“Disappointing.” That’s what my friend Peter just said on the phone. He was referring to Apple’s iPhone announcements earlier this afternoon. As Apple show-and-tells go this was subdued.
Though many expected an iPhone 5 instead it’s the iPhone 4S. Sure it’s reworked, but it will look the same and to many that will eliminate the cool factor that leads to some upgrades.
The iPhone 4S does have an upgraded CPU which should eliminate much of the lag that’s the bane of smartphone users. More efficient battery use is promised, as it always is. The 4S will also make my ex-pat friend Farrell happy as even Verizon’s version is now a “World Phone,” capable of working on nearly any cell network anywhere.
I did a story on the 4S this afternoon on FoxCT. There’s a limited amount of time available there let me expand on something I hinted at in my piece.
Apple has been an innovator and category killer in everything from smartphones to tablets to computers to music players. At some point a product becomes mature. That’s happened here. Others have subsumed Apple’s earlier breakthroughs. Often they’ve improved trails Apple blazed! What was shiny and exciting a few years ago produces yawns today. That’s why so much of what was announced today seemed like catch-up.
Many of Apple’s new features are already features in Android (and possibly Windows latest phone operating system which I am less familiar with). Other features like the Siri assistant were originally stand alone products. Apple can call them new, but I played with Siri before it was purchased by Apple.
To most people Apple’s strength is their control of every part of the platform. It’s their hardware, their software and apps they approved in their store. That keeps the process clean. Apple products just work and their user interface is incredibly intuitive.
Because I’m a geek at heart Apple’s end-to-end control is more a problem than feature! I don’t want them to be my nanny.
I am expecting my Andriod based Samsung Galaxy Sii any second now. I don’t think I’m giving up anything.