iPhone 5 Buzz Deflates Arrival Of Updated iPhone 4S
New iPhone Boasts Improved Performance But No New Design
The new iPhone 5 was one of the most anticipated gadgets of 2011, but it never appeared. Rumors abounded, leaving consumers expecting an all-new product with dazzling new features and a complete redesign. Instead, on October 4th Apple announced the iPhone 4S, an updated version of the iPhone 4 which the company debuted about 15 months ago. The iPhone 4 has been the most successful iPhone so far, and expectations were running high for Apple’s new offering. These days there are literally hundreds of phones that can browse the web, play music and digital video trans
fers, and support mobile games. Apple fans wanted the iPhone 5 to be a revolutionary game-changer. Instead, we got an evolutionary update. Although the 4S does feature some improvements over its predecessor, the device simply doesn’t live up to the unprecedented hype that has surrounded its launch for the last several months. So where did Apple go wrong?
Timing. Since the launch of the original iPhone in2007, Apple has unveiled a new handset every June – until this year, that is. In June 2011, anxious consumers were left to wonder, fantasize, and spread rumors about what the new iPhone would be like. When fans were told to expect a new phone in the fall, just about everyone figured Apple was taking its time to perfect something dramatically different. Most rumors agreed that the phone would be thinner than the current design, sport a larger screen, and have an aluminum casing similar to that of a MacBook Air, Apple’s super-sleek notebook computer. From the outside, the iPhone 4S looks exactly the same as the iPhone 4. So, what took Apple so long to release it?
This time around, Apple concentrated on the iPhone’s insides, giving the 4S a faster processor with better graphic capabilities, a better camera, and a newly designed antenna that allows the device to work on either Verizon or AT&T, while providing faster downloads. Perhaps the biggest rumor to come true is that the iPhone will now be available on Sprint as well. But while these internal updates may indeed make the phone perform better, they don’t help the average consumer differentiate the 4S from last year’s iPhone 4. The average Joe may not even feel the need for improved performance over the iPhone 4, but everyone understands a sexy new design and a bigger screen. Apple also announced several software-related upgrades to the iOS operating system, but these upgrades will effect the iPhone 4 as well as the 4S.
Apple has released updated iPhone models in the past without causing this much disappointment among expectant fans, but that was then, and this is now. When the iPhone 3GS was introduced two years ago, its internal improvements in processing speed were more significant because the iPhone 3G was noticeably slow – which is not the case with the iPhone 4. Also, the 3GS brought the addition of video recording, a much sought-after feature, and improved gaming capabilities. Most importantly, the 3GS was announced right on schedule, in June, so it escaped the extra months of pressure-cooker anticipation that has plagued the release of the iPhone 4S. Apple’s stock price fell as much as 5 percent during day trading on the day the 4S was announced, though it has since rebounded.
So, what do you think? Is the iPhone 4S good enough, or did Apple let us down?
On March 18th 2010, an Apple Software Engineer named Gray Powell accidentally left a new prototype iPhone in a beer garden called Gourmet Haus Staudt in Redwood City. Powell was out with friends celebrating his 27th birthday when he left the device, which was housed in a plastic casing to make it look like a current generation iPhone 3GS, on the bar before leaving for the night.
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