Honestly? Apple has been “behind” with tech specs since the first iPhone. And ya know what? THEY’RE STILL AHEAD. When your product is the one every other product is compared against, and when you’re actually making real money with it, you’re winning.
- Chris Pirillo
So Apple announced the latest iteration of The Gadget That Will Set Us Free ©. Compared to previous iPhone launches, yesterday’s dog-and-pony show seemed oddly anticlimactic. After months upon months of speculation (The new iPhone will cure cancer!! No, it’ll feed the hungry!! No, it’ll reverse global climate change!! No, it’ll make me more attractive to women!!), what we’re actually getting seems to be a variation on the same theme. Normally, I’m all over the idea of ordering a new iPhone at the earliest possible moment. I got my iPhone 4 the day BEFORE it’s official release. Yeah, for a day I thought I was hot stuff. Now, though, I’m not quite sure what to do.
I’m one of those folks who’d buy a toaster oven if Apple made them. I love my MacBook Pro, my iPhone 4, and my iPod. I’d love an iPad, but Erin has one that we share, and for now that’s enough. To my way of thinking, Windows is for those who can’t or refuse to understand just how cool Mac OS really is. With that established, you’d think I’d be chomping at the bit to pre-order my iPhone 4S, right? Part of me would love to, but I’m not so certain that the iPhone 4S with OS5 is enough of an upgrade to warrant spending in the neighbor of $300, give or take. I can’t help but thinking that if I’m going to transfer some of my vast wealth to Apple yet again, it should at least be for something that represents a considerable upgrade from what I already have. Is the iPhone 4S that upgrade?? I’m not so sure.
After a few years of the epic, rapturous excitement that surrounds the launch of each new iPhone, I- like most Apple fans- have become rather spoiled. Can (and should) we expect Apple to hit a home run every time they step up to the plate? How long can Apple keep up the “WOW!!” factor? At some point, shouldn’t we expect that the pace of innovation and cool new features will slow down? And when that happens, is it reasonable to think that “new” doesn’t necessarily translate to “MUST HAVE!!”? Should I just do the smart, thrifty thing and pass on buying an iPhone 4S?
I can’t help but thinking that if Steve Jobs was still at the helm, Apple would never have allowed the hype to go unsubstantiated. Yes, things will probably be different with Tim Cook running Apple, but does the changing of the guard also mean that Apple is losings its mojo? Or should we all just back off a bit and recognize that Apple, despite all the mythology, is like any other company concerned with the bottom line.
I don’t know whether I’m going to purchase an iPhone 4S. My gut tells me that I’m probably better off waiting for the iPhone 5…whenever that might come out. After all, I still have an iPhone capable of doing far more than I could find ways to use. Is faster worth the sizable chunk of change it would cost me? And what benefit would I actually realize? Stay tuned, because I have no idea. All I know is that the hype preceding yesterday’s launch didn’t come close to matching reality…and for Apple, that’s not business as usual.
