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iPhone anti-climax

So the iPhone 5 is real. The long wait is over. Is it worth the months of hype it generated?


Johannesburg, 13 Sep 2012

I've got that strange feeling one gets after spending a really long time waiting for something, and then it happens and it's all over and you're left slightly bewildered and deflated.

It's like that moment when you're young and are positively bursting with excitement to open all of your birthday presents, and then you finally do and no matter how many presents you have to open, once you open the last one you're inevitably left looking around hoping for more.

Melodramatic perhaps? Sure. But that's how I feel post the iPhone 5 announcement. It's not outright disappointment; it's just the loss of all the possibilities that could have been.

In following the rumours in the run-up to the release, while I constantly read reports claiming to have the latest images and “confirmed” specs, on some level I still believed that it was simply not possible for all the information about an Apple product to be accurately leaked prior to launch. In the back of my mind I was thinking “There's no way that Apple won't give us at least some surprises.”

But following the press launch, as the specs started coming to light, I was still holding out for the surprise - for the key new differentiator. And Apple left me hanging.

The iPhone has been the benchmark against which all other smartphones are measured for years now. Each new iteration has had features that clearly differentiate it from competitors. Thus, the iPhone 5 raises the inevitable question - is it enough to reclaim the king of the smartphones title for Apple? (A title that was recently ceded to Samsung in the all-important US market.)

Level playing field

There's no denying that the iPhone 5 is an attractive device. As Wired reporter Mat Honan puts it: “It's completely amazing and utterly boring.” In short, it's a slimmer, streamlined, bigger and better version of the iPhone 4S. Apple says it has improved absolutely everything about the iPhone's predecessor.

But when the iPhone 4S was released, it was clearly ahead of the pack. With the iPhone 5 release, the competitive landscape has changed to such an extent that it is not nearly quite so clear cut.

Just look at a direct comparison between the Samsung Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5:

What's clear from a direct comparison of some of the key specs is that the playing field in the high-end smartphone space is levelling off. This makes the eco-systems surrounding the devices all-important. And this is something that Apple is well aware of.

Concluding the launch event proceedings, Apple CEO Tim Cook said of the new software and product announcements: “When you look at each of these, they are incredible industry-leading innovations by themselves. But what sets them apart, and what sets us so far ahead of the competition, is how they work together."

Upgrade treadmill

As an iPhone and MacBook Pro user myself, I fall into the category of consumer who is already within the Apple eco-system. This means that should I be presented with the option to upgrade to an iPhone 5 or Galaxy S3 tomorrow, it's pretty certain that I would go with the iPhone 5. And this isn't because it is far and away the best smartphone available, it's because it's an evolution of the device and eco-system I have become accustomed to.

It's not outright disappointment; it's just the loss of all the possibilities that could have been.

Kathryn McConnachie, digital media editor, ITWeb

This is all well and good, but the key consumer segment for smartphone manufacturers going forward is the group of consumers looking to move up from their entry-level devices (side-eye at BlackBerry). With this in mind, I do question whether Apple has done enough with the iPhone 5 to pose a significant challenge to the increased competition from the likes of Samsung, Nokia and HTC.

While the iPhone 5 will no doubt keep the fan-boys and -girls happily ensconced in the Apple eco-system, I'm not sure if it provides enough incentive for new users. When the playing field is so level in terms of specs, the determining factor will be price - and local pricing still remains to be seen.

With the impending release of iOS 6 for the iPhone 4S, I actually think I'll be quite content to stick with my handset for the time-being. I can do without the extra row of apps and the bigger screen of the iPhone 5. I don't feel compelled to jump on the 'upgrade treadmill' - which is quite unusual for an Apple fan.

Of course, in the run up to the iPhone 5 launch it was said that no matter what Apple produced, there would be some disappointment simply because user expectations are so sky-high at the moment. Even if the iPhone 5 could shoot laser beams and make our morning coffee, we'd be asking why it can't read our minds and take out the trash.

All in all, the iPhone 5 has met expectations but I can't help feeling like I'm still waiting for the big differentiating feature; that 'one more thing'. And it looks like I will just have to wait until the iPhone 6 - or the iPhone 5S?

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