back to article iPhone 5S: Apple, you're BORING us to DEATH (And you too, Samsung)

Apple's keynotes seem to command more mainstream front-page press attention than ever before – but each time, there's less and less to report. Is the modern smartphone era limping to a close? Apple's announcements on Tuesday about the iPhone 5S and 5C were wearily predictable. Cupertino just doesn't seem to be where the action …

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  1. Jon Green

    Should have called it iPhone5TDS

    ...because retreads of the iPhone4 with little tweaks (fingerprints; My Little Pony-inspired UI) are getting seriously TDS. (Say it out loud!)

    Apple - you used to be innovators! You used to be exciting! I used to respect your market-leading engineering and ideas generation, but now you're just monetising what you've got, without adding much in the refreshes.

    C'mon Apple, you can do better - far better - than this. Even the die-hard fans are getting bored. No queues around the block this time for the iPhone5, I suspect.

    1. Mage Silver badge

      Used to be innovators?

      It only seemed that way.

      They always did the GUI that bit more slickly than anyone else. Even back to Mac vs Windows 2.x

      1. Captain Scarlet Silver badge
        Coffee/keyboard

        Re: Used to be innovators?

        "They always did the GUI that bit more slickly than anyone else. Even back to Mac vs Windows 2.x"

        Remembers Mac OS9

        /me runs screaming from the building

    2. Andrew Moore

      Re: Should have called it iPhone5TDS

      The Onion hit it on the head:

      http://www.theonion.com/articles/apple-unveils-panicked-ideafree-man-at-launch-even,33814/

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Should have called it iPhone5TDS

        I beg to differ on the UI point. I like MLP, not the iOS interface.

    3. Jerky Jerk face

      Re: Should have called it iPhone5TDS

      Apple no longer need to prove themselves.

      They are making too much money to really care any more.

    4. Jon Green
      Coat

      One little typo fix, by the way.

      I meant to type "My Little Jony", but Ive no way to fix the original post.

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Should have called it iPhone5TDS

      Where Apple goes Samsung will follow?

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YciM_54HzZk

      Could backfire on Samsung - people will not think these finger print sensors and 64bit CPUs are even better / must have items which only makes Apple look better.

    6. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Should have called it iPhone5TDS

      Reckon people are being a bit unfair - let's see they come out with 2 new phones, more 4G bands, an all new and faster A7 processor and M7 co-pro, iOS 7 (because of course Apple develop the lot not just installing Android), finger print scanner, better camera and what £20-30 more than the '5' - doesn't sound such a bad deal.

      What do people actually expect from a phone - serious what else could you cram in that would be genuinely useful (without whinging about non-removeable batteries or micro SD slots)?

      1. Tom 38

        Re: Should have called it iPhone5TDS

        More to the point, what were these 'revolutionary' features in the previous releases?

        iPhone 1 had a touch interface that didn't remind you of windows 3.1 (hi WP6!)

        3G had apps, that was pretty revolutionary.

        3GS had a compass. Err…

        4 had a 'retina' screen. Err…

        4S had Siri. Err…

        5 had 'slightly higher resolution'. Err…

        5C has a plastic back. Err…

        5S has a fingerprint scanner for identification. Err…

        Each newer model is significantly faster than its predecessor, has better network connectivity, and is usually a little thinner. I think it's pretty amazing how much computing power you can walk around with in your pocket these days to be honest, where as you think its 'meh' and tedious.

        TBH the people most upset that phones are now just getting faster and smaller without anything 'magic' are the journos, who now have to make a story out of it..

        1. Soruk

          Re: Should have called it iPhone5TDS

          In what way could apps in 2008 be considered revolutionary? J2ME had apps running on mobiles (alright, they couldn't multitask, but the point of apps were allowing third-party programs to run on your phone, using the keyboard, screen and cellular connection) several years previously - even my not-the-top-of-the-range Motorola V500 in 2004 was capable of this.

          The Nokia 6310i (which I had in 2003) was capable but severely restricted in that apps could only weigh in at <32K however this still indicated the capability of third-party apps running on a phone - TEN YEARS ago, and five years before Apple "invented" it.

    7. Flashy Red

      Re: Should have called it iPhone5TDS

      Die-hard fan. Very bored.

    8. Flashy Red

      Re: Should have called it iPhone5TDS

      /me nods head.

      Die-hard fan. Very bored.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    premium priced phones.

    Thing of the past...

    https://play.google.com/store/devices/details/Nexus_4_8_GB?id=nexus_4_8gb

    Nuff said.

