IPhone 5 Event Underwhelmed 57% Of Americans? Huh?

CouponCodes4U has released some interesting survey results. The press release was full of varying factors and percentages, so I’ll keep it incredibly simple for you. Out of all the consumers quizzed in the States, 57% said that they were not impressed by yesterday’s announcement.

12% had no opinion at all, meaning that only 31% percent actually enjoyed the iPhone 5 announcement yesterday. According to the survey the biggest reasons were that a) the iPhone 5 didn’t offer anything new and b) Steve Jobs wasn’t there/involved.

It appears as though people have this conception that because the late, great Steve Jobs isn’t pulling strings anymore, that all of a sudden Apple can’t come up with anything new.

Let me remind you: last year when Jobs was still alive and in charge, Apple released the 4S. In 2009 – again when Jobs was very much in charge – the 3GS was launched. What people just don’t seem to understand is how Cupertino works, and how innovation works.

In 2011, all the leaks leading up to the event pointed towards a brand new design, we didn’t get one: people were disappointed. This year, all the leaks turned out to be true: onlookers were still disappointed. Considering how difficult Apple finds it to please anyone, it’s amazing any iPhones are sold at all…

Apple has always been about pushing boundaries in both performance, design, and engineering. Making the phone much slimmer, making the camera and display thinner, but boosting performance is pretty awesome. Normally if you make a camera lens unit smaller, you’re lucky if you can keep image and video quality the same, but it’s actually improved in lowlight.

The display has in-cell touchscreen sensors, and it’s much brighter and has more depth in color. The phone can accomplish tasks much faster thanks to the new A6 chip which boosts graphics and performance (also smaller than the A5).

Apple – unlike Samsung, HTC, Motorola – doesn’t grab all the highest spec components and try to force them together in a monster phone. It improves on the previous generation every single year by improving areas that other companies don’t think of until afterwards.

The phone is made entirely of aluminum and glass for heaven’s sake, any variances in fit and manufacturing are measured in microns. To put that in to perspective: a full stop/period at the end of a sentence is approximately 64 microns thick.

You can fit 25,400 microns in an inch. That is attention to detail that makes Apple different. I could go on, but the fact is, it’s all in Apple’s keynote and promo video.

People may be disappointed with the lack of quad-core: iOS doesn’t need it, at all. It doesn’t keep apps running needlessly in the background. They may be disappointed at only having 4-inches of display.

Turns out, Apple values sharpness and resolution over size. It’s widescreen which should make a huge difference when watching videos, since the entire screen can be filled with image, instead of having half taken up with black bars as with the current display.

The majority of consumers find the larger devices uncomfortable to use single-handed. I know I do, and I don’t exactly have small hands. When you’re making one phone per year, you have to try and aim at all size hands, large, small, nimble, stiff.

The experience of using this phone is going to be fantastic, and that is priority when considering the customer. It will feel just as comfortable in hand as the current phone, but it’s lighter, slimmer and not as slippery. All improvements. Although I can understand – to a certain extent – why people are feeling a little let down, I’m personally very pleased.

Here’s the crunch: no phone is ever going to shake up the industry like the original iPhone did in 2007. Every manufacturer has improved its smartphones and changed the way they’re made and designed as a direct result of what Apple released 5 years ago. That was an innovative product.

Every single new phone since then has been a gradual improvement, or evolution. Some phones may have been a bigger evolutionary jump than others, but, none of them have transformed the smartphone market in the same way. The iPhone 4′s Retina display was pretty incredible when launched, and cemented Apple’s place in the world of mobiles as a top dog. But others soon matched it.

Simply put: stop expecting another “Jesus phone” moment from Apple, it’s probably never going to happen again in our lives. The fact that people are so expectant of Apple says it all though.

The company has het a high standard for innovation, and if that leads people to expect bigger things, that’s a good thing. It shows the company is doing something right. When’s the last time anyone waited for a Motorola or HTC event expecting dents in the universe?

iPhone 5 looks fantastic and I can’t wait to pre-order. But then again, I’m probably just an “iSheep” who doesn’t know what he’s talking about, right?

