Is this latest upgrade really that bad? I don't think so.

[Larry Pager]

I own a Samsung Galaxy S3 and have swapped from iOS to Android to iOS and back to Android since the 3GS.

I think the 5S is a good upgrade.

1) It's an "S" model- so what do you expect? I personally think the fingerprint scanner is a great idea if it works well. We also get iOS 7 which has a lot of changes. And I like the colors- it gives more choice to consumers. Camera is improved which is nice. It's faster, too. I'd be interested in buying one.

So then the naysayers will say, "BUT... it's not an insanely great, Jobsian revolution! It's just an incremental improvement!"

But then I would argue that the innovation within the smartphone market is slowing. People are running out of ideas. We had all our OMG moments- 3G, LTE, maps, gps with turn by turn directions, streaming music, video, internet browser, movie editor, siri, etc. What else can a smartphone do? These days, a "good" upgrade consists of
- bigger screen
- faster processor
- a few changes to the design
- some OS changes- but even then we are not seeing the amazing evolution we once did. Even with Android. I admit- Droid to S3 was like startac to iPhone 5S. But now nothing big is happening.

None of these upgrades are revolutionary changes.
The smartphone companies know that things are slowing, which is why it's all about the smartwatch or google glasses.

I'm going to say the last great iPhone was the iPhone 4, the last great Android phone was the S3- S4 was just as "disappointing" as the 5S.
I think we've entered a period of stagnation. I expect to see incremental improvements across the smartphone industry and gimmicks trying to be marketed as amazing features.

 

[Just_Me_D]

I own a Samsung Galaxy S3 and have swapped from iOS to Android to iOS and back to Android since the 3GS.

I think the 5S is a good upgrade.

1) It's an "S" model- so what do you expect? I personally think the fingerprint scanner is a great idea if it works well. We also get iOS 7 which has a lot of changes. And I like the colors- it gives more choice to consumers. Camera is improved which is nice. It's faster, too. I'd be interested in buying one.

So then the naysayers will say, "BUT... it's not an insanely great, Jobsian revolution! It's just an incremental improvement!"

But then I would argue that the innovation within the smartphone market is slowing. People are running out of ideas. We had all our OMG moments- 3G, LTE, maps, gps with turn by turn directions, streaming music, video, internet browser, movie editor, siri, etc. What else can a smartphone do? These days, a "good" upgrade consists of
- bigger screen
- faster processor
- a few changes to the design
- some OS changes- but even then we are not seeing the amazing evolution we once did. Even with Android. I admit- Droid to S3 was like startac to iPhone 5S. But now nothing big is happening.

None of these upgrades are revolutionary changes.
The smartphone companies know that things are slowing, which is why it's all about the smartwatch or google glasses.

I'm going to say the last great iPhone was the iPhone 4, the last great Android phone was the S3- S4 was just as "disappointing" as the 5S.
I think we've entered a period of stagnation. I expect to see incremental improvements across the smartphone industry and gimmicks trying to be marketed as amazing features.

To "YOU", the iPhone 5S is disappointing, and I'm sure others will agree, however, a lot of people will also disagree and find the iPhone 5S a huge hit. I'm willing to bet that sales numbers will be the deciding factors.

 

[ame]

I thought it was a pretty big spec bump for an S class.

 

[pr1nce]

That's a matter of opinion. I'm sure some will agree with you. I expect there will be many more who will disagree. I predict the sales figures will show why the 5S is the new flagship device.

 

[taz323]

IDK, I'm happy with my 5,and not looking to upgrade, looking for ios7. but the 5s has peeked my interest and the the spec's received a good bump. I'd rather have quality.

 

[madeinhb]

I don't like the finger print scanner. With the NSA here in America spying on people, I don't need my phone keeping track of my finger prints.

 

[xlipstickandbruisesx]

This happens every year and still I am amazed that people are displeased with the S cycle phone. If you are someone not interested in minor internal upgrades and one new major save yourself the annoyance and just follow the numerical releases, it's really that simple. I don't necessarily think the market is slowing but I do agree with the OP stance in that what else can we come up with? The continual things I see people post about wanting is a larger storage and/or bigger screen... but I would say the majority of users don't want a bigger screen and I really doubt there is a large enough demand to warrant them making a larger storage. I also never say never, but that is just my take on those things. I personally think this was probably the best S line upgrade as there was the fingerprint scanner and basically 2 new colors to choose from. As far as the iP4 being the last great iPhone I will say it was beautiful but I don't agree with that and if the SG3 was the last great android phone then that is really sad as from my user experience it wasn't anything great to begin with.

 

[anon(4698833)]

I don't like the finger print scanner. With the NSA here in America spying on people, I don't need my phone keeping track of my finger prints.

And if you think the NSA needs you to scan your finger print on your iPhone to have and track all your info and finger prints, you're naive, lol!

Are we really going to have to muddle through dozens of these kinds of threads every day? "Hey! I have an opinion that is slightly different, but mostly the same as everyone elses here...that deserves a new thread, right?"

Guess it could be worse, these could be shipping threads... (which will come next week, lol!)

 

[madeinhb]

And if you think the NSA needs you to scan your finger print on your iPhone to have and track all your info and finger prints, you're naive, lol!

Are we really going to have to muddle through dozens of these kinds of threads every day? "Hey! I have an opinion that is slightly different, but mostly the same as everyone elses here...that deserves a new thread, right?"

Guess it could be worse, these could be shipping threads... (which will come next week, lol!)

Not saying the NSA doesn't have their means. I just don't want to add more stuff.

 

[sting7k]

With the exception of a bigger screen, the iPhone 5S has all of the of the "good" upgrade features you listed. We all knew this iPhone wasn't going to have a larger screen. I'm really not sure how much larger Apple would go. They are very fond of their ease of use one handed. IMHO just because it's "bigger" doesn't mean it's an "upgrade" or "better". If it's a lower quality panel with lower pixel density a larger screen may actually be worse.

I also have to disagree with you that the last great iPhone was the iPhone 4. The iPhone 5 is better in every way. The iPhone 5S is better than the iPhone 5.