Even before this announcement, it is beyond me how anyone can argue that this is not the best smartphone on the market.
It has an incredibly fast processor, fantastic camera, one of the most popular music hubs (iTunes), the largest app store and probably the most advanced AI technology in a phone.
When the technorati (and, to be honest, most bloggers have been supportive of the product) diss this phone, are they actually suggesting someone would be better off with a Android, Blackberry or Windows 7 phone?
It's a plain and simple fact that people refuse to accept - people purchase Android because it's available on many different carriers and comes in many different price points. People choose blackberry cause sometimes their work requires it or they want blackberry messenger. And no one chooses Windows phones.
With the iPhone now available on more carriers at different price points, the game will continue to change.
There was a time, not too long ago, when Apple stuff was legitimately a worse deal than the equivalent brown-box product. It got ingrained into our cultural consciousness: Macs are overpriced, they underperform. They claim to put design first, but they still break. Not worth it unless you really like the OS.
That hasn't been true for a while, of course; Apple has made all the deals they needed to be competitive or untouchable on price and performance, and their revolutionary design philosophy has outgrown puberty and started changing the world.
You really can't imagine why anyone might prefer the Samsung Galaxy S II (for example) to an iPhone?
How about (straight off the top of my head)
Better Linux connectivity.
Ability to easily copy files on and off the phone.
Ability to sync podcasts directly on the phone, without having to connect to a computer with iTunes (not used an iPhone for a while, they might have finally fixed this).
Ability to run software Apple doesn't like (emulators).
We haven't really seen the AI yet, I remain to be convinced, and I don't care about the camera.
Also, you mention price point. The iPhone (particularly the 4S) is about the most expensive phone around at the moment. In general of course the most expensive phone with have the fastest processor, that's hardly suprising.
>Even before this announcement, it is beyond me how anyone can argue that this is not the best smartphone on the market.
Because, just as people complain about irrational "fanboys", there are also irrational "haters". If Android was a huge, old-style brick phone with a pull-out antenna windows CE style interface Apple haters would be talking about how great it is and how much better it is than the 4S.
I might agree, it looks like a nice phone. Possibly better than the Android competition.
But the underlying issue I have with the iPhone, is the lack of freedom I get with it. I don't want to (and more or less can't) be restricted to iTunes, and feel I shouldn't have to void my warranty to use the device how I see fit.
There's only really a couple of points in your post that are valid, so I'll go through each point you made.
1. Phones with the same class of processor have been available for some time now. Tegra 2 is a dual core 1ghz SoC and there are 1.2 and 1.5ghz dual cores from competitors, with a quad core 1.5ghz due from Nvidia within the next few months.
2. The camera may be excellent, but previous phones have applied some bad automatic settings to this, making adjusting of photos result in unnecessary detail loss.
3. iTunes and the App Store I won't argue against, but it's worthy of note now that competitors are approaching Apple with these features.
4. As far as the AI goes, I doubt it will ever see significant widespread adoption. Nobody has yet been able to give me a few good solid examples of use outside of 'play this album' and 'set a reminder for x'. Facetime was supposed to be the be-all and end-all of video chatting. I think I have used it once.
5. The general point about carriers is almost certainly stated by an American. iPhones have been available on many carriers in many countries, and still Android is advancing significantly.
6. You're ignoring the significant downsides to the iOS ecosystem. For example, if you purchase apps, you would be better off with an Android. Why? Because purchasing those apps on an iPhone means that the associated cost of switching to any other platform increases by the value of those apps. That cannot be justified as a 'good thing'.
Let's stay on the ground here. Yeah it is better.. because it's new.
There are many phones with a good camera, which will be enough for many people. Most advanced AI technology? I guess so, other phones don't have any AI technology. How fast the processor is, is mostly irrelevant unless the phone can't handle its own UI.
I own a Windows Phone because it was very cheap (180 Euros) and it's essentially the same as an IPhone from a functionality and design viewpoint.
> are they actually suggesting someone would be better off with a Android, Blackberry or Windows 7 phone?
It seems your comment is based on a flawed assumption that all these consumer devices should be evaluated in a vacuum where price, app markets, & previous corporate adoption doesn't matter.
iPhones where historically really expensive devices. And price is one of the features of the device just like camera resolution is. So it is a bit like saying "Can't people see that a Lexus is a much better car than a Honda Civic? Why are reviews for a Honda Civic better sometimes than reviews for a Lexus, I don't get it !?"
I love my Windows phone especially with the new update. The software actually makes up for the substandard hardware. On that note the new Iphone is pretty damn awesome.
Me and the rest of the developer community laugh at the contrary blog posts, all the way to the bank. This weekend, there will be hundreds of thousands more iPhone owners, and the developer community will make a fortune.
