Iphone 4S not what people wants

[theeedude]

Maybe Steve Jobs resigned because he couldn't face having to present this 😀

 

[Bateluer]

she knows how to use iOS. I'm not going to teach her how to use Android and she's not going to figure it out. this magical camera shutter + iCloud photo integration will be great. she'll love it. she has THOUSANDS of pictures on her phone.

<---realist

Why do people act like Android is so difficult to use? Its a phone, it takes a matter of minutes to figure out how to make a call, send a text, open the browser, etc. Its not rocket science and the manufacturers aren't making it difficult.

 

[Krynj]

As a devout Android user since the G1, and overall fan of technology, I really hope Apple bounces back big with the iPhone 5. Apple can say that consumers don't want smaller screens all they want, but, there's a reason the large screened Android devices are selling into the millions. After using an Evo for over a year, and now the SGS2 Epic 4G Touch, I simply cannot go back to a smaller device. The iPhone faithful can say they don't want larger screens, but once they get it, they won't look back.

 

[Krynj]

Why do people act like Android is so difficult to use? Its a phone, it takes a matter of minutes to figure out how to make a call, send a text, open the browser, etc. Its not rocket science and the manufacturers aren't making it difficult.

Agreed. My dad -- who has no reason in the world to own a smartphone -- picked up an Incredible last year, and he loves it. Part of me did think that I'd have to help him out a bit at first, but, nope. He buys apps from the market all the time. Knows how to use widgets. Knows how to MMS/text, change his ringtones, etc, etc. He's barely asked me any questions about it at all. And what's even more awesome, is he kind of keeps his eye on the mobile market now. Every once in a while he'll ask me about xyz phone that he heard about.

People who think Android is simply too difficult to recommend to non-techy people are fools. I've had plenty of non-techy friends and family pick up Android phones over the years, and they never come to me for help.

 

[Oyeve]

My mother bought an ipod touch for music and web. Then she bought an android phone. Then i stopped answering the phone because my mother can barely operate the vcr. Surprisingly she never called for help on the android phone. She did call about the ipod. If she can operate an android phone anyone can.

 

[trmiv]

Yea to add to the "Android isn't that difficult" argument, both my parents have Droid 1's. Mom is 71, Dad is 62. They call me constantly about computer issues, but I don't hear about the phones, this is with vanilla Android. Only thing I did was root them both and install a good basic custom ROM (Droid Concepts) and overclock them both when they complained about them being slow.

 

[Bateluer]

http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/04/technology/apple_iphone_5/index.htm

Apple's big iPhone disappointment

Ouch . . . even CNN's calling it a disappointment.

 

[Pliablemoose]

I'm bummed, was hoping for something much more exciting as far as form factor.

 

[Anubis]

the "android is harder to use" argument is just as much BS as the "windows PCs are harder to use vs Macs" argument

 

[zinfamous]

To be fair to Apple, they did nothing. Entire hype came from media and people like us.

partly.

But I think the fake leaks, the missing iPhone prototype with "security video that doesn't exist," and so-called incident involving cooperation from Palo Alto police and Apple employees to raid an apartment was, perhaps, a bunch of oddly fabricated hype.

now, the recent iPhone 5 mock-ups with video where always mock-ups from fans, but they certainly fueled the larger media into thinking that it was real. ...but then Apple never did anything to reject those videos, images, and articles--as they so often do.

 

[preslove]

I'm bummed, was hoping for something much more exciting as far as form factor.

Shouldn't you be more bummed by the the hit to the stock price? 😛

This is a big fail and it should show in sales. Tons of 3gs owners upgraded early to the iPhone 4. That ain't happening with the 4s. There's no reason to upgrade early, now. They'll see a sales bump, sure, but it's going to be smaller than last time, and not enough to stem the tide against android.

 

[badb0y]

Now that I had time to think about it I feel a little bit better now.

The only thing actually bad about this phone is the screen size. I really wanted a big screen but other than that it looks pretty good compared to other phones.

A5 Probably the fastest SoC on the market(for now)
8 MP Camera
iOS 5
Better Antenna
Build quality second to none
Beast battery life

Come to think of it my only gripe is the screen size but I like iOS more than Android so this is my only option :-/

Please don't flame me /hides.

