I was planning on going through a massive Android/Apple discussion, but I'll just post a few quick views . Ultimately, everyone finds a phone which you yourself prefer for your own needs. I've had both Android and Apple phones over the years as well as *gulp* Symbian. Now that Android has developed into what has become a more mature and stable phone OS, it's far better for me personally than the iPhone and I've made the switch to a Galaxy S3. That said, I still admire the iPhone massively, and there's still the odd bit that I miss from it, especially thanks to owning a Mac and iPad. I prefer the customisation options of an Android handset to an iPhone, but for some that can be cumbersome - and it's here where an iPhone can excel. Some may berate the iPhone for being limited in what can be done in terms of customisation, but for many this can be a huge benefit. I could spend hours setting up my Android phone exactly as I want, whereas other really don't want to and can see the endless options as a tad daunting. The iPhone has got a little too fragile for me too, I chuck my phones about and the chips and scratches in the screen annoyed me. Yes, I know I could of got a screen protector but they wind me up too
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So anyway, onto Apple's announcement this week. I might not have an iPhone anymore, but I chop and change phones like a madman. Thanks to working in the industry, the newest stuff always interests me, and more often than not if something amazes me I'll end up changing to it. With the iPhone 5, I won't - and there's a few reasons why:
NFC
I'm massively surprised by the omission of NFC. Sure the technology may not have taken off massively here yet, but its certainly getting there. All but a couple of major banks have now started issuing contactless cards, and there's quite a few retailers who have NFC compatible readers installed (McDonalds, Starbucks etc). I even spotted them at Thorpe Park last time I was there. Orange (sorry!) have Quicktap along with a large relaunch and push of the service going on in recent weeks. Elsewhere, Visa are prepping the launch of their own service, and o2, Vodafone and Everything Everywhere/EE have been given the go ahead to launch their own joint venture into NFC payments and promotional services. Samsung, Blackberry and Sony have all launched handsets with the technology in them, so why Apple haven't bothered is mind boggling!
Design
Aside from a slight change, there's nothing groundbreaking about the new design. I personally found the 4/4S a little annoying to hold thanks to it's square shape and the glass made it feel a little too fragile. Away from that though, back in the day Apple's devices used to excite and surprise. It all just appears to feel a little stagnant now. I know some will say "if it ain't broke....." or some may say "what else could they do?" and yes, I don't know what they could do. But then again, I'm not a designer. Back in the days of the click wheel iPod, some called it perfection and couldn't see how it could be improved. But we still had Apple pop up with a touchscreen device and stunning user interface a few years later. On the phone front, I used to see Apple as someone who would come up with new designs we never thought were possible. Where is the Apple who would surprise us with something others never thought of before? It's almost as if they're playing catchup.
Connections
This is one thing that annoys he hell out of me with Apple. Yet another proprietary connection? Really?! So so many phone companies have now switched to Micro USB, but we now leave the 30 pin connection and we're left with "lightning". I can understand the need for Thunderbolt on a Mac for speed, but surely that can't be justified for a phone which holds mere 16/32/64GB. Of course, there's the god awful ugly adaptor for those left with old accessories - for more cash in Apple's pockets, of course.
Sim Cards
Another major problem - the nano sim. Micro sims were eventually taken up by some of the other manufacturers and are much more widely seen now. But now Apple have decided to switch to the nano sim. Mere millimetres smaller than a micro sim, but still a totally different size rendering them incompatible with anything other than the new iPhone at present. It presents a massive headache for people such as tradesmen who perhaps use a cheap work phone then switch to their iPhone when they're not risking dropping it or damaging it on the job. Likewise, it gives me a massive headache at work when people are kicking off at not being able to do just that, or if for instance they've damaged their phone and want to use the sim in an old handset.
The extra performance improvements and the addition of LTE for those in UK is great. But considering the 4S's performance was perfectly acceptable for me, and I'm what I'd consider a power user, I don't see that as something truly groundbreaking. LTE is still something that's very much new, but many outside of major cities won't really see much benefit of that addition to the phone until around halfway through their two year contract.
I just see this week's announcement as more of what we would have expected for an "s" model than for a major revision. Like them or hate them though, you can't deny that Apple's marketing is a stunning example of how to do it. The hype the iPhone gets every time a revision comes along is something I don't think any manufacturer will ever match. And ultimately, this is what it boils down to - how the phone is marketed consumers. Despite the lack of distinctive and unique new features, mobile networks have had their pre order pages go into meltdown. The new model will still be a huge success, when compared to the older revisions though maybe a little down on the success of those. The decisive model will likely be their next one after the 5. Will Samsung or the other large manufacturers come out with something truly amazing in the next year to really pull people away from Apple? Or will a rather disappointing iPhone 5 and a myriad of petty patent issues cause Apple and the rest of the mobile phone industry to stagnate as it had done in 2010/2011?
