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Give people an iPhone 4S, tell them it's an iPhone 5
- mtgx 14y agoIt seems most people are willing to buy a new iPhone or iPad just because it's "new" (doesn't even matter what improvements it has, if any) and because it's from Apple. I remember a video doing the same for the new iPad using and iPad 2, and the reaction was the same.
- jere 14y agoWhat if these people are nervously scrambling to make a comment so they don't look stupid on camera? Of course, they all ended up looking stupid, but if you genuinely believed you were getting something new you would probably feel pressured to feign being impressed. Besides, I'd wager that they excluded one or more interviewees who said "I can't tell a difference." </devils advocate> Of course, it's perfectly fine for a laugh.
- olivier1664 14y agoAgree with you: it was same effect than with "Americans are NOT stupid" video where we see lot of cut scenes where people say wrong answer (as "4 sides on a triangle"). That let thing people says only stupid things, while in fact they are just not perfect. For french readers, here an old link on the subject: http://plombe.over-blog.com/article-24222182.html http://plombe.over-blog.com/article-24222182.html
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- the_mat 14y agoThe "it feels so much faster" comments don't fly with me. The iPhone 4 still feels slick and speedy in September 2012. The 4S was faster, but it wasn't noticeable except for certain apps. Now the 5 is 2x faster again, but it's how much CPU is really needed to slide icons around and play music and look at photos?
- latchkey 14y agoRelated and worth watching... http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/rory_sutherland_life_lessons_from_an_ad_man.html http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/rory_sutherland_life_lesson...
- mpg33 14y agoIf you look at the iPhone 5 compared to other new smartphones i don't think anything comes close in terms of design. However I'm not sure if this can be said for iOS...i think the UI needs to be overhauled soon.
- Ensorceled 14y agoI'm not sure what is funnier, the clue less apple users who can't figure out this device is the same as the one in their pockets or the anti-apple rage bots in thenextweb comments. It's like watching a parrot attack the parrot in the mirror.
- Nathandim 14y agoThe article implies that all people in question have an iPhone. The video shows only 2 of them comparing their iPhone and the last person only claims that he has it. Why? I mean, it's not a natural iPhone owner reaction not to whip out his current phone to make a comparison. My point is, over half of the people in question do not show a clear indication of owning an iPhone 4S besides their claim and the video says that they ask people. Not iPhone owners exclusively. People. It measures consumer awareness, not necessarily Apple buyers, like thenextweb article says. They are likely to guess due to their personal knowledge of older products. Also, the whole idea reminded me of this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYU1a0lTTTw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYU1a0lTTTw people suddenly agreeing that they know him from X movie, heard his songs while in reality he had none.
- skidding 14y agoAm I the only one who saw this as a skit and nothing more? I don't watch Kimmel a lot but when Conan does a bit like this the people on it are always paid actors. It's still funny, but I wouldn't expect a late-night talk show to bother actually interviewing random people when they can make their own script the way they want it and get away with it (not saying it in a bad way, it's a comedy show after all).
- daveman 14y agoI also wonder if these folks were handed a brand new 4S, unhampered by apps and months of use. In my experience, the speed, even for activities like homescreen navigation, got slower over time, especially when I load more and more apps. Newer store models always seem zippier than my weathered old phone. All this said, they clearly picked gadget plebians, as anyone even slightly in the know would immediately check out the 8-pin dock connector and 5 rows of apps.
- dean 14y ago"the speed ... got slower over time" Tell me about it. I'm still using a 3G, running iOS 4.2.1. Frankly, it's so slow as to be almost useless. But at least I can still make calls. (I guess it's time for an upgrade)
- dean 14y ago"the speed ... got slower over time" Tell me about it. I'm still using a 3G, running iOS 4.2.1. Frankly, it's so slow as to be almost useless. But at least I can still make calls. (I guess it's time for an upgrade)
- raldi 14y agoIt seems like the people who say the "new" one is thinner, lighter, more elegant, etc, all have cases on their phones. So in essence, the case sets your phone back a generation or two.
- erickhill 14y agoI had to get a case after being forced to replace the back glass. The area on the back that covers and protects the camera lens is (was?) actually very thin cheap plastic. Once it became scratched, the impressive camera inside the phone became unusable as all of the photos took on 1970s-era halos and blurring. After easily replacing the back glass and slapping on an ugly cover, the case has kept the camera healthy. I did it grudgingly, as the original elegant design is completely erased by any case you put on the device.
