Opinion

A New iPhone, Or Is It?

As Apple CEO Tim Cook stepped on stage to show everyone at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference the new line of iPhones coming out on Sept. 9, a large crowd cheered for him, excited by rumors of what the new iPhone 6 was going to be. 

If you watched the keynote like I did, then you realized that those two hours were a complete waste of time. For those of you that didn’t watch it, then all you need to know is that the iPhone 6 comes in two sizes, a 4.7 inch size display which is slightly larger than the iPhone 5S, and a 5.5 inch iPhone called the iPhone Plus. 

In terms of specs, the iPhone 6 is lighter, faster, thinner and has a slightly better display than its predecessor. That’s it. Seriously. A solid half hour was spent telling people that. Sound familiar? If you listen carefully, that’s exactly what they said about the iPhone before the iPhone 6, and the one before, and the one before. 

What does this mean for Apple? Well pretty much anyone can sniff out that they’re seeing Android phones dominate the tech game and they’re trying to play catch up. Let me give you some proof. 

In 2012, Google released a Nexus 4 with the same specs as the iPhone 6. So two years ago, consumers had the same phone Apple is calling the best iPhone yet. 

This is a deep contrast with the phones Samsung and other Android based companies have been releasing. While Apple has been playing with Tinker Toys, Samsung and other companies have been experimenting with next generation curved phone screens, high density screens, batteries that last you the whole day, power saving modes to extend your battery another day and waterproof features. 

My point is, Apple is living off an amazing promotional team and a reputation that was built up by Steve Jobs. After Jobs died, Apple lost its spirit of innovation and instead embraced a conservative philosophy of continuity, as we see with the release of the iPhone 6. Because of this decision, other companies have surpassed it by years in terms of technological advancement. 

So if you want to buy old tech that was cool a couple years ago, the iPhone 6 is just for you. Any good news for Apple? Well, the Apple Watch they’ll be releasing next year looks pretty spiffy.