The stage was set; the event was setup much as it was in previous years. However, when Tim Cook came out and announced the iPhone 5, he forgot to mention one thing: the innovation that’s usually bursting out of the sockets of the iPhone. As I was watching the keynote, I was not impressed, excited, or moved. To be honest, the new iPod Nano looked like a much more appealing electronic to buy (but that post is for another time). Now you have to wonder, is this how Steve Jobs would have done it, or is this an iPhone on training wheels? I believe this iPhone was totally designed without any guidance from Steve Jobs at all for multiple obvious reasons.

Design Changes:

X Casing 

The casing of the iPhone has changed a bit over the years. The best design to date, in my opinion, was the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s casing, which the iPhone 5 does follow closely. However, there are small changes Jobs would not have made. As you can observe from the picture, there are two different finishes on the phone’s back side, matted for most of the phone and glossy on the top and bottom. Job’s was a perfectionist when it came to the look of the phone and this design seems way too bizarre for Jobs’ minimalist style.

✓ Screen

The screen of the iPhone has been the same size since the original (3.5 in). That seemed like a great size back in 2007, but with phones coming out with 5.4 in screens, Apple needed to do something about theirs. Their solution was to modestly increase the screen size to 4 in. That is acceptable, and I feel Steve would have agreed with this change.

X Hardware

Congratulations! Apple released a phone with specs similar to phones released months ago. Some features such as NFC are even missing, which is a bit of a disappointment. With the additions of LTE, a better screen, and CPU and GPU upgrades, there were no innovative surprises. I feel like Apple is going to start taking lessons from Samsung, because they’re the ones who are really starting to lead the pack when it comes to pushing the envelope.

X OS

IOS6 adds a few new features like improved Siri and some polishing, but nothing is really groundbreaking. They’re simply keeping pace with Google. Since 2007 there have been blocks on blocks on the home screen and that has not changed. Sure it is a nifty idea, but Apple needs to redefine themselves in this space. IOS6 is very advanced, but everything is built off perception and it looks like the same OS as the first iPhone.

If Steve Jobs were still around, I can guarantee that the iPhone 5 would have been more of a force to be reckoned with. It stays within the pack, but certainly not ahead of it. There are other phones by Samsung (Galaxy S3) and HTC (One X) that I would still suggest over the iPhone5 since they are the ones setting the new standards. When you go phone shopping this time around, remember one thing: you aren’t going to get the best phone if you are out buying an iPhone.