Did he post the same thoughts before the launch when there were strong rumors about an iPhone 5 with a bigger screen and tapered form factor? Anyone can post such a article now, I am not impressed. If Apple announced an iPhone 5 he would be singing a different tune now. The truth is that not even Gruber can know what Apple engineering can accomplish. Is it impossible that they are able to reduce the thickness of the 4G chip or make a higher density battery? Acting as if he always knew about what would come out makes him come across as dishonest for scoring brownie points. I am sure even he was hoping a little and was dissappointed when the new iPhone didn't look like this http://i.imgur.com/UC55l.jpg
I feel that Apple failed on controlling the hype for this event. This wouldn't have happened if Steve was in charge. Apple would've leaked some of the features to kill the expectations. And don't tell me Apple doesn't do leaks, the WSJ was informed by Apple before the iPad launch so that people were primed for the launch. The NYTimes article the day of the launch still talked about an iPhone 5.
On top of that, the Apple event just felt too long. One hour and forty minutes to announce iPods in new colors and the iPhone 4s? There was also too much of rehashing of things demoed during WWDC. All of this exacerbated by the lack of Jobs. I'll have second thoughts next time about following an Apple event live.
Meh. Apple has at various times failed to control expectations (iPad, MacBook Air). It’s a failure, sure, but I wouldn’t read too much into it. In the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter all that much.
(I think Gruber predicted an unchanged iPhone. At the very least he wasn’t crazy about the idea of a changed iPhone.)
Apple seems to have a good relationship with old mainstream media outlets but they can't stop all these random blogs from making up rumors to get traffic. This year was kind of a perfect storm due to the delay of iOS5. They had to show it off at WWDC but couldn't possibly ship it on a new phone. That created a few extra months of speculation and rumors plus the need to rehash iOS5. (and of course the WWDC, iPhone 4 and iPad set a very high expectation level to start with)
One of the biggest challenges Tim Cook has is trying to maintain the energy and media interest around these events. It may be that ultimately Apple will have to find a new strategy for announcing products. For example only doing media events when they were releasing major new products/updates. (as they now often refresh the Macs with little fanfare)
"There was also too much of rehashing of things demoed during WWDC."
I may be completely off-base, but I have a feeling that they dwelled on past accomplishments during the event on purpose. They assumed that Steve would be watching, and they wanted to honor his achievements one last time.
I feel that Apple failed on controlling the hype for this event. This wouldn't have happened if Steve was in charge. Apple would've leaked some of the features to kill the expectations. And don't tell me Apple doesn't do leaks, the WSJ was informed by Apple before the iPad launch so that people were primed for the launch. The NYTimes article the day of the launch still talked about an iPhone 5.
On top of that, the Apple event just felt too long. One hour and forty minutes to announce iPods in new colors and the iPhone 4s? There was also too much of rehashing of things demoed during WWDC. All of this exacerbated by the lack of Jobs. I'll have second thoughts next time about following an Apple event live.