    1. Midnight

      Re: premium priced phones.

      https://play.google.com/store/devices/details/Nexus_4_8_GB?id=nexus_4_8gb

      "We are out of inventory. Please check back soon."

      Clearing out last year's inventory at fire-sale prices is nothing new either.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    If they want to innovate try making the battery last a week.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Agreed!

      Also:

      1. Try making the cell phone reception not SUCK ASS inside 70% of all building structures (you know - where we spend 90% of our time?)

      2. If the battery can't last a week, try at least making an interchangeable battery that lasts a few days

      3. Try adding MicroSD cards to all the shiny devices so we can expand the memory capacity

      4. If we can roam from cell-tower to cell-tower on the same call, why the hell can't we roam from cell to wifi and back on the same call?? Why the hell don't nearly all cell phones natively make calls on wifi??

      5. STOP trying to notify the hell out of me. I DON'T want to know I just got a spam email from AT&T at 3:30 in the morning. If I want to know if someone is trying to contact me, I can look down at the stupid phone

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        "Agreed!

        Also:

        1. 2. 3. 4. 5."

        @Andy

        You know that Android phones do all those things essentially, right? I figured you were making a joke, but in an Apple thread one never can tell.

      2. Martin 77

        Andy,

        Moving from cell tower to tower takes place within the control of one network operator, or in the case of international roaming, two operators who will have signed a roaming agreement and had their legal teams make sure all the “i”s and “t”s are dotted and crossed.

        Moving from mobile to wifi network gets messy especially when the wifi hotspot might be owned by a coffee shop, shopping mall, hotel or private individual – in the event of a fault who do you complain to: network operator, ISP, barista? Furthermore, when you do complain, all the relevant parties need to have a mechanism in place to resolve that fault between them.

        Technically, it's do-able, managing it all is harder.

  4. Big_Ted
    Thumb Up

    I have just bought a teenage girl a Motorola Razr i as it was different from the rest and did all she wanted in a nice form factor.

    The iPhone was concidered overpriced and old tech even with a new OS, the basic comment was "Pastel with Android stuff added". Samsung too much their own stuff added so it felt wrong.

    The most important things were in order, easy to text, clear phone calls, does a small number of games and apps that are part of life.

    1. OvAl

      The use of the indefinite article could land you in trouble there in these nutty times.

      Still things have moved on since I was little, used to be a bag of sweets

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      big Ted

      Do you often buy teenage girls, mobile phones?

      It's called grooming! ha ha

  5. M Gale

    For example, the iTunes Music Store gave the major labels the long overdue kick up the bum they needed

    Wasn't that Napster?

    1. JeevesMkII

      Actually, I'm pretty sure it was the Amazon MP3 store that gave the labels the requisite kick up the bum. Until that point, all digital music was either piracy-based or somebody's attempt to cash in on their proprietary media player sales.

      Now, if only somebody gave the video industry a similar kick in the pants.

      1. naw

        mp3.com

        Nope - you're all wrong ;-) - mp3.com around 1998 - 1999 really started the digital music revolution, because not only was it before Amazon, iTunes and napster and everyone else, but it also put unsigned bands alongside (a few *name bands*) and a generation realised that unknown bands could produce better music with equal recording quality to the homogenised manufactured bands that the recording industry were (still are) turning out

  6. ItsNotMe
    Happy

    Hey...there's PLENTY more to come.

    "Surely nobody – not even the most avid fanboi – now believes that Jobs left "four years of new products" in the pipeline, as his biographer Walter Isaacson reported in 2011. Assuming Isaacson was inspecting Apple's lab in 2010, the first "three years" will soon be up. Which raises the question: is anything left?"

    What about the iWatch? iTV anyone? Surely to be announced VERY soon...won't they? We're all on the collective edge of our seats waiting. I know Steve wants it that way. Why else would he have left 4 years worth of new products for his successors? He did do that...didn't he?

    And as for "...most people look no further than some model of iPhone or some model of Galaxy S when choosing a phone." It's been Motorola and/or LG since 1994 for me. Never...ever...considered Apple or Samsung.

    1. Christopher Rogers

      Re: Hey...there's PLENTY more to come.

      iWatch? iTV anyone? No. These are not innovations, these are already in the market from other providers/manufacturers. Its the quality and performance that could be improved upon, but this still isn't innovation.

      As for your Phone choice - LG or Google from now on really isn't it?

