Fast forward to that afternoon, and I check my Twitter newsfeed to find nearly fifty tweets (all within about one minute) from different accounts about Apple’s unveiling. In each I saw something about ‘4S’ or ‘Siri’…um, what the heck is Siri? My curiosity got the better of me, and after a quick search (on my iPhone 4 of course) I found that the iPhone 5 was actually not the 5, but the 4S. Returning to my tweets, I noticed that most people were very disappointed by this (i.e. “No 5? Lame Apple…). It seemed that simply because the company had not raised the model number by one, the technology world was up in arms. The bright spot, though, was the introduction of Siri, the phone’s newest application that essentially acts as your virtual butler, arranging schedules, giving reminders, and performing searches all through the power of voice. To make matters even more interesting, this was Apple’s first product introduction in which Steve Jobs was not present; instead, newly minted CEO Tim Cook took the floor, explaining the phone’s new design. As I continued to read up on the announcement and see how many negative things were being said of the iPhone 4S, I had to wonder: are sales going to plummet?
While my premonition about declining sales was shared by many throughout the world, it seems that as of yesterday Apple can give a big “ha, ha, told you so” to its haters and skeptics. According to the company, preorders of the iPhone 4S surpassed 1 million in the first 24 hours of availability, smashing its previous record held by the iPad 2. This unbelievable feat truly reflects how much Apple as a company has evolved; once purchased and used by early adopters, its products have become appealing and accessible to the mass market. Through partnerships with 4 major cellular companies, Apple has dramatically increased its market share, allowing more consumers to try, and presumably become obsessed with, its products. With this incredible number, I also could not help but wonder if the untimely death of Steve Jobs, who passed away just the day after the announcement, affected sales. When Walt Disney died, many assumed that Disney stock would plummet the day after; on the contrary, the stock rose dramatically. The logic behind this was that Disney was an artist, and because he was no longer alive to create more art, what had been developed would increase in value. This can be applied to Apple as well: Steve Jobs was and is considered a great genius and one of the true innovators of our time. Presumably, the iPhone 4S was the last major product on which he worked; therefore, this was his last legacy, and customers might not be sure if future products will have the same kind of innovation as when Jobs’ perspective was brought in. Overall, both of these examples show the value consumers place on limited resources: because supply (of, say, Steve Jobs’ technological genius) is not boundless, they are considered to be more precious. While there is no way to know for sure whether this idea translates to the iPhone 4S, there is no doubt that Apple will need to do everything in its power to carry on the Steve Jobs legacy in all of its products.
As preorder sales continue to climb and endless lines start to form outside each store, we can rest assured that Apple is busy working on its newest technology. While I will not be personally buying a 4S, the millions who have demonstrate that the strong reputation and unmatched technical capabilities of the company can drive enough consumer interest and excitement to shatter records, even despite the haters.
If you would like to see all that the iPhone 4S has to offer, check out the introduction video. If that’s too much, just ask Siri to tell you…
Carolyn Toll
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