Everyday I read an article about how iOS 6 and the iPhone hasn’t changed much and how it has not innovated and gone stale. I read articles about how great the Samsung S3 or Nexus 4 is , and how these people who were hardened Apple users, come out the closet and state how much better android is now.
Last January, I got frustrated with my 4S. I had had the 4 previously. So in essence I was looking at the same shape for nearly 2.5 years. In geek land that’s a lifetime. So I moved to a Samsung Note. I wrote tons about how amazing it was. Then on the S3’s first day of release I did a great deal with Carphonewarehouse and moved to this phone. I was so convinced the S3 was better than any iPhone. It did more, it specification was magical. And then the iPhone 5 arrived. I had both side by side, and in that instance I was decided to sell the S3 and keep the iPhone 5. I used the iPhone 5 for a week first just to make sure. You see the iPhone 5 was stunning to look at, and the S3 bland. Anyway, it’s has been 3 months plus with the 5 and it actually feels like I am doing tasks faster and quicker. The audio and camera quality are superior too. The S3 has more features, no question about that, but the 5 with Apple’s infrastructure, its a win for me at the moment.
So what’s my theory. Well there is nothing wrong with the iPhone. It’s brilliant. Except it feels boring. It so good. But since 2007 it still looks the same. And has a similar interface. Android has evolved. It has all sorts of tweaks and options and hardware. It has the novelty factor but also it has improved leaps and bounds. For some reliability is everything. But for others change is needed. In reality iOS has improved dramatically, but it looks the same. Some might say that’s important as people don’t get frightened by change.
And that’s Apple’s problem. Everything works great but for some it’s not enough even though it performs well. That plus competing phones are adding the glitz.