Disappointed in the iPhone 4S? . . . Why?

As the entire globe is aware, yesterday Apple announced their latest iPhone, the iPhone 4S. After well over a year of speculation about an iPhone 5, Apple CEO Tim Cook took to the stage to introduce what is essentially an upgraded iPhone 4, and now of course there seems to be some fallout in the form of disappointment that we didn’t see an iPhone 5 with some people just downright upset over the fact. Perhaps this should be a wake up call to iPhone fans to set their expectations accordingly going forward and not believe all the hype and speculation that they see between models of iPhones.

“Disclaimer”: Just to get this out of the way and to address the inevitable comment that I am just an Apple apologist/fanboy, the only Apple product I currently own is an iPhone. Several years ago I jumped over from T-Mobile to AT&T, trading in my Shadow for an iPhone 3G. Since that time I have quite enjoyed my iPhone and when the iPhone 4 was released, I upgraded to that. The phone does a lot of what I expect out of a phone, and a lot more. That being said, there are times I have been quite envious of several different Android phones with their functionality and customization options, but I enjoy my iPhone and choose to stick with this brand, at least for the time being. You will never catch me trying to win an argument with one of my Android phone-toting friends by simply saying “OMG iPhonez r so much bettar!!! Android suckz!” There are things Android does better than Apple’s iOS, and I believe there are things iOS does better than Android. Also, just as a warning, this is little more than a rant.

There is little doubt that Apple’s iPhone is hands down one of the best smartphones on the market, and has been since day one. The bar was set pretty high with the original “2G” iPhone, and with each model released each year Apple tries to reset that bar even higher to compete in the market place. They also try to set the bar so high because of their fan-base – a fan-base that are a dedicated bunch and expect a lot out of the company, but at times perhaps expect a bit too much.

As it seems to go with iPhone customers, pretty much the day after the iPhone 4 was released about 15 months ago speculation started on what the next iPhone would bring to the table; a bigger screen? No home button? HD front-facing camera? A curved screen? A new form factor? It seemed that in no time at all there was no lack of speculation and expectation as to what the “iPhone 5” would bring. I personally was curious as to why so many people just assumed the next phone would be a completely new, highly upgraded iPhone 5. As I stated before, I began my iPhone ownership with a 3G, and it was only a few months later the iPhone 3GS was released. Of course, the 3GS was quite the step forward from the 3G, but not enough to justify me upgrading from the model I had just purchased not even 5 months prior. Then, of course in 2010 we saw the release of the all-new, redesigned iPhone 4 that seemed to blow both models out of the water (depending on your perspective I suppose) – it was definitely now time to upgrade. So, for me anyway, over the last year I was quite surprised to be hearing all of this talk of an iPhone 5. Didn’t it make more sense for Apple to once again come out with an upgraded intermediary model of the previous year’s phone and have the expectation be that it wouldn’t be until 2012 that we saw some sort of iPhone 5? After all, a year (year and a half) is a short time to come up with a completely redesigned phone.

I understand that it’s hard to guess what Apple is going to do, and expecting a 4S as opposed to a 5 based on the short life of the iPhone thus far may not be that obvious. Saying that it was the next “logical” step based solely on the short pattern of iPhone–>iPhone 3G–>iPhone 3GS–>iPhone 4 is tough to determine with a company that is known for their innovation, I get that. What I don’t get is the “outcry”, “outrage”, and “disappointment” with the iPhone 4S based on the fact that Apple didn’t live up to the hype that nobody else but the media, bloggers, and iPhone fans created themselves. Not once over the last 15 months has Apple said anything about their next iPhone, and yet we see page after page of rumors and speculation and people looking forward to the next iPhone putting far too much stock in them, getting their expectation way too high, and then being disappointed when Apple reveals the iPhone 4S – which is a considerable upgrade from the 4.