    2. Mark .

      Re: Hey...there's PLENTY more to come.

      Indeed - and it's surely Nokia who are in second place for phones, Apple are third place. (Or soon to be MS - it will amuse me that at least for a while, Microsoft will be selling more phones than Apple, albeit most of them non-WP.)

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Same old same old.....

    iPhone blah blah blah, Samsung blah blah bloatware blah. Meanwhile HTC launched a stunning, refined, and positively brilliant phone. HTC are snapping back to how they used to be - innovative, stylish and functionally unsurpassed.

    1. Christopher Rogers

      Re: Same old same old.....

      Betamax vs VHS eh?

    2. bored intern

      Re: Same old same old.....

      Just a shame that nobody is buying it and HTC are burning through cash in a Nokia-eque fashion by providing retailers with incentives.

      As you say, a great phone but not getting any traction (in the UK at least)

    3. h3

      Re: Same old same old.....

      Not true. Any overlays are unnecessary now - anything with them will obviously not work as well.

      If they wanted to sell me anything they would have to sell it like a Nexus. (Or offer a supported firmware that removes their junk).

      HTC were never that good. (They were like Huawei/ZTE are now for most of the time now maybe slightly better).

      Incidently the Sense original design was done by Motorola who dropped out of a partnership with MS who gave the design to HTC.

      Never actually been at the cutting edge like Motorola and Nokia were at various times.

      1. Vector
        WTF?

        @h3 Re: Same old same old.....

        "If they wanted to sell me anything they would have to sell it like a Nexus"

        Ummm... Google-Play Edition? You can get an HTC One like that.

        The stoppers for me were no mSD slot and no removable battery. With those features, I would have replaced my HTC Sensation with a One.

    4. Circadian
      Trollface

      Re: Same old same old.....

      Supported. What about supported with updates? Anyone? Bueller?

      1. paulf
        Mushroom

        Re: Same old same old.....

        "Supported. What about supported with updates? Anyone? Bueller?"

        Precisely - the HTC One may be hallowed and made from Unicorn Farts but HTC are reaping what they sowed over the last three years in terms of dropping support for handsets soon after release (because the next batch were ready), not fixing bugs, not to mention shoddy support. If you want updates and bug fixes then you had to buy a new handset with the latest Android on it (old bugs still there with fresh new bugs added).

        Yes I know about Cyanogen Mod, but I shouldn't have to do that for it to work as advertised!

        I had two HTC handsets and they would have acquired a dedicated customer since I really like Android but they crapped on me from a great height with both. I'll never touch another HTC handset ever.

        1. Lunatik

          Re: Same old same old.....

          Absolutely. My Legend was a beautiful device for its time but I swore off HTC due to the lack of support mere months after it dropped off their 'latest & greatest' roster.

          Similarly, Sony lost my business when they started playing silly buggers with OS updates, reneging on promises previously made.

          Both companies would have to work hard to convince me they've changed their spots, but I have to say Sony's rehabilitation is proceeding much better than HTC's.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Same old same old.....

          Bit like Samsung, then. (Galaxy S3 still on Android 4.1.2).

      2. NinjasFTW

        Re: Same old same old.....

        Agreed, my last phone was a Desire Z. Loved the phone but never received an update and there were a number of very annoying bugs that were never patched.

        Good hardware, woeful support.

  8. Ken Hagan Gold badge

    Quite a feat?

    "From 2008 to 2010, Apple made stunning additions to the iPhone with each iteration – quite a feat considering that when it set out, it didn't really know how to make phones, and was learning along the way."

    Forgive me, but "learning along the way" is exactly why Apple were able to change so quickly. They were playing catch-up with loads of proven ideas to copy. Now they've caught up and, like everyone else, they are slightly stumped for what to do next. My guess is that the excitement of smartphones is now past (and MS missed the entire thing) and the Stephen Fry's of this world will be getting over-excited about a completely different class of product in the next year or two. Put another way, Google Glass is a much safer bet as "the next hypegasm" than anybody's phone.

    1. Mark .

      Re: Quite a feat?

      I agree - and let's have a closer look at those 2008 to 2010 additions:

      2008: 3G and apps - both things available even in low cost feature phones from 2004-2005. (Whilst they got a lot more people writing software for their devices than anyone else, it's not clear that's due to any innovation - rather it was due to them getting far more hype, and the competition ignored by the media.)

      2009: um? I think they might have added MMS and copy/paste at some point around then.

