Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., speaks in front of an image of the iPhone 4S during an event at the company's headquarters in Cupertino, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011.David Paul Morris
A is for anticlimax.
After months of hype over Apple's iPhone 5 – a gadget rumoured to beam credit-card data for instant purchases and leap small buildings in a single bound – techies responded with widespread letdown Tuesday to the unveiling of the iPhone 4S.
Bloggers joke that the S stands for "same," but the new phone does include voice-recognition software that lets users do things such as send messages with no hands, as well as a better camera and faster processor.
Still, for Apple fans who anticipated a four-inch screen, thinner profile and " radical new design," it hardly lives up to Apple's claim of being "the most amazing iPhone yet."
Apple unwittingly foreshadowed the public's reaction in its release video, which includes an instrumental version of Adele's Rolling in the Deep as background music: The song's chorus features the heartfelt cry, "We could have had it all."
Techies couldn't agree more.
"I'm really pissed off," Charly wrote at idownloadblog.com. "I was really just waiting for a big change and sold my iPhone 4 last week, if there is not a big improvement I will definitely change over [to]Samsung Galaxy 2, I swear!!"
On the same forum, Damian wrote: "I was hoping for something radical. I doubt it will be worth upgrading for just a better camera and Assistant."
HAL9000, writing on Twitter, upped the ante: "Please note I will be selling some 'S' stickers for $0.99 so iPhone 4 owners have a cheaper upgrade option."
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was conspicuous by his absence in the first major product launch since he resigned as chief executive officer in August, leaving successor Tim Cook to take the heat.
The BBC dubbed it "Tim Cook's dull debut," eliciting comments along the lines of purpleDogzzz's verdict: "Apple have finally lost it." Apple shares dropped 4 per cent after Tuesday's launch.
But according to Gawker.com, it was not the company but the rising class of "professional Apple pontificators" – tech bloggers, analysts, wire service writers, etc. – who were responsible for the dashed expectations.
And let us not forget that we're talking about a phone here.
Did the iPhone 5's no-show ruin your day?