However, many have been criticizing Apple's newest products, claiming that they now put form over function when it comes to marketing their products. According to this chart from Forbes, the 6 is nearly identical to the 5s, although you can see quite a large difference in the 6+:
As you can see, in order to get a phone that is actually technologically improved on, the 6+ would be a better deal: for just $100 dollars more. In fact, the main difference in the new iPhone 6 is its thinness and screen size: 4.7 inches long and 6.9 millimeters thick, as compared to the iPhone 5s at 4 inches long and 7.6 millimeters thick. Another thing it boasts is its new camera with "focus pixels," but otherwise, it is quite similar to the 5s.
Are you an Apple fan, into that iPhone hype? What do you think about Apple's marketing strategy - release two new iPhone's at a time (like the 5s and the 5c), but making one of them the much obviously better deal, for a higher price? How is this large scale, Wall Street corporation able to control such a huge percentage of the population, with people camping out for the new iPhone 6 since September 4th, and is it dangerous for them to have such a large sphere of influence?
3 comments:
When you think about it objectively, iphones are pretty ridiculous. The functional improvements from the last iphone aren't that much greater, and it seems like a marketing sham to be selling TWO new iphones, not to mention changing the size of the phone again so that consumers are really having to pay for a new phone AND case. However, I'll admit that I would probably choose an iphone over an android simply because 1) it looks nicer and 2) its easier to be an iphone user when everyone has an iphone. There are so many functions that android users just can't participate in, like facetime, group chats, etc. I think a lot of Apple's power comes from this peer-pressure of fitting in and having an easier way of communicating with others.
(Regina Wen)
Thank you for your input Regina; I think that your point 2 is very interesting. I realize now that one of the biggest reasons iPhone's sphere of influence is so huge today is exactly what you said: "Everybody has an iPhone!" It's become the "norm" these days – of course, there will be the occasional Samsung Galaxy or HTC Windows phone, but when one says "smartphone," one thinks of the Apple iPhone. How did this start, however? Apple can't even claim they had the first innovative smartphone, because the very first smartphone was the IBM Simon. I think this is an interesting question to tackle, but I do agree with you that a lot of their power today is from the conformity of the masses as well as their user friendly usability.
Honestly, I'm sick of Apple and their entire range of flashy, over-hyped products.
What Apple puts out is almost always an awful deal compared to what other companies will give you for your money. In the hardware department, especially in desktop computers and laptops, Apple's offerings are a joke.
Apple's desktop OS has plenty of restrictions designed to help people who don't know how to use a computer, and as I'd have to use the terminal to get the computer configured for me anyway, there isn't much of a reason to use it over a nice linux distro.
What Apple can do, however, is market incredibly well. that's what Steve jobs was, after all: a marketer. He didn't actually invent anything, he was just really good at convincing people to spend too much money on things that they probably didn't need. I have an iPhone 4, and there really isn't a reason for me to "upgrade" to any new iPhone. The 4 can make calls, can browse the web, can text just fine, and has good enough battery life. Why get a new phone when the old one still does what I need it to very well?
Personally, if I was to "upgrade" my phone, I'd go with a phone running some version of android, or I'd use mobile Ubuntu when that's ready for consumer use. I dislike the extremely closed nature of the iPhone platform. Sure, I'd lose some conveniences, but I'd have a net gain.
Apple tech is fashion more than anything else. People buy it because it looks nice and everyone else in our area has it, not because it gives you good performance for the money. Their current success is due to smart and forceful marketing rather than actually selling a genuinely valuable product.
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