Does the hype do more help or harm for Apple?
With the new Ipad available today, I’m thinking about all the rumors that get churned out before Apple officially announces a product. The rumor mill seemed to reach a rumor pitch before the iPhone 4S announcement with more wrong than right and it doesn’t seem like Apple’s fans or the media learned their lesson leading up to the “new iPad” announcement.
For both the latest iPhones and iPads, the wild speculation couldn’t even get the name right. ‘iPhone 5’ was assumed but we got the ‘iPhone 4S’. ‘iPad 3’ or ‘iPad HD’ was assumed but instead we got ‘the new iPad’.
Rumors about the new iPad that were correct: Retina display, higher quality camera, better processor, LTE, thicker/heavier.
Rumors that were incorrