my podcast app, slow camera response, things like that. I'm also eager to try out the improved camera and Siri. So I really can't wait to get my hands on a phone that will be much faster, improved, and with features I don't currently have.

Plus, honestly, I am the kind of geek who's incredibly impatient to get his grubby hands on a new toy, so it cannot get here fast enough. I'm the same way when I'm building a computer and am waiting for the components to arrive.
 
Nathan576 said:
because the 4s was a ****** upgrade and the 5 is an amazing one
Click to expand...

Very good point, and is the sole reason why I'm paying up the nose now to upgrade from a 4S to a 5. I have been with the iPhone since the original, and will be the first time I have ever upgraded outside of the two year cycle.

I didn't want to be stuck upgrading to the incremental "S" model every two years! I paid out the nose this year, but will be much happier upgrading to the new model every two years.
 
I'm excited to try it out but if my shipment gets delayed, I don't really care. This is my first personal smart phone and I look forward to messing around with it and getting rid of my stupid work provided phone.
 
I don't show off my phones to anyone (in fact, I really despise the questions and "can I see it?" kind of questions). However, I am looking forward to it for me personally. I enjoy new things in several aspects of life, gadgets being one of those. If I had to wait, I'd survive (we are all waiting and surviving right now as it is), but it costs me no more to get it on day one vs day fourteen, so why not?
 
It's the same reason anyone wants anything on launch day, why people go to midnight releases of movies, games, etc. They want to be among the first to have this new experience. The lengths to which some people go to get these things are borderline scary. Pitching a tent in a mall? Yeah, I guess whatever makes you happy. ;)
 
Nathan576 said:
because the 4s was a ****** upgrade and the 5 is an amazing one
Click to expand...

Yeah, but sales are still way above iPhone 4, which was an amazing upgrade, it took iPhone to, well, it made it an engineering masterpiece, antennagate aside.

Also, you guys & gals obviously all have the tech excuse, you're all on MacRumors' forum but it's the other guys, the guys who think they know what LTE is, but they don't, the people who think that an iPhone 4S is faster than a 4S when presented to them as a 5, the people who have up until this year, never cared about an Apple launch. It's these people that I'm baffled as to where their "need" comes from.

I know why I and many of you want it, we simply want to make love to it ;)
 
1. It's an iPhone, which has access to the greatest app store out there.
2. It's LTE

I want it on launch day because it'll do what I need it to do faster, whether it needs more computing power or faster internet speeds. Not because I want to show it off.
 
I certainly wouldn't mind having it for launch day, though I'm not incredibly upset at it being a week late.
 
The same reason people wanted the newest Harry Potter at midnight release day, even though millions upon millions of people would buy the same book. We've been waiting a long time and it's a ****ing awesome product! Who cares how many people will have it? I care that I have it.
 
Because nobody likes waiting. It's great to know when you go past those big queues outside the apple store your iPhone is already safely in your pocket.
Plus we all get caught up in the hype. We watch the keynote, hit the forums then place our orders!
 
Because my original iPhone is on life support and over half a decade with a phone, I believe, warrants a change.
 
so they could create their own threads on macrumors saying they got one and hope for lots of replies.
 
jamied95 said:
The only reason I can possibly think of is to show off, a status symbol, but what is the point in showing off a phone that a predicted 8 million people are going to have by Monday? It's not exclusive anymore, it's not a symbol of technological superiority, it's not something rare and treasured, it isn't suddenly going to make you popular and yet so many people aspire to have one.
Click to expand...

Just wanted to say, if 8 million people had this phone by monday, that is still only 2.5% of the population of the United States, and it isnt just the united states that it will be released to so it will be a pretty rare phone.

As for why i need it on launch - My iphone 4 has seen better days and a lot of the times the charger doesnt work in it correctly. Also, its a lot of fun and really exciting getting new technology, i think that is why a lot of people want it on launch. I mean, not necessarily as a status symbol but just because they enjoy their technology and it can be exciting.
 
JayDude132 said:
Just wanted to say, if 8 million people had this phone by monday, that is still only 2.5% of the population of the United States, and it isnt just the united states that it will be released to so it will be a pretty rare phone.
Click to expand...

You're right, but 2.5% of the US population in 3 days? Imagine by Christmas, there's analysts predicting massive numbers 100 million+.
 
My current Android phone is literally falling apart and might not even make it until Friday. Otherwise I'd hold off and see if there's another problem similar to "antennagate" before getting an iPhone 5.
 
Because.

Ever heard of Xmas?

Some people want it just because. No plan to advertise it, no need to show off status, just because.
 
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