They will sell a lot, no doubt about it. But its nothing that interests me as they've not done anything newsworthy with it. Bigger screen, a new row of icons, OMG! :D and a few small things here and there.

Compared to WP and Android, it is absolutely nothing. Both have been introducing lots of new and innovative features for a very long time now.

EDIT: “But perhaps the most amazing new feature in the iPhone 5 is called panorama.”

Do they really think they are talking to idiots without brains?

so much skepticism here, did you see the liveblogs about it?

Considering how diluted the smart phone market is I'm surprised the bubble hasn't burst yet.

Nah. Don't really care for Apple`s products.

How is a blog writer's opinion more valid than anybody else's on this planet?

that wasnt what i meant at all, i meant as i said it, did anyone see the liveblogs?

Yes. I'm more interested in ios 6 though. The updated ipods look nice, though I was a bit surprised the newest touch doesn't come with the A6 chip and (perhaps related) the weaker camera. I'll be interested in seeing comparative low light camera shots. Despite comments here, I rather like panoramic photos, and if the A6 chip really does make taking them easier... bully for Apple.

I didn't really grasp the need for the new connector, other than its easier for stupid people to plug in now and an excuse to sell a metric fuck tonne of adaptors.

It was nice to see the Lili screenshot in the presentation, supposedly there will be more media about the game released today. There's usually a bit of an app release flurry around the release of new devices.

I'm more keen on the predicted october event to reveal the latest ipad revision or successor. I really do feel like the 3rd gen ipad is the very pretty but slightly retarded middle child. If they announce a significantly lighter ipad with a screen you can actually use outdoors, and a chip that can play games at the ipad retina resolution at a solid 60 fps... anyone who bought a 3rd gen will be livid.

If they just announce an ipad mini everyone will be shrugging and scratching their crotch with disinterest.

it may sound odd but I must admit while i liked what the iphone 5 has i cant help but feel underwhelmed by it for some reason , i get the feeling the next Ipad would be more of a must buy than it

Kind of universal in regards to any recent smart phone. I'm not exactly champing at the bit to rest my phone on a pillow instead of plugging it in, and NFC isn't ubiquitous (or secure) enough (yet) to be a flashy draw card.

So everywhere you look its a slightly bigger screen and some new innards. The progress is left up to the software.

I could be wrong of course, but I presume AppStore, ITunes etc. are more the cash cow for Apple, than trying to sell new phones (the market is already quite full, save for maybe developing countries).

So, it may be enough for Apple to keep up with the competition hardware- and feature-wise, rather that trying to wow the world again with something really new and spectacular. Just so that existing Apple users, or potential new users, don't get any urge to buy also some Samsung or Nokia Lumia in the near future because of their better features.

In that sense it is not really surprising if Apple is not even seriously trying to release something wildly new and different, at least ones replacing their already successful products.

And, after looking at specifications, playing with my friend's 4s for some time and owning Xperia U for few weeks(yes, the budget one from Xperia line), all I can say is that I'm laughing at that thing. At the same time, I'm sad because it will sell godzilion units.
This phone would be competitive a year ago. Maybe. It's quite same as Galaxy S2, only a tad bit better than my Xperia U (At 500+$ higher price tag, mind you), and crap compared to Galaxy S3.
They finally got the idea it would be nice to update Wi-Fi antenna so it runs at same speed as damn HTC Wildfire that was released 2 years ago. Also it was about time they got it bigger screen. Oh and Gorilla Glass. About F*ing time. It seems Sony is only manufacturer that doesn't want it. Scratch on my display after 20min of use says hello.
Even though I admit that I dislike Nokia quite a bit, I think that Lumia 920 is much better than iPhone 5.
There is a video that explains my view on this quire a bit. (iPhone 4 vs HTC Evo when it was made)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FL7yD-0pqZg

Tbh i think the htc one x is a better overall biy imp

The recent sneak peak of the iPhone X has inspired me to wait another 10 months before upgrading.

That's pretty much it, Apple goes for the biggest splash on the introduction of a new device and then iterates after that.

However, Apple still makes most of their money on hardware. The last I heard Apple pretty much breaks even on iTunes music and makes some profit, but not gobs of money on Apps. That may have changed, but I'm pretty sure selling devices is still their primary money maker. Samsung and Apple are the two leading smartphone makers (samsung actually surpassed Apple this summer I think) - especially in the high end smartphone market where sales volume is lower but margins are higher. The cheaper smart phones still outsell the premium ones, but Apple and Samsung make most of their money off of the flagship premium phones and the two companies combined make something ridiculous like 85-90% of the profits in the smartphone hardware sector. Apple make a much bigger percentage than Samsung, then Samsung make a much bigger percentage than anyone else. I can't remember the numbers though.

Amazon has more the strategy you refer to: make a small amount or even a loss on the device (and eBooks), but make money on the other services they offer.

I actually was expecting it, seeing how last year's real "update" was the availability of the color white. The chipset used was still the same from the prior year then.

I'm still clinging to my second gen Touch, and I've been thinking of upgrading eventually. Yet I'm not sure whether it's actually worth it as all I'd want the new device for would be to be able to play a few newer games... and I barely play with the one I got. As a strict music player it still works splendidly.

The Apple hype has very little effect on me these days. Thank goodness for that. Their products may be increasingly popular, but those premium price tags are ridiculous.