I applaud Apple for focusing on what's important - speed and sex, not features and fapping. Because when they do, all my apps get faster and all my customers get happier, and I don't have to do much work at all. Integrating with new APIs and hardware is a necessary evil, but we just want the devices to keep getting smaller and faster, as do the consumers.
OTOH, if Apple had killed the 3GS this time around, rather than keeping it around for another year, that probably would have been better for devs since they wouldn't have needed to support that old slow platform.
The contrarian community wonders where your data regarding the percentage of iPhone 4S orders that represent new customers comes from. Is this based on past launches? What were the percentages then?
So if there was an iPhone 5, it's preorders would be the same as worse as now, right? A lot of people upgraded from the 3GS to the iPhone 4 even when in contract, I believe the percent of people doing that is lesser this time and would've been higher at this point.
I don't think anyone said the iPhone 4S will do badly. It's a new iPhone after all and there's a ton of 3GS'ers out of a contract, not to mention people holding off on buying an iPhone 4 waiting for the new phone from a few months.
Up 66% percent, roughly the same rate that the entire market is growing. It's almost uncanny how the iPhone manages to maintain its near-constant share of this rapidly growing market.
To put the disappointed reaction in perspective, I'd say it was roughly the same reaction the iPad received upon its introduction - it was just a "big iPhone". I can't believe it's still going over people's heads, but Apple releases simple products with limited feature sets. Well after the iPhone's release, many people argued somewhat persuasively that Nokia phones from 2004 were light-years ahead of the iPhone. Almost every iPod (excepting the Nano and Touch) was met with that same kind of "eh, nothing new" derision.
They haven't necessarily been proven wrong. Firstly, disappointing is subjective, not objective, so the people who were disappointed might not be the ones ordering it, and neither of those choices is right or wrong.
But more importantly, when the Blackberry 9000 was released I was disappointed with it, I'd hoped for more. I still got my pre-order in, because I wanted to upgrade and it was better than the phone I had at that time. And I have friends now who say they are disappointed with the 4S, but they are still upgrading from their 3/3S/4, just because it's still better and they've had their current phone for a while.
I'm quite disappointed (disclosure: I mainly develop iOS applications) not because of the specs, but I'm disappointed because Apple on this one appears to be even more greedy [1] than before. I don't necessarily want change for change but when you reuse components or design you are expected to lower the price a bit.
I find the current release pattern very similar to the Intel Tick-Tock model [2] where the Tick would be a big software update (iOS 5 in this case) and where the Tock would be an emphasized hardware update on the same platform (maybe a new iPhone 5 next year on iOS 5).
It just means that the 16 GB iPhone 4S is worth $100 more to people than the 8 GB iPhone. Since I assume most people buying one are coming from the 3GS after their 2 year contract is up. The 4S is certainly not going to get iPhone 4 users to upgrade early for an extra couple hundred bucks.
I think we can't judge if this product is disappointing or not by the sales number. I am not saying that the 4S is not a good phone, but the sales are obviously heavily influenced by the Steve Jobs death. Many of my friends who weren't considering a new phone are now going to buy it because it is the last iPhone launched with Jobs alive.
The iPhone 4S will probably be my mom's first cell phone. She doesn't like tech and likes her big button home phone (as in 3/4" button big button). My father and her just moved and my Dad doesn't really want a home phone anymore. He has been looking at getting her a JitterBug. She uses and Apple TV fine (netflix, mlb, and iTunes), so it isn't like she cannot use technology. She just has a phobia of current cellphones. I think it is more from her not wanting to wear her glasses and not being able to read the phone (she sees the TV fine).
[+] [-] dr_|14 years ago|reply
When the technorati (and, to be honest, most bloggers have been supportive of the product) diss this phone, are they actually suggesting someone would be better off with a Android, Blackberry or Windows 7 phone? It's a plain and simple fact that people refuse to accept - people purchase Android because it's available on many different carriers and comes in many different price points. People choose blackberry cause sometimes their work requires it or they want blackberry messenger. And no one chooses Windows phones. With the iPhone now available on more carriers at different price points, the game will continue to change.
[+] [-] Cushman|14 years ago|reply
That hasn't been true for a while, of course; Apple has made all the deals they needed to be competitive or untouchable on price and performance, and their revolutionary design philosophy has outgrown puberty and started changing the world.
But, of course, the mythos continues.
[+] [-] CJefferson|14 years ago|reply
How about (straight off the top of my head)
Better Linux connectivity.
Ability to easily copy files on and off the phone.
Ability to sync podcasts directly on the phone, without having to connect to a computer with iTunes (not used an iPhone for a while, they might have finally fixed this).
Ability to run software Apple doesn't like (emulators).
We haven't really seen the AI yet, I remain to be convinced, and I don't care about the camera.
Also, you mention price point. The iPhone (particularly the 4S) is about the most expensive phone around at the moment. In general of course the most expensive phone with have the fastest processor, that's hardly suprising.
