Are we seeing Apple crumble?

Yet another Apple keynote has come and gone, and once again there is a sense of frustration in the air. At least that bitter taste on the tongue is one I have gotten used to after Steve jobs died, along with all his intuition, drive and creativity. For all the fancy technical terms that Apple likes to throw around, they once again managed to frustrate. Everything they revealed, was known two months in advance. Every cut and finish, every new touted feature, even the name of the new products were leaked friggin 2 months ago. No wow, no oohs or ahs, no wonderful innovation that bowled us over. I remember in the past, the keynotes where something unexpected would come up, and I would sit there thinking to myself “How epic is that?!”. Now it’s just like, “Yeah saw that already a while ago, and even then it was pretty boring.” Apple used to innovate, now they are just following the market and this keynote proves it. Let us start with the two products they released, the iPhone 5S and 5C. Firstly is the fact that they revealed two phones simultaneously a good sign or a bad one? One on hand it shows that they are ready to bow to consumer demand in a strange fashion, on the other hand it means that they are willing to follow their competitors. Time will tell if this was a good strategy. So the 5C. When I first heard of the 5C I thought that the C would stand for cheap, meaning that Apple would finally release a budget phone. Basically it a rehashed iPhone 5, with very similar specs, and the big difference being the plastic colour palette that the iPhone 5C utilises. The colours add something new and interesting to the iPhone and the very fragile glass construction that were used in previous constructions. However the “purpose” of this phone is what has me so annoyed. Basically this is Apple’s attempt at a phone that everyone could afford. However contradictory to hopeful reports that this may really be something truly affordable, Apple decides to slap another hundred dollars on the price. £469 for the 16GB and £549 for the 32GB. You are really telling me this is your cheap phone? C’mon people, think realistically here. You can get a great phone in the Nexus 4 for half that. Apple has decided that since they have the fruity logo that they stick on the back of the polycarbonate body, that they can overcharge everyone. I mean why even do a cheap phone if all you are going to do is really make it unaccessible for those who really looking forward to it. Either do it right, or don’t do it at all. The sad thing is, probably a ton of people are going to buy it anyway. Now about the iPhone 5S. It actually looks like a really good phone. The specs are up there with the top phones. The 64 bit processor seems like a really good new addition, and I really would like to see how graphics intensive software runs, especially with the next generation of games. The fingerprint sensor also looks like a handy feature, and one of the only things I got excited about. However these two things really are the only standout features of this phone. Everything else is just catching up with the competition. When looking at this phone, all that was going through my mind was: “Yeah, well this is nice, but it would have been really innovative and amazing if this would have been the iPhone 5. And you know what the really sad thing is? It would have even been possible.” At least it isn’t as much of a disappointment as the 5C, and I can see it being quite successful. However, what’s up with the “Champagne” colour? It just looks cheap bling. What happened with the understated beauty that Apple used to perfect? Generally looking at the keynote itself you can also see how precarious their position There used to be a time, were Apple stood impervious, invincible to doubts or pressure from investors/competitors. The only time other companies or products were mentioned was in graphs or tables, illustrating Apple’s dominance. However now snide comments and jokes are needed for the Cupertino company to feel like the top dog. Sounds like a schoolyard bully doesn’t it? Furthermore, to gauge the hype and excitement surrounding this keynote, all you had to do was look at the crowd, and compare it to the reactions of previous keynote crowds to tell that something has changed for the computing giant. Laughing was rare, and cheering was even rarer and that was because to be honest, there was nothing to cheer about! All in all its another disappointment for me. I have been a loyal Apple user. I have bought several iPhones, own a macbook, the whole shebang. I used these, because the products you used actually were the bees knees, there were things on these devices that other companies either didn’t have or ripped off from Apple. Now I watch in dismay as Apple falls further and further behind in anything remotely original. iOS 7 was a step in a good direction, but that’s only a part of the experience. I am so tired of looking at my iPhone and thinking how many things would make this thing better. The thing I have learnt from this, something I guess I should have understood a while ago is; empires never last forever, even ones that seem so inexplicable great like Apple. Soon something else will come to push this faltering giant of his throne, be it sooner or later.