Apple has successfully transformed itself from its origins as a computer manufacturer into a consumer electronics innovator, manufacturer, and marketing whiz-bang machine. Witness the often blocks-long lines that await receipt of newly announced products. It’s gotten to the point that just about anything Apple announces sets off a speculation and purchase frenzy unequaled with most other such products.
And so it was when the latest iPhone (the 4S) was announced. That is was given this designation, rather than iPhone 5 should have given some clues, but 4S it is, and many of the gizmocenti are underwhelmed now that it’s been released into the wild.
On the face of it, there’s little revolutionary here, as befits “new” Apple products. It has the look’n’feel of the iPhone 4, but noteworthy changes under the hood, with a the same processor chip used in the iPad, can handle data faster than its predecessor, and makes inroads into a “data ecosystem”, whereby data can be almost transparently shared with other platforms (read: iPad). Of note to some is the voice-controlled “assistant”.
But people expected more, and the lack of that more is causing some to yawn, advances notwithstanding.
Is this unexcited response little more than a jaded mass of critics and users? Could it be a smart evolution towards the Next Big Thing?
Questions: Do you assume that something new is destined to be significantly different (and better)? Do you expect everything that comes from a big name to be revolutionary? Does it have to be? How can you tell if an evolutionary development is (or is not) part of a larger scheme? Should you even concern yourself with such possibilities?