Monday, September 17, 2012

Why I am Not Impressed with the New iPhone 5


Today Apple announced that it received over two million pre-orders for the iPhone 5 in twenty four hours. Apparently, some people are psyched about the new iPhone 5. I'm not. In my opinion, the difference between the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5 seems less than impressive. Here are some reasons for this assessment:

First, the physical design of the iPhone 5 is only marginally thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4S. According to Apple’s press release, the 5 is twenty percent lighter and eighteen percent thinner than its predecessor. A savings of .79 oz. and .07 in. seems like a negligible difference.

Beautiful smartphone screens are a dime a dozen. The iPhone 4S already had a gorgeous screen. How did Apple improve the iPhone 5’s screen? It merely added half an inch to the length of the display. Now it can display one more row of home screen icons. Yippie.

And then there’s the dock connector issue. If you have a dock, music system, or accessory cord that was compatible with your iPhone 4S, you’ll have to purchase an additional $30 Lightning adapter to keep your new iPhone 5 and dock compatible.

Lastly, the general lack of innovation disappoints me. There’s no standout feature in the iPhone 5 that made the world’s jaw drop or made competitors want to imitate its designs, patents, or ideas. All in all, it seems Apple has made a few small tweaks to its hardware.

Apple, I ask you this: “Why should the iPhone 4S user upgrade to the iPhone 5?” So far, Apple has not given a compelling reason.

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