- ollysb 14y agoI never understand why people use cases. What's the point in preserving something in mint condition if you never see it without the case?
- owenjones 14y agoI showed my sister my 4S recently, she was thinking of upgrading, and she was amazed at my lack of case. "How do you protect it from scratches?" she asked, to which I replied "I don't drop it." I can't really comprehend dropping this thing, it costs $4-500! That's a lot of money! I can't imagine not handling things that cost that much without the utmost of care.
- sray 14y agoI'm with you. Accidents happen, but most can be prevented if you just treat your expensive device with care and respect. I find that people really don't like that advice, though!
- jsz0 14y agoThe carrier subsidy model is partly to blame for that mindset. I don't know how many people really understand the device they are tossing around actually costs $650 and not $199.
- napierzaza 14y agoAlso, if you ask enough people the same thing you are going to get stupid answers from someone, even people who aren't stupid.
- naz 14y agoEven better -- that's actually an iPhone 4 (notice the black band by the headphone socket).
- __abc 14y agoI imagine this can be done with almost all handsets, laptops, etc. I'm guessing this is more "human nature" than Apple Fanboy'sm at a large consumer scale.
- grecy 14y agoI'd bet it can be done with just about everything in our consumer culture. Can average people on the street spot the difference between a 2013 Ford F-150 and a 2012 model?
- vvhn 14y agoAlso this is a piece on a late night comedy show not some random sampling of people outside the sets of the Jimmy Kimmel show. Edited to make it funny as well (as they should btw). I'm wondering how this is being extrapolated to mean "Nobody can tell the difference between iPhone 4/4S and 5".
- betterth 14y agoI know, right? Considering how many times in the trials people have been unable to tell APPLE AND SAMSUNG products apart, you'd think readers here would realize that those people are obviously going to have trouble with products in the same family!
- jkn 14y agoThe funny bit here is that we have people who do manage to tell apart two products that are actually the same.
- MrMember 14y agoThis does raise an interesting point about HN as a whole. I remember in one of the Apple/Samsung threads someone brought up the point that people couldn't tell Apple and Samsung products apart, and in that case it was used as an attack against Samsung and 'proof' that they were copying. In this instance the exact same idea is used as a defense for Apple.
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- rsiqueira 14y agoIn general, great expectation makes part of the prefrontal cortex more excited. Scientists argue that the activity of this brain region shifts the preferences of the wine tasters when they are presented to an expensive wine, for example. [1] "Wine experts and consumers can be fooled by altering their expectations. The expectation it (expensive wine) will taste better actually makes it taste better. Your expectations powerfully influence the final vote in your head over what you believe to be reality." (from the book You Are Not So Smart). [1] http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/04/should-we-buy-expensive-wine/ http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/04/should-we-buy-expe...
- datagramm 14y agoI read a similar experiment where people were given the same food on either paper plates or fine china. As expected, people thought the food served on fancy plates was of higher quality. I forget where...
- jiggy2011 14y agoI'm assuming this is the same psychology at work with the $1000 HDMI cables and the people who insist the can perceive a massive quality difference.
- sharkweek 14y agoexactly -- perceived improvement because it was more expensive; it must be better
- Alex3917 14y agoIt's now been over three years since the 3GS was released, and there's essentially zero difference between the 3GS and the iPhone 5. I honestly don't see any point in upgrading unless I drop my current one, which isn't likely.
- bornhuetter 14y ago> there's essentially zero difference between the 3GS and the iPhone 5. Are you kidding? I'm no iOS fan, but I think that statement is a bit ridiculous.
- Alex3917 14y agoThe battery life is almost exactly the same. All of the most popular apps still run on the 3GS, and run well, with the exception of a half dozen or so. The internet browsing speed is effectively identical, regardless of whatever the specs claim. The new cameras are supposedly slightly better, but probably not enough to be noticeable unless you've got a highly trained eye. The only features that the new iPhones have are things like Siri and Facetime, which are largely gimmicks with no real use case.
- kalid 14y agoTake a look at http://campl.us/posts/iPhone-Camera-Comparison http://campl.us/posts/iPhone-Camera-Comparison
- Alex3917 14y agoInteresting. The 4S is clearly the best for the city shot, but for the indoor shot it's the sharpest though I think the 3GS colors may actually be better.