FULL PRESS RELEASE BELOW

Over Half of Americans ‘Disappointed’ with iPhone5, Believe Apple Brings ‘Nothing New’ to Consumers

Following yesterday’s press announcement surrounding the release of the latest iPhone, one of the leading coupon codes websites in the US has conducted a flash poll of consumers in order to discover their feelings of the event itself, whether or not the phone design and spec lived up to their expectations and if they were going to purchase the phone on September 21.

One of the leading coupon code websites in the US, curious to discover whether or not the hype surrounding the gadget is well deserved and if consumers will be purchasing the phone come release day, has conducted a flash poll of 1,135 Americans. All respondents polled have at least one Apple product.

The study, conducted by www.CouponCodes4u.com, formed part of the research into American consumers, their tech purchases and their thoughts towards brand loyalty.

Respondents were initially asked whether or not they owned an iPhone, to which 79% replied “yes”, while 15% said they did not own one, but “were interested” in purchasing one. 6% of respondents said that they did not own the gadget.

Those respondents who replied that they already owned an iPhone outright were then asked what type of iPhone they owned, to which 68% replied “iPhone4S”, 23% of respondents said “iPhone4”, while 8% said they still owned an “iPhone3GS”. Respondents who stated that they were interested in the latest iPhone were asked if they were planning to purchase the latest gadget, to which 87% said that it depended on “the spec” and “price” of the phone.

According to the research when consumers were asked whether or not they were impressed with last night’s release event, 57% of respondents said “no”, while 31% said “yes”; 12% admitted that they were “indifferent”.

Respondents who admitted that they were unimpressed with the event were asked to explain their reasons why, to which 81% said the release event felt “strange without Steve Jobs”, while 32% said that it felt that “there was nothing new” that Apple brought to the industry with this release. However, 27% of respondents felt that the release launch party was “very exciting for Apple” and Apple consumers.

Surprisingly, when asked whether or not consumers were happy with the specs and design of the phone, 57% of respondents said they were “disappointed” with the finished phone, while 39% said the latest gadget “exceeded their expectations”. When asked to stipulate their reasons why they were unhappy with the proposed phone spec and design, 53% cited the new 9-pin USB phone connector, which is not compatible with other Apple products, as a reason. More than a quarter, 26%, cited the smaller “Nano-styled SIM card”, while 21% said lack of plans or updates concerning a future release date for “128GB iPhone5” was disappointing.

Those respondents who said that they were happy with the finalised spec of the gadget were asked to stipulate what new additions caught their attention, to which 49% said that they liked the larger battery, while 37% cited the new “Panorama Stitch” camera feature for taking better quality photos. 13% of respondents cited Apple’s “updated FaceTime option” and being able to talk via video using both Wi-Fi and Cellular connections as a factor.

When asked if they would be purchasing the phone on its release date at the end of September, 45% of respondents said “yes”, while 34% said they “were unsure”. However, 21% of respondents said that they were not going to purchase the phone, mainly due to “lack of innovation” between iPhone updates.

Mark Pearson, Chairman of CouponCodes4u.com, said the following about the findings:

“So after all the rumors, blog posts, excitement and gossip surrounding the latest edition of the iPhone, it is finally here. With the release event being the most talked about smartphone event in town, it is no surprise that some people may feel slightly let down by the actual phone itself. What is quite surprising, however, is how many of the iPhone faithful are disappointed with not only the event, but the phone itself, with many citing the late Steve Jobs and his lack of presence as a contributing factor.”

He continued:

“As other smartphone companies are gearing up for fall and winter releases, it is turning out to be a very interesting battle for consumers’ loyalty this year. What is clear by the research, however, is by not changing their phone specs and pushing the boundaries of tech innovation, a growing number of consumers are becoming increasingly impatient and bored with Apple products. As Samsung is continuing to gain a larger share of the tech market, Apple need to stay relevant and engaged with their core consumers. The people with the most to gain from this struggle for innovation will be the consumer – 2013 is looking like a very interesting year indeed!