Leander Kahney: I’m excited about the iPhone 4S. The old iPhone 4 model is a great handset; probably the best smartphone on the market. It’s a great design: easy to pocket; tough as nails; and very functional. Why mess with success? I know many fans are disappointed by the lack of a bigger screen or new design. Bu tI think the internal upgrades look phenomenal. A better antenna, a much faster chip and graphics, plus a great-looking 8MP camera! The best smartphone is even better.
Siri looks astonishing — truly sci-fi stuff. If it works as advertised — and that’s a big if — it will certainly change the way we use our smartphones. I’m already a big fan of Google’s voice search, which is great while walking or in the car. But Siri greatly expands the things you can do. I’d love to be able to set alarms, reminders, send texts and emails with a few simple commands. And it’s likely that the number of capabilities will quickly expand into other areas.
And being able to dictate everything rather than typing will make a big difference to me. I suck at typing. I can see my iPhone becoming my primary input device for writing and email, rather than my iPad or iMac.
Of course, we’ll see how it works in real life. Talking to my iPhone will undoubtedly feel strange and unnatural. I’m in no hurry to look like Scotty in Star Trek talking into the mouse. But I’ sure I won’t be the only one.
Eli Michman: Compared to Steve, Tim Cook can’t sell his way out of a paper bag, but hey — a world phone, “4G” speeds and a personal assistant? I think this might be the biggest iPhone jump yet; just Siri alone could completely revolutionize the way we use our phones, if the feature works as advertised (and this is Apple, so it will). Not to mention the big upgrades to the photo and video — image stabilization! — capabilities. And have they finally given the iPhone a real battery? Of course, horsepower upgrades make it all work flawlessly. Hopefully.
Buster Heine: Holy Guacamole! That Cards app looks so awesome! I OMG’d for like five whole minutes after I they showed us that bad boy. The iPhone 4S was all I was expecting along with Siri, so the keynote was a par for the course. I could have done without the 45 minutes of recapping iOS 5 at the beginning, and I wish the iPod touch got some love. The iPod Nano is exactly what I need for running so I may be buying one of those. Siri looks pretty awesome but why in the world is it only available on iPhone 4S? It’s like Apple only cares about selling their newest phone…oh wait….
Adam Rosen: I think the important takeaway items from today’s press conference are the imminent launch of iOS 5 and iCloud. Both these areas promise to bring significant productivity improvements and keep Apple’s lead over rivals.
For an event titled “Let’s Talk iPhone” however, today’s event was rather a letdown. No new iPhone 5, no 4G phone. The iPhone 4S will be a solid product but I suspect only Sprint customers are truly ecstatic today.
Nicole Martinelli: Distracted by the postcard app and the Friends & Family sharing – do we really want to give a huge U.S. corporation this much personal information in exchange for “Wish You Were Here” (at Starbucks) missives? It makes me want to fire up Diaspora again and donate to the EFF.
Generally, underwhelmed – though, admittedly, it’s hard to drink the kool-aid when you’re not invited to the party. And although Cook was on point, he doesn’t have that Steve Jobs knack for drawing out a presentation with the only real news buried at the end.
Erfon Elijah: Just had a good cry in the shower about no iPhone 5 announcement today. I qualified for an iPhone 4 in January (I have a 3GS) and discovered I just waited 8 extra months for the letter “S.” Sure, the iPhone 4S is faster, has a better camera, and I’ll be preordering one this Friday, but Apple wasted an opportunity to surprise, delight, and confound with an iPhone 5 and a larger screen.
Giles Turnbull: As a keen photographer, I’m pleased to hear about the improved camera hardware built into the 4S. I don’t think, though, that that alone will be enough to make me upgrade from my iPhone 4. Siri looks interesting but I’ll wait to pass judgement on it until I’ve tried using it. For anyone wanting to buy their first iPhone, I think the $99 8GB iPhone 4 looks like a real bargain – it’s still an excellent phone.
David Martin: Personally I found today’s iPhone 4S announcement to be a little disappointing after waiting for well over a year for a new iPhone. I was expecting something a little more earth shattering like a bigger screen and a thinner device overall with a metal rear cover. I spent $20 on a case for the rumored iPhone 5, but the iPhone 4S won’t fit in it. No big deal since I’ve spent $20 on worse things. I’ll keep it just in case – no pun intended. Maybe it will fit next years iPhone model.
In any case I’ll be upgrading to an iPhone 4S just to keep up with the technology and it isn’t a complete flop – the new insides sound like a big improvement, the camera sounds awesome (I use my iPhone camera a lot actually) and iOS 5 simply rocks. The new Siri feature should be interesting and useful at the same time. Of course I’ll get one in Black, but I’m having a hard time deciding between 32GB or 64GB.
John Brownlee: There was no iPhone 5, no 4G iPhone, but anyone who thought Apple was going to announce those device today has either not been paying attention or been toking away.
Ultimately, I think what I’m most struck by is how little it matters that Apple hasn’t released a whole new phone, because it acknowledges the truth of things: Apple has perfected the hardware of the modern smartphone. The iPhone 4 was already incredibly fast, absurdly thin, had great battery life and a world class design? It’s a perfect device. All you can do is make the hardware faster through incremental updates.
The truth of the matter is that it’s the software that counts, and Apple has revolutionized the way we interact with our phones thanks to Siri. The impact that Siri is going to have on the way we interact with our devices is impossible to underestimate: it’s every bit as important as the invention of the GUI, the mouse, the touchscreen. And since Siri is exclusive to the iPhone 4S, that makes the iPhone 4S, in my book, the most important iPhone since the original.
Alex Heath: Today’s event marked a new era for Apple with Cook at the helm. There was no Steve Jobs appearance, and the tone of the event definitely felt different. I think it’s safe to say that Apple as a company has a new tone now. Not a new vision, but a new tone.
There was no “one more thing” or huge surprise that made my jaw hit the floor. In fact, this was probably one of the most predictable Apple events that I can remember. I had an idea of what the iPhone 4S would be like in my head, and short of the name “Siri” instead of “Assistant,” everything turned out to be exactly what the rumor mill had already been saying.
I wouldn’t call today’s event “underwhelming,” but it was definitely predictable.
What about you? What do you think>?
