Yesterday was the day of reckoning for iPhone enthusiasts. Tim Cook, who recently replaced the beloved Steve Jobs, would take the stage in Cupertino for his first announcement as Apple CEO. For the past year, the Internet had been going nuts about the iPhone 5—from its design, to its specs. And, with Apple’s next announcement rumored for Fall 2011, along with the yearly “new” device cycle, everyone anticipated the next generation iPhone, and collectively held our breath on October 4th.
Anticipation became disappointment upon the announcement of the iPhone 4S—the upgraded 4, including features like the dual-core A5 processor, iOS 5, iCloud, faster performance and download speeds, world phone capability, 8 megapixel camera, 64GB version, and Siri. Sounds great, right?
Unfortunately for Apple, the company that usually does so well with such announcements, it seemingly failed to do something for the event that would a) unveil its latest device, and b) introduce Tim Cook as a worthy heir.
They didn’t manage expectations. But…are our expectations simply unrealistic?
While we were so dissatisfied, cursing Apple for not delivering a new model of a device it had only released last year, we failed to see this for what it was: a genius business move.
With the 4S launch, Apple has effectively cornered the smartphone market, using strategic timing. This release comes at the forefront of holiday shopping season, making the 4S the device to own, and dominate wish lists. On October 14th, lines will be long, and the cash will rain steadily. If the 5 was ready for market, it would’ve made its debut yesterday. The fact that it didn’t, along with Apple’s history, leads me to believe that the 5 will arrive sooner than later. In fact, IMO, the 5 announcement will come at the end of Q1/beginning of Q2 2012. And with that announcement, all who couldn’t wait and upgraded early, will again curse Apple. But, many of them, along with the droves who held out, will again line up at stores to pump more revenue into Apple.
Holiday, and tax season revenue. Can’t knock the hustle.
Recent Comments