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Comment by guywithabike | Hacker News Reader

I really don't get it. Why's everyone underwhelmed? Is a new case the only thing people wanted?

I imagine that at least some of the disappointment is due to a lack of surprises. We've pretty much known for months that at a minimum the new iPhone (whatever model number it ended up having) would have incremental improvements over the iPhone 4. That is, we expected to see the A5 processor, and a better camera, slightly better battery life, etc. But we were simulatenously hoping that Apple would throw us a curve ball too, something that no one had predicted, whether that was a new form factor or, you know, ... something else. There was no "one more thing".

Yeah, this is exactly why I'm disappointed. They literally showed nothing during the Keynote that I didn't already know about.

Seems like it. The two biggest gripes I've seen is they wanted a bigger screen and redesign. The bigger screen would have been nice, but is it really bothering so many people that it looks the same?

I'm moving on from a 3GS so I plan on getting the 4S.

I'm moving on from a (near death) 3G, so I'm thrilled if the disappointed fanboys stay home on launch day. It would be agonizing if I had to wait for months while the early-adopter crowd huddled outside of Apple stores to replace their in-contract iPhone 4s with the newest shiny.

Apple failed to manage expectations - rumors ran rampant about a new design, larger screen, iPhone 4S and an iPhone 5, LTE/WiMAX...

In the face of all the rumors of possible updates, an S version of what we already had is underwhelming. In the past Apple has done a great job of strategically leaking info to the press when rumors were getting out of hand (iPad 2 Retina Display is a recent example) - that did not happen this time.

i have a feeling that we've seen a variety of the iterations apple has been working on behind the scenes. apple doesn't like to comment on rumors as it might show their hand. i do think that there is an ipad with double linear resolution and an iphone with a body design/home button/larger screen similar to the rumored iphone 5. i think the disappointment comes from the fact that apples lead times are much, much longer than the year long release cycles. apple's secretiveness helps manage expectations by not promising things that don't ship, but does little to manage the raging speculation that makes a 4S seem downright boring.

Of course what spins in the rumor mill could possibly be indicative of what future iterations of the product could hold. It's a well-documented fact that Apple's product pipeline is planned out for at least the next five years. However, my point lied in the fact that Apple didn't leak anything to quell overzealous rumors (which is customary for them - of course they wouldn't comment on it publicly, but Apple does leak information to journalists to guide speculation and hype).

Speaking solely for my perception after watching the ad linked above: It seems like the features they are highlighting for this phone are either baseline improvements that happen with every single new release (faster processor, better camera) or they are features which appear to be playing catch up with Android (voice recognition, notifications).

It's certainly possible this set of improvements adds up to a terrific phone. But the ad did nothing at all to sell that to me.

I don't get it either, it's pretty much what the rumors predicted.

Because Apple did nothing to quash rumors of the iPhone 5. This makes me think that the decision not to launch it was made very late. Usually Apple is better about managing expectations.

There is no end to the amount of noodling we can entertain about Apple's "expectations-setting". "The orbital laser cannons must have been canceled at the last minute!"

In the end, you have to evaluate the device on its own merits. The iPhone 4 may be Apple's most successful product ever, so perhaps this is just "if it ain't broke"-ism. The iPhone 4 is holding its own against all the Android competitors; is it the C.W. now that the 4S will do worse?

"Usually"? Apple almost never comments on rumors one way or the other. I can't even think of any cases where they did off the top of my head.

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