What did people want out of an iPhone 5? A faster, dual core processor? Well, the iPhone 4S has an A5 dual-core processor that runs the phone twice as fast as its predecessor with 7x the graphics processing power. A better camera? The 4S is now touting an 8MP camera with all sorts of additional hardware the iPhone 4 doesn’t have to make photos taken with your phone reasonably better. CDMA/GSM dual-band capability? BAM! There you go, you now have that on the 4S. There are other changes that were “expected” that didn’t come to fruition, such as a bigger screen, a curved screen, an aluminum casing as opposed to the glass casing of the iPhone 4, and an Apple logo that lights up on the back. Okay, so a bigger screen would have been nice, but keep in mind though that that probably would mean a bigger phone over all. It wouldn’t surprise me to see this next year if/when a true iPhone 5 is released. The other items though, are simply cosmetic; why do you need/want a curved screen? What benefit does this offer? If Apple completely encased a dual-core processor in aluminum casing the phone would probably have heat issues. A light-up Apple logo on the back? Are some people so desperate to let the world know they use an iPhone that they want to draw more attention to that with a light up logo? Frankly, people want what they want out of their iPhones, but why did so many people take all of this speculation and rumors as fact, get so excited about it, and then get upset when Apple didn’t add this stuff to the iPhone?

As an iPhone owner, we only get one new model a year as opposed to if you’re an Android user you have endless options in phones with more being released every month. There is a lot of fun to be had in speculating what the collective “we” will all get in the next model of iPhone, in fact I read endless amounts of news, rumors and speculation between each iPhone – not necessarily because I am going to jump on each new iPhone released, but because I find it exciting what an innovative company like Apple to going to do next. Speculation and rumors need to remain just that until Apple officially unveils their new products. Have your fun, read into what the next iPhone could have, get excited about what’s next for your favorite gadget, but don’t ask for Tim Cook’s head on a pike when you don’t get everything you want.

I’m going to wrap up with some “tough love” that will probably solicit some entertaining comments for this post. I consider myself to be kind of a tech geek. I love scouring the internet to find out what the latest and greatest “thing” is that’s coming out. Innovations in phones, music players, tablet computers, laptops, TV’s, streaming services all interest me and I find quite a bit of joy in reading news and speculation on “what’s next” for just about everything, it’s fun. Where it stops being fun, particularly with the iPhone and Apple, is with this off-shoot of fans who feel entitled to everything and take to the interwebs with digital pickets when their expectations that they themselves made up aren’t met. The iPhone (and other smartphones for that matter) is an amazing device that will find you a restaurant, keep you in touch with everyone you care to and share your life with the world, take pictures and HD video, keep you entertained with endless options in mobile gaming, tell you where you are and how to get somewhere else, keep you on schedule with all of life’s goings-ons, and countless of other features – and, oh yeah, it will make a phone call if you need it to, hell it will make video calls – and you’re upset because despite now making it twice as fast as it’s predecessor, adding a voice assistant, and adding a camera that will take pictures that rival any point-and-shoot camera on the market today you didn’t get a screen half an inch bigger and a new design? Get over it. It’s a f%*&ing cell phone. While people all over America are taking to the streets, namely Wall Street, to protest regarding the future of America, there are people out there who’s biggest complaint in the world right now is the fact that Apple didn’t meet their fabricated expectations with the new iPhone. I know some out there will have the argument that these expectations aren’t fabricated, but instead expected due to what other companies are doing with their phones. The fact is Apple isn’t the only smartphone game in town anymore and there are plenty of viable options to choose now, so if you aren’t pleased with the iPhone any longer then vote with your dollar and try out a different phone with a different operating system. You’re the consumer and you have choices.

The funny thing is is that Apple could have just changed one little thing about the design such as replacing the glass with aluminum and kept all the other changes the same in the iPhone 4S, but actually called it an iPhone 5 and half the people complaining today would be completely content. I guess it goes to show that it really can be “all in a name”. Keep in mind though that no one is going to make you purchase this phone. The 4S may present the perfect opportunity for people who still own a 3G or 3GS, or perhaps another smartphone to upgrade. For iPhone 4 owners like myself, it may not be “enough” to justify the cost of upgrading, but there’s no use getting unreasonably upset about it. Sure, it would have been cool to see some new design with a bigger screen, etc., but there is always the option to wait and see what Apple releases next year or to try a different phone that has the features one is looking for.

In closing, just in case you’re wondering, no, the irony that as people protest for the future of this country I currently sit here complaining about people complaining about the iPhone 4S does not escape me . . .