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You're totally right of course. Apple has a tight product line and dedicated fanbase. The feature will hit critical mass and be a huge success within months.

You're totally right of course. Apple has a tight product line and dedicated fanbase. The feature will hit critical mass and be a huge success within months. Over the next few weeks, everyone emotionally invested in the cellphone for any of the terrible reasons that make it a "must have" will go through a process with the new iPhone that is almost exclusively afforded to Apple products. If the consumer doesn't like a feature, they'll wonder if instead of the tech being wrong, if it is really them that is wrong about the tech. "C'mon," they'll think "this is APPLE after all, I just must not get it." The people who wait longer to buy will have both that thought _and_ the fear of having an outsider opinion on the trendy new toy. My best indication that this is true isn't related to the conversations I had with other iPhone owners after I switched. Those odd little ones that I mistook for chit-chat about the phone but after 2 or 3 eventually realized we were rationalizing back and forth that our less-than-prudent purchase decision was the right one. Nor was it the time that I had my jaw dropped after realizing how stupid I was for failing to realize how much the iPhone is a status symbol. I deluded myself into thinking it had anything to do with tech, but right after the release of the 4S I heard a criticism of the design "how is anyone supposed to know I have the new one"? No, forget all that. The best indication that this is true, is the fact that the contents of this post could be seen as a slight against apple. Instead of just pointing out they have a strong market position and loyal customers which allows them to shape the future more than any other tech brand. Good on them for winning it! They've got highly polished products and wildly successful marketing. So they get a real opportunity to show everyone that they might actually like fingerprint scanning in a phone.

mercer 13y ago
I used to agree with your view, and unapologetically, err, apologize for apples choices anyways. Then I switched to the Nexus 4, and I changed my mind slightly. On the one hand I love the thing. It can do lots of stuff that I like that I couldn't do on my iPhone, even after jailbreaking. But on the other hand, many of the common tasks leave me with irritations that I didn't have with the iPhone. UI inconsistencies, unintuitive interfaces, weird crashes, and generally stuff that made me miss my less-powerful iPhone. Now, as a geek and a power user I am inclined to still prefer the Nexus, but only barely. But for my day to day stuff I'd switch back to an iPhone in a heartbeat. So, I think saying it's all just fashion is not completely true. It is also about tech. And among most of my friends status has little to do with it (if anything, having an iPhone is boring over here in hipster land, and you're cooler with a fridge-sized Nokia that can only store 20 text messages).
gfodor 13y ago
It's funny. I have a 4S since I'm on that upgrade cycle. Yet, when I see someone else with a 4 or 4S a deep reptilian part of my brain notices that, hey, they didn't spring for the 5. I'd like to believe it stops there and doesn't somehow subconsciously lead me to think anything about them, but who knows, the mind is a funny thing. We are hard wired and soft wired to compare ourselves to others, and as tech geeks you could hardly find a more obvious thing for this part of our brains to latch onto than the shiny computers in our pocket we flash around all the time. Kind of amazing how that works, really, since it's completely irrational as I am literally a person who carries the same phone.

mercer 13y ago

I used to agree with your view, and unapologetically, err, apologize for apples choices anyways. Then I switched to the Nexus 4, and I changed my mind slightly. On the one hand I love the thing. It can do lots of stuff that I like that I couldn't do on my iPhone, even after jailbreaking. But on the other hand, many of the common tasks leave me with irritations that I didn't have with the iPhone. UI inconsistencies, unintuitive interfaces, weird crashes, and generally stuff that made me miss my less-powerful iPhone. Now, as a geek and a power user I am inclined to still prefer the Nexus, but only barely. But for my day to day stuff I'd switch back to an iPhone in a heartbeat. So, I think saying it's all just fashion is not completely true. It is also about tech. And among most of my friends status has little to do with it (if anything, having an iPhone is boring over here in hipster land, and you're cooler with a fridge-sized Nokia that can only store 20 text messages).

gfodor 13y ago

It's funny. I have a 4S since I'm on that upgrade cycle. Yet, when I see someone else with a 4 or 4S a deep reptilian part of my brain notices that, hey, they didn't spring for the 5. I'd like to believe it stops there and doesn't somehow subconsciously lead me to think anything about them, but who knows, the mind is a funny thing. We are hard wired and soft wired to compare ourselves to others, and as tech geeks you could hardly find a more obvious thing for this part of our brains to latch onto than the shiny computers in our pocket we flash around all the time. Kind of amazing how that works, really, since it's completely irrational as I am literally a person who carries the same phone.