The iPhone 5 arrives… Apple doesn’t fix what isn’t broken
It’s here, finally, with Apple taking the wraps off the long-awaited iPhone 5 at a huge press event in San Fransisco. Just don’t expect anything exciting, because the iPhone 5 is anything but exciting. Well, to those of us who aren’t fanboys, at least.
The Facts
The iPhone 5 looks exactly as the leaks suggested it would. It’s thinner, it’s lighter, it has a Retina Display of 326 PPI. The screen size has been increased from 3.5-inches to 4-inches, with an extra row of icons added to fill the space.
Inside lurks an A6 chip which Apple suggests doubles the speed of the CPU. Battery life is slightly improved. The iPhone 5 has an 8-megapixel camera with new elements which should make it more capable than ever before. And that’s about it on the hardware front.
The iPhone 5 launches at the same price as the iPhone 4S, with the 4S reduced to $99 and the iPhone 4 now free in the U.S. The iPhone 5 will be released on September 21, with pre-orders being taken immediately.
The Opinion
I get it, I really do. The iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S have been huge successes, and those who own one will likely stick with Apple and the iPhone no matter what. Which means there is no reason for Apple to innovate. An iPhone 4S with a number ’5′ painted on the back would, at this point in time, sell extremely well.
Essentially Apple hasn’t tried to fix what isn’t broken. Not everybody likes the iPhone, and for those on the periphery Apple has offered slight encouragement with the larger screen size and improved operating system. But the fans don’t need any encouragement to open their wallets and purses at this point. Those who are due to upgrade will inevitably plump for the iPhone 5, because, well, why not get the latest model?
I do wonder how long Apple can run scared of making any wholesale changes to its established line-up of products though. At some point the company will have to start innovating again or risk being left behind as the rest of the mobile world moves on.