      2010: finally with some form of multitasking, the first version that reasonably qualifies as a smartphone. The resolution was high for its time, and these days it's barely improved, and way behind the competition, so that reasonably qualifies as something that used to be good, that now isn't. But it's also worth noting that the resolution was terrible pre-2010 also (only 480x320 IIRC, compared to say Symbian's 640x360).

      I guess these are still important additions, but as you say it was nonetheless a case of playing catchup.

  9. Piro Silver badge

    Sony is making the best kit now

    In my opinion, Sony Xperia Z1 out soon is the absolute flagship.

    I wouldn't buy a Samsung Galaxy phone right now, simply because the build is ultra-cheap feeling (and looking).

    But I wouldn't say they were as bad as Apple - at least Samsung have actually been TRYING to shoe-horn gimmicks in, mostly useless ones, but at least those toes have been dipped in the water - Apple on the other hand is a yawn-fest.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Sony is making the best kit now

      In my opinion, Sony Xperia Z1 out soon is the absolute flagship.

      Hopefully they've learned their lesson with the charger port being on the side.... Oh a quick Google image search shows they haven't. I don't own one but I know a lot of angry people who have bought one only to regret it..

      http://tinyurl.com/XperiaZPetition

      1. PaulR79

        Re: Sony is making the best kit now

        As much as that may be a problem I highly doubt that petition warrants much attention from Sony due to it looking like it was written by an illiterate 5-year-old.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Sony is making the best kit now

      Sony haven't made good kit in about 10 years. That's how come Samsung have become so dominant.

      For example, on a sojourn in PC World looking for a new laptop for a customer I saw a fugly piece of plastic rubbish selling for £1400. Yes, it was a Sony. Why would you buy that alongside Apple's fare? (and I'm not advocating Apple, just because it's Apple). At least the Apples LOOK like they might be worth that money.

      Sony : FOAD.

  10. Duncan Macdonald

    Competition

    With the likes of THL bringing full HD phones with 32GB for under £230 (inc VAT), prices from the big players (Apple, Samsung, HTC) will be forced to come down over the next few years.

    About the only significent useful improvements that Apple (or Samsung) could make to their phones are ones that their competitors have had for years - user replaceable batteries and SD card memory expansion.

    (THL W8S is under £230 new on ebay and includes 8 and 13 MP cameras, GPS, FM radio, dual SIM, 2GB RAM, 32GB ROM, full HD IPS screen etc .)

    1. Spearchucker Jones

      Re: Competition

      SD cards. It's one of those eternally-bitched-about things.

      What is it about them that makes them so critical? Do SD-card advocates change their phone so frequently that data portability becomes important to the point that cloud storage just isn't fast enough?

      Or do they need so many movies and music on their phones that 16Gb doesn't cut it anymore?

      My phone doesn't have an SD card slot, and even though previous phones did, I've never had a need for it. And yet I've always got 3 or 4 movies on my phone, and more music than I have time to listen to in a weeks' commute.

      1. davemcwish

        Re: Competition

        "SD cards. It's one of those eternally-bitched-about things.

        What is it about them that makes them so critical? Do SD-card advocates change their phone so frequently that data portability becomes important to the point that cloud storage just isn't fast enough?"

        IMHO it's not the portability is the fact that some people, me included, object to the price hike that manufacturer have just to include additional storage capacity as standard. Having a reasonable amount of storage initially, of at least 32Gb, allows with an SD card the capacity to add extra storage relatively cheaply.

        For me, if I was going on a long trip and wanted to late a lot of hires pics/videos I'd want the capability to have multiple cards to I can switch them when one is full, just like a propera camera.

      2. firefly

        Re: Competition

        Maybe, just maybe it's because smart people like to buy a 16GB phone and pay an extra £12 for a 32GB SD card rather than shell out an extra £100 for the higher memory model.

        With Apple you have no choice but to get bled dry if you want extra memory in your phone.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Competition

          I'll add that those of us who don't like/trust cloud storage, without an SD card, dead phone = lost data. New phone = copying loads of data. SD card = remove, place in new phone.

      3. Daniel B.
        Boffin

        Re: Competition

        SD cards. It's one of those eternally-bitched-about things.

        What is it about them that makes them so critical?

        Either getting more storage for less $$$, or having upgreadability during the phone's lifetime. And no, cloud storage isn't going to be "fast enough" especially on smartphones; most of the time we're using 3G and it's either going to be slow or expensive. Or both. Lack of an SD card slot makes it a no-go; though lack of keyboard is also a no-go for me.

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