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Comment by steve8918 | Hacker News Reader

Everyone I know has come to the same conclusion. The iPhone 5 is the make-it-or-break-it event for Apple, in our opinion.

They've had 2 years since iPhone 4, so the expectations are pretty high, and most are expecting something jawdropping. This is the double-edged sword with being an innovator at the level that Apple has been over the last 10 years - people's expectations get bigger and bigger, possibly to unrealistic levels.

To be honest, I can't imagine what else Apple can do that would blow my mind... fingerprint scanner? Breathalyzer? If it's just another "faster processor, better screen, more flash memory", then people like me are going to be sorely disappointed. I'm hoping for the best though.

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"make-it-or-break-it"

Break what? The markets still growing, there are always people entering the smartphone market. Good hardware is important but Apple's ecosystem also attracts a lot of people. Most people don't buy a new phone every year, they wait for their contract to expire. So people with an expiring iPhone 4 contract will get all the new features of the 4S plus the larger screen and whatever else comes. Lots of people complained the 4S wasn't a big upgrade but it was a whole new experience for me upgrading from a 3GS.

And they may have had 2 years since the iPhone 4 but they released the iPhone 4S and iOS 5 in the time.

Why do you want a fingerprint scanner and breathalyser? Those things would disappoint me, as most people have almost no use for them. Why would I ever need a breathalyser on my phone?

I meant those as a joke. The point was that I have no idea what more they can stick in the iPhone to make my jaw drop. I was also going to say "a quadcopter attachment so that I don't need to carry it anymore, and I can summon it whenever I need it".

If they reach the point where it becomes a "faster-cpu-nicer-screen" type event, it means that smartphones have become fully commoditized, and it means the rest of the smartphones will catch up shortly, if they haven't already.

They don't owe your jaw anything. They don't care if your jaw drops. They're on top of the game and working to stay up there.

You people are getting so spoiled. The excitement and flurry over new Apple products makes everyone completely forget how insane it is that phones already do what they do. Step outside and take a breath for god's sake.

If you read more carefully, you'll see that I never even inferred they "owed" me anything. It's a business transaction, and if they don't wow me (which I certainly hope they do), then I'll probably move on and check out the Android.

If, after 2 years since iPhone 4, they can't come up with a feature set that will push smartphones once again to the next level, then it likely means that the smartphone is for the most part commoditized, and I won't "miss out" on some great feature by exploring other manufacturers.

>> people's expectations get bigger and bigger

You mean nerds' expectations. Most normal people don't even really care.

No, this is not true. Every single one of my wife's female friends, all non-nerds, and anxiously waiting for the next iPhone as well. They have been tempted by some of the Android phones, but they want to stick with Apple... for now.

A lot of the non-nerds I know don't even care about smartphones or know the difference between Android and iOS other than the fact that they're from different companies.

--edit-- caveat: I'm middle aged and so is my peer group.

This is not entirely true. Even my non-techie friends know of the rumored iPhone 5 announcement coming up and are expecting something great.

As well, Apple's own financial data shows that many "normal" people care. They said they had material a drop in iPhone sales because of people anticipating the iPhone 5.

Sure, but why does that happen? Because nerds or the news tell them that something newer is coming out, so they should wait.

Avoiding buyer's remorse is normal consumer behaviour.

People do the exact same every summer/fall for cars when the new model years start trickling out.

I agree. Sure financially Apple is fine, but they are at risk in a 'hearts and minds' sort of way.

I have tons of friends sitting on an iPhone 4/4s waiting for a new phone. Frankly when you put an S3 next to these things they really show their age (http://1.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/iph...).

The current attitude among most of them is "I'll wait and see if the iPhone 5 has anything crazy otherwise I'll probably switch to Android".

Feel free to start a flame war over this comment, but I'm just repeating what I hear.

Make it or break it? They're the most valuable company in the world. I think they've made it for now.

When hasn't that been said of the iPhone? Hell, when hasn't that been said about every anticipated product release?

Apple hasn't really been that innovative for the past 10 years and they've done well. I doubt it's time to panic.

maybe a laser video or keyboard?

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