The new features of the iPhone 5 can be summarized in a matter of seconds— longer, 4-inch screen, thinner, lighter body, sturdier aluminum back, faster processor, and a possibly obnoxious new dock connection—but perhaps the most interesting result of the latest sermon from the high priests of Apple is the wide range of responses the iPhone 5 rollout generated among the techno-razzi.
Gizmodo featured a rundown of major tech sites generally praising the phone for its upgrades, even as most of those sites simultaneously seemed to be running pieces somewhat critical of the latest version. The gist: the iPhone 5 is a fine enough upgrade, but Apple is slowly but surely losing its wide margin of quality over its Android and Windows competitors.
On Slate, Robert Cyran offers praise for the phone’s “subtle and sublime charms,” while Farhad Manjoo roundly criticizes the new, still Apple-proprietary dock, under the headline, “No, This Isn’t the Best iPhone Ever.” If it was, Manjoo writes, “it wouldn’t have screwed over Apple’s most loyal customers.”
So take your pick of reviews. Apple hopes that your keeping-up-with-the-Joneses envy will make you buy one anyway.