- JoelSutherland 14y agoHere is a video comparing the 3gs to the 4s for internet browsing speed. The complicated sites are much different the simple sites are basically the same: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuSYkdyfuTA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuSYkdyfuTA I expected it to be more of a blowout on ALL sites. I can't tell if this proves you right or wrong.
- aw3c2 14y agoDirect link, nothing worth reading at the submitted page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdIWKytq_q4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdIWKytq_q4
- jusben1369 14y agoYes this says a lot about human nature and very little about iPhone's. Great for a laugh though. I also bet there were some people who realized what was up but ended up on the cutting room floor. It would actually also be funny to see how people handled that.
- guywithabike 14y agoIt's gotten to the point where it doesn't even surprise me anymore that this kind of tripe is the #1 top story on Hacker News now. Hacker News is becoming the "Ow, My Balls!" of the tech world.
- cooldeal 14y agoPerception, hype and peer influence trumps reality and shapes people attitude most of the time. Remember Vista's Project Mojave? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihorvo2tEuA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihorvo2tEuA
- volandovengo 14y agoGreat point. These are great case studies on the importance of marketing and a strong brand. With a strong brand, people give you the benefit of the doubt.
- dade_ 14y agoThis is meaningless. A friend of mine had a heated discussion with a Samsung rep at a local mobile store. The rep insisted the phone he handed her was a Samsung Galaxy 3, when in fact it was a Galaxy 2. <sarcasm>It is scandalous that Samsung would release a new phone that consumers can't differentiate. If he wasn't such an Android fanboy, he would have recorded the whole interaction and posted in on YouTube to show the world that they are all being scammed. </sarcasm>
- ajross 14y agoI don't see the use of "scandalous" or "fanboy" in the linked article (though no doubt they appear in the comments, just like yours). It's just a funny dig at a not-as-innovative-as-expected product release. The real point is that the years of rapid evolution (and, by extension, platform differentiation) are behind us. After a few years where they weren't, phones are just phones again. Hell, you could hand a bunch of people a GSIII and tell them it was an iPhone 5 and get similarly hilarious results. But screaming about hypocrisy is missing the point.
- kbronson 14y agoHahaha Morons.
- ojbyrne 14y agoThese man on the street stupidity bits are a staple of late night comedy, but for every stupid person, there could be 50 people who aren't stupid, and immediately get the joke. You just don't see the latter group. There's probably also a third, even smarter group, who understand that if they play along, they might end up on tv.
- redidas 14y agoThis is understandable, but it still exposes that there is a group of "stupid" people out there that would accept an iPhone 4S as the new iPhone 5.
- freyr 14y agoThere's also groups of "stupid" people who believe the moon landing was a hoax or our education over here should help the Iraq. So what? Is the existence of uninformed people really breaking news?
- tlrobinson 14y agoIf you look hard enough there are people stupid enough to believe anything.
- suhastech 14y agoFairly similar to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYU1a0lTTTw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYU1a0lTTTw
- seangransee 14y agoin general, a fresh install of iOS does make the phone a lot faster. these people are used to a phone that has been bogged down by general OS wear and tear, so it makes sense that they think a fresh 4S is faster than their current 4S.
- devy 14y agoI don't know about you but I felt like those people they interviewed on the street are acting, this whole interview thing could be staged. I mean, it's Jimmy Kimmel Show for christ's sake. How serious is that?!
- koglerjs 14y agohttp://fastcashnowloans.com/ http://fastcashnowloans.com/
- bryawn 14y agoJust goes to show how stupid the average Apple buyer is. What a bunch of bozos.
- madprops 14y agoThis reminds me of that KDE vs Windows 7 comparison https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPIgEFIv5MI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPIgEFIv5MI
- bieber6gfever 14y agoanyone notice that they're showing those folks the iphone 4 and not the 4s? notice the notch on top.
- dakrisht 14y agoHilarious. People are just downright brainwashed by genius marketing, hype and a general oblivion of the facts and reality. America. LOL
- chrischen 14y agoKeep in mind they probably interview a bunch of people and only show the most ridiculous responses.
- xxcode 14y agoThis discussion has been highlacked by morons talking about the cases. The main point is - Apple's marketing is so good that people suspend judgement.
- philipbroadway 14y agoOpen the thread with 200+ comments about a single tangent. Personally, I thought the video was pretty funny and I love how serious most the people are while responding.