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Comment by batista | Hacker News Reader

"infinite hype"? Where? They announced an event, the day came, they announced the product. A slogan like that on the product announcement/product page, does not amount to "infinite hype".

If you want to see "infinite hype", check the Microsoft Courier and other hypeware, in which videos were made, the press touted it for months, it was announced to be "the future" and nothing came of it.

"Zero payoff"? Really? It's an amazing device to upgrade to, after your 2-year contract ends, even if it doesn't have magic unicorn powers. It's the best iPhone YET made, period, I don't think someone can argue against that (and no, it's not a guarantee with any product update to be better than the last one).

Your response amounts to the proverbial: "No wireless, less space than a Nomad. Lame".

>Name for me one brand new feature

"Brand new" is used here to preempt any mention of the tons of incremental improvements?

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Faster, slimmer, lighter and longer lasting - yes, these are really good updates in a small piece of equipment that iPhone 5 is, there's no denying that.

But what really irks me is the way Apple marketing team is hyping it up - "This is the best <insert iDevice> we have ever made!", "This is revolutionary!", "This will change everything you were doing before!"... A slathering of these so often during the entire event and then on with their advertisements makes me cringe and shake my head with disappointment. This iPhone and the iPod[x] are pretty much an iteration and minor upgrade, not what the actual 'revolutionary' things were - iTouch, iPhone, iPad, retina display, etc.

I don't expect 'revolutionary' every year or any time, I just expect some sincerity announcing.

It's almost like the keynote was specifically made to market a product or something...

"This is revolutionary!"

Did they say this?

Yeah you're right, they should get up on stage in front of the worlds media and say "It's an OK iPhone. You know, not great great, but pretty good... pffffft, we really could do better but hey ho, here's the new iPhone".

Are you an idiot?

And it is the best iPhone they've ever made. And the iPhone is arguably the best phone out there, so they sort of have a fair bit of credibility when they say that stuff.

Please try to refrain from ad hominem attacks. It doesn't help in any way to prove your point.

no, because it clearly does help to articulate my point.

http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

"When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. E.g. "That is an idiotic thing to say; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3."

how?

I would like to ask your criteria for deciding the best phone.

A few years ago, yes the iPhone was the best in specs and had the most innovative and unique features. I don't think it holds true any more.

"arguably the best phone"- I left room in there for other peoples opinions.

But as to why I think it's the best phone? The Eco system, it looks good and it's works seamlessly with all my other stuff.

A better question is maybe: Will it be the best in 10 months?

How is that a better question? Do you need one NOW, or in 10 months? In 10 months we'll be waiting for the iPhone 6 anyway...

Since they only release once a year, this one doesn't only have to hold its own against the competition right now, but also against whatever the others put out in 10 months.

Yeah, some people will always wait for the next iPhone. But for others, who have a more "neutral" point of view, this iPhone might look very bad in 10 months.

But that's the same for all phones.

True, but if you look at it like Apple vs Android, the Android camp has many releases a year. So if you're a consumer and you're buying a smartphone in 10 months, your choice is between the "outdated" iPhone or one of the latest Android phones.

Criteria?

1) Construction (machining, materials, fitting them inside the case, industrial design). Unparalleled.

2) Screen. Top notch (high dpi, improved saturation).

3) Camera. One of the best in the business. Tons of apps for it, even photo books and indie movies videos done with it.

4) Apps ecosystem. Unparalleled in number and quality.

5) OS. Mature, not laggy, full featured, designed with far more coherence than Android and far more functionality in mind than just modernist design compared to Metro.

6) OS Upgrades. You do not even get any with most Android phones. And don't happen to the new Windows mobile os version.

7) Peripherals ecosystem: from health tracking devices, to tripods, to MIDI, unparalleled.

8) No carrier branded bullshit (apps, look etc): priceless.

9) Support ecosystem: Applestores etc. Top notch.

10) Resale value: high.

I don't follow this stuff closely, but isn't that what they said when they announced the 3gs and the 4s ? There isn't anything really new in the phone they announced today, so it's more like a 4ss than a 5.

Unless they're going the linux kernel route and changing their version numbering ;)

>It's the best iPhone YET made, period.

I think what is pissing most people off is that up until iphone 4 (not 4s), the iphone was arguably the best smart phone around. 4s and 5 have been improvements to the iphone but have not added anything over its competitors. Most of the competitors can do what the iphone 5 does and more (such as NFC and / or wireless charging).

Bottom line: There is no reason to stick with the iphone 5 other than "I am stuck in the eco system", or "I love apple" or "It is good enough". The "better than the others" argument doesn't fly anymore.

And NFC/wireless charging automatically makes them better than the iPhone 5?

I said they do more, and most top of the line phones from other manufacturers have them. Even if it does not make the other phones better, lacking those features only makes it worse.

Open, let's not forget open. So yeah, marginally.

what about that 90% of 3rd party apps have a much higher quality on iOS ? (Disclaimer: i own an android device)

Every previous iPhone had a new feature that was a pretty BFD. This is the first without.

The S variants certainly didn’t – and this adds more than every S variant ever did.

Looking at the construction, the 3G was never something to write home about. The technology forced Apple's hand and they had to make that plastic monster. Acceptable, not great. Like the 5, the 3G improved every aspect of its predecessor and it added 3G.

The 5 is just like the 3G – only that this time around the construction is at least on par or better (likely, looking at first hand ons, still, only speculation at this point) than that of the predecessor. It’s also, quite obviously, less fragile. So Apple has done much more on the construction front, but the jump from 3G to LTE is also arguably not as important than the jump from Edge to 3G.

Looking at the specs and comparing them with other phones you get the same picture you always got. It’s a wash. Those kinds of comparisons never mattered.

In conclusion: no 3GS to 4 jump, but certainly a 1 to 3G jump.

Also a familiar sight since the 3G, geeks are disappointed, the phone sells faster than Apple can make it.

This phone is no surprise. It’s Apple doing what they have always done.

Funny, I seem to recall that the disillusioned techie reaction to the 4S was that it was also a non-update. Same shell. Modest internal updates and the only feature of note (Siri) was panned as an app that Apple bought that merely caught it up to other phones that already had voice control.

One problem with the 4S was the rumors of an iPhone 5 with a tapered design. (If you Googled for iPhone it would autocomplete "iPhone 5" — I guess bad rumors are now self-reinforcing.) At least this time the rumors were accurate and people can't complain that they were expecting more.

Larger screen is a "new feature" since we are talking about hardware. LTE would be a new feature as well. Not having a big piece of glass on the back seems like a new feature too (my iPhone 4S has had a cracked back for a couple of months). I know this may seem silly, but a new dock connector that is symmetrical and is easier to plug in without looking is a new feature as well. Also, something about a panorama camera, but I wouldn't call that a BFD)

What was the the big feature of the iPhone 3GS?

It was the first I bought but key features it hit included tethering, stereo bluetooth support, compass (and maybe improved GPS) and performance.

The 5 seems like a solid step. I don't see the need to upgrade every year but if you compare back to the 4 rather than the 4S the performance should be a massive jump. Support for 5GHz wifi could mean a real speed boost too and the bigger screen should be nice.

The S really was the feature. Besides the performance bump for everything (e.g. loading web pages twice as fast) it let you run a class of apps you simply couldn't only earlier iphones (e.g. unreal engine).

Other then that copy and paste and enough memory to keep more then 2 tabs open in safari were what I remember.

For me it was that my original iPhone contract was finally up and I could get 3G. Is that the one with gyroscope? -- Jobs playing Jenga during the keynote?

When 3GS was released, it was an evolution of a 3G that was still at light years from competitors.

LTE

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