[+] [-] danssig|14 years ago|reply
Because, just as people complain about irrational "fanboys", there are also irrational "haters". If Android was a huge, old-style brick phone with a pull-out antenna windows CE style interface Apple haters would be talking about how great it is and how much better it is than the 4S.
[+] [-] runjake|14 years ago|reply
PS: I chose a Windows Phone. Though, I'd be on an iPhone if Mango (Windows Phone 7.5) wasn't around.
[+] [-] xlevus|14 years ago|reply
But the underlying issue I have with the iPhone, is the lack of freedom I get with it. I don't want to (and more or less can't) be restricted to iTunes, and feel I shouldn't have to void my warranty to use the device how I see fit.
[+] [-] smackfu|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hahaiamatwork|14 years ago|reply
1. Phones with the same class of processor have been available for some time now. Tegra 2 is a dual core 1ghz SoC and there are 1.2 and 1.5ghz dual cores from competitors, with a quad core 1.5ghz due from Nvidia within the next few months.
2. The camera may be excellent, but previous phones have applied some bad automatic settings to this, making adjusting of photos result in unnecessary detail loss.
3. iTunes and the App Store I won't argue against, but it's worthy of note now that competitors are approaching Apple with these features.
4. As far as the AI goes, I doubt it will ever see significant widespread adoption. Nobody has yet been able to give me a few good solid examples of use outside of 'play this album' and 'set a reminder for x'. Facetime was supposed to be the be-all and end-all of video chatting. I think I have used it once.
5. The general point about carriers is almost certainly stated by an American. iPhones have been available on many carriers in many countries, and still Android is advancing significantly.
6. You're ignoring the significant downsides to the iOS ecosystem. For example, if you purchase apps, you would be better off with an Android. Why? Because purchasing those apps on an iPhone means that the associated cost of switching to any other platform increases by the value of those apps. That cannot be justified as a 'good thing'.
[+] [-] Meai|14 years ago|reply
I own a Windows Phone because it was very cheap (180 Euros) and it's essentially the same as an IPhone from a functionality and design viewpoint.
[+] [-] rdtsc|14 years ago|reply
It seems your comment is based on a flawed assumption that all these consumer devices should be evaluated in a vacuum where price, app markets, & previous corporate adoption doesn't matter.
iPhones where historically really expensive devices. And price is one of the features of the device just like camera resolution is. So it is a bit like saying "Can't people see that a Lexus is a much better car than a Honda Civic? Why are reviews for a Honda Civic better sometimes than reviews for a Lexus, I don't get it !?"
[+] [-] zmonkeyz|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] majorlazer|14 years ago|reply
-Bigger screen
-LTE 4G
-Tons of different ROMs available
-More customization options
-I prefer the Android interface
It all comes down to your needs. The screen size alone takes the iPhone out of consideration for me.
[+] [-] rudiger|14 years ago|reply
It's hard to read books on the iPhone, but it's easy on 3.7-4.0" phones, even when they have less pixels.
[+] [-] tybris|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] andrewljohnson|14 years ago|reply
I applaud Apple for focusing on what's important - speed and sex, not features and fapping. Because when they do, all my apps get faster and all my customers get happier, and I don't have to do much work at all. Integrating with new APIs and hardware is a necessary evil, but we just want the devices to keep getting smaller and faster, as do the consumers.
[+] [-] smackfu|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jarek|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|14 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] beej71|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cooldeal|14 years ago|reply
I don't think anyone said the iPhone 4S will do badly. It's a new iPhone after all and there's a ton of 3GS'ers out of a contract, not to mention people holding off on buying an iPhone 4 waiting for the new phone from a few months.
[+] [-] ZeroGravitas|14 years ago|reply
A visual chart of this phenomenon:
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2011/...
[+] [-] jgrahamc|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] philfreo|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] antr|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] saturdaysaint|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] corin_|14 years ago|reply
But more importantly, when the Blackberry 9000 was released I was disappointed with it, I'd hoped for more. I still got my pre-order in, because I wanted to upgrade and it was better than the phone I had at that time. And I have friends now who say they are disappointed with the 4S, but they are still upgrading from their 3/3S/4, just because it's still better and they've had their current phone for a while.
[+] [-] doe88|14 years ago|reply
I find the current release pattern very similar to the Intel Tick-Tock model [2] where the Tick would be a big software update (iOS 5 in this case) and where the Tock would be an emphasized hardware update on the same platform (maybe a new iPhone 5 next year on iOS 5).
[1] http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/10/10/apple_expected...
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Tick-Tock
[+] [-] smackfu|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] juliano_q|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] protomyth|14 years ago|reply
Given Siri, Mom will be getting the iPhone 4S.
[+] [-] jarek|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] amartya916|14 years ago|reply
Even if that's the case, the significantly higher (~66%) orders is something that people in Apple can take a bow for. Well done.