In spite of preorders of over 2 million iPhone 5s in less than 24 hours, the iPhone 5 is boring. Yes, it's true. It's boring. But, it needs to be. You see, boring works, boring is usable.

First, what is boring about it? It improves on every single aspect of the iPhone 4S. Some features are considerably better. LTE data speed is astonishing. The overall speed of the device, faster than any Android phone, is amazingly responsive. The screen expands for the first time ever in a uniquely usable way. So why then, is it boring? Because it's Apple.

Apple has a track record of revising their products in ways that don't vastly change the device in any single iteration. And that's the case here. The device is amazingly more usable, but it's not that different. Well that is until you start using it. Those writing that it's boring don't have the device yet.

You have to remember that there are a few fundamental things that set Apple devices apart from other device manufacturers:

Apple doesn't add features people won't use.

Apple doesn't add features they can't control.

Apple makes stuff that just works.

Apple innovates through revising what works, not bulk overhaul.

Many in the media expect every company to add "amazing" new features with every revision. There's a problem with that though, most of those amazing features are unintutive, uneeded, and unwanted. But, those features take up words and make writing about the devices easier. The reality is that no one uses these oddball, yet somehow banner features like the stuff Samsung adds with every new product revision. Whizbang features do not equate with usable features. Apple is more pragmatic than that and add features that work and that people will use.

What's the summary of all this? The iPhone 5 is fastest, most usable, feature rich, and amazing, yet boring phone ever.

I can't wait for my boring new iPhone.

Posted in: News, Opinion
Tagged With: Apple, IPhone 5, Samsung, Boring
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