 

[akugami]

Sorry, I'm kinda out of the loop, but what were you guys expecting?

Its not real impressive, but I wouldn't call it fail. A more modern SoC was about all it really needed, and its not like they'd be stuffing a quad core one or anything in there as they'd need 28nm and with TSMC's issues that won't be happening until next year.

The only real fail is that this is what should have been done months ago,...

Agreed it should have been out months ago. Jury is still out on the hardware but CPU wise, it should be merely on par with the competition, the question is how much Apple increased the GPU power. Can't trust Apple's numbers, so we'll have to wait for something from Anand or another reputable reviewer.

...and nothing major software wise...

Voice recognition seems the major component here. Doesn't seem like a big deal but voice recognition is still pretty shitty, contrary to what anyone says, on both iOS 4 and Android. And iOS actually has relatively decent voice recognition, but it still sucks IMHO. We'll see how iOS 5 goes on that front.

you arent alone i agree with you. all cameras in phones suck

however i might be biased by the fact that i own like $10K in SLR camera equpiment

I'll have to see the iPhone 4S camera before I can make a judgment but while the iPhone 4 had a massively upgraded camera compared to previous offerings prior to the iPhone 4, it still is a shitty camera. My hope is actually that the cameras in all cell phones can replace point and shoot pocket cameras. Cell phones are not there yet but we'll see how this new iPhone does.

And yes, having a DSLR definitely makes one biased. Using a DSLR and a Canon 70-200mm F2.8 L and seeing pictures come out so sharp you can cut with it...and then Mr. Blurry Cell Phone Cam.

indeed. but they aren't and never will be comparable to a pro SLR. they compete with point and shoot, and are starting to compete with high-end point and shoot.

Cell phone cameras are still not there yet though. The best cell phone cameras are on par with the one found in the iPhone 4 but pocket point & shoot cameras are still so much faster at focusing. Having an active kid, trying to snap a picture using a cell phone cam is impossible, while it is somewhat doable with a pocket P&S cam. That's why I use a use a DSLR.

That's funny because people like you told me how SURE you were that there would be two models.

This made the most sense for Apple. Keep milking the money. Sheeple will still flock to the 4S even if it isn't what some more technical Apple fans were expecting in an IP5.

I know you call anyone buying Apple products "sheeple" but it's so predictable that we have people like you that have zero to add to the conversation but spout hate. It's practically guaranteed. If I had a penny for every time someone calls anyone who buys Apple products "sheeple" I'd be a millionaire and own a mansion and a yacht. Is the name calling necessary? Are we still that immature?

I'd think that even the most loyal Apple customers will want faster download speeds, but they still don't have an LTE or even an HSPA+ 4G network option. That's a big FAIL right there, considering that all of the networks are going to be pushing their 4G phones hard this Christmas season.

That said, I can't wait to read some unbiased reviews to see how well their upgraded camera performs. If it's anything like the 8MP camera on my Android phones, it's going to suck.

How are they going to fail? I'm responding to you but it goes for everyone saying Apple failed with the iPhone 4S. Let's be honest, this new iPhone 4S is going to make Apple billions in profit. Billions. With a capital B. And profit, not revenue. Every CEO of every company making Android phones would want to own the failure that Apple is about to release.

If you want to say that there are aspects of the phone that makes it undesirable, be my guest, but failure is such a harsh label for a product that is going to sell tens of millions per quarter, and make billions of dollars.

Anyone who had any brains could have seen that Apple was not going to release an LTE phone UNTIL we have one chip solutions for LTE. This is for size, and power, reasons. Disappointing? Yes. Surprising? No.

And yes, I'm underwhelmed by the iPhone 4S announcement.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Now that I had time to think about it I feel a little bit better now.

The only thing actually bad about this phone is the screen size. I really wanted a big screen but other than that it looks pretty good compared to other phones.

A5 Probably the fastest SoC on the market(for now)
8 MP Camera
iOS 5
Better Antenna
Build quality second to none
Beast battery life

Come to think of it my only gripe is the screen size but I like iOS more than Android so this is my only option :-/

Please don't flame me /hides.

There really isn't anything to flame. Everyone just expected more because it's Apple and they do this once per year. I'm sure next year will be just as anticipated but have to wonder if they've basically backed themselves into a corner where every iPhone release on this type of release cycle is basically destined to be 'ho-hum'.

Let's be honest, the primary reasons the battery life is 'beast' are because the screen size is so small and there is no LTE. So your primary disappointment pretty much ties into one of your positives.

 

[zinfamous]

How are they going to fail? I'm responding to you but it goes for everyone saying Apple failed with the iPhone 4S. Let's be honest, this new iPhone 4S is going to make Apple billions in profit. Billions. With a capital B. And profit, not revenue. Every CEO of every company making Android phones would want to own the failure that Apple is about to release.

If you want to say that there are aspects of the phone that makes it undesirable, be my guest, but failure is such a harsh label for a product that is going to sell tens of millions per quarter, and make billions of dollars.

I agree with you here, but this is also the first time that I have seen every major news outlet--from CNN, to Brian Williams tonight, local NBC news (Apple's home turf), rather decisively label this a huge disappointment.

you don't ever see that from mainstream, non-tech news outlets.

the general public does watch this stuff, so I think it won't be as successful as the previous releases. And if what many people are saying is true--that the advertising will bring them in as usual--then I guess we'll have to see what kind of ad space Samsung and HTC are able to pump out to compete.

The original moto Droid campaign ("Droid Does, i Don't") was very effective.

 

[badb0y]

If this released in June, it would make sense but when they delayed it to October, the hype around it started going crazy.

 

[vi edit]

I'm interested to see how many of the freebie and $99 phones they move. That was a pricing area they previously did not have much representation in and likely lost a lot of market share to Droid.

 

[Fingolfin269]

I'm bummed, was hoping for something much more exciting as far as form factor.

I'm pretty bummed too. The new iPhone was supposed to be the one that finally got me to give the iPhone a shot. I may still do so but will end up buying a used 4 instead of a 4S if I go that route. Probably the better way to go anyway I guess.

 

[alyarb]

I'm still not even sure what you guys were hoping for. The 8mp camera was a given as well as the 45nm A5. LTE is both a political and integration nightmare for Apple and a bigger screen would have put them below the 300ppi mark. The only thing they promised was a Sprint device.

So what did you guys want?

 

[vi edit]

Oh and any chance these "world" phones will actually be usable on 2nd tier resellers like Page Plus? I'm tired of throwing buckets of money at Verizon for a data plan I barely use because I have wifi coverage 95&#37; of my day.

 

[Fingolfin269]

I'm still not even sure what you guys were hoping for. The 8mp camera was a given as well as the 45nm A5. LTE is both a political and integration nightmare for Apple and a bigger screen would have put them below the 300ppi mark. The only thing they promised was a Sprint device.

So what did you guys want?

The unfortunate truth behind only releasing a single phone on a yearly (16m) cycle is that people will probably expect more than can actually be delivered. The fact of the matter is everyone who wants an iPhone now knows (?) it will be at least another year before they might get a bigger screen and/or/maybe LTE. That's a long time in the cell phone world especially when several other phones already boast these features.

 

[Bateluer]

I'm curious if Apple intends to take their iPhone line to the same place as their MBP/MBAs, etc. Where the refreshes are regular, but usually very minor.

 

[RiDE]

Hmm... i was saving my ATT upgrade for this so I can flip it on ebay. But judging by people's reaction i don't think it'll reach the ridiculous prices i was hoping for.

 

[cbn]

A5 Probably the fastest SoC on the market(for now)

 

[alyarb]

Computer Bottleneck, Badboy was referring to the Apple A5, based on 2 Cortex-A9 cores. It is competitive per clock per watt with other SoCs currently in the market.

I'm curious if Apple intends to take their iPhone line to the same place as their MBP/MBAs, etc. Where the refreshes are regular, but usually very minor.

Many have speculated on the convergence of iOS and OS X and the abandonment of x86 in macbooks because the A4 and A5 have been turned out oh so well for Apple, but I'm not sure Apple has taken time to let the consequences of their actions against Samsung sink in. Numerous disappointments await if they think they can depend on TSMC to help move their macbook line from Haswell over to an ambitious 64-bit ARM-based SoC. Samsung was the only foundry partner reliable enough to meet Apple's standards in power efficiency, volume, and timeliness. The imminent difficulties with TSMC, the A6, and subsequent nodes will make them think twice about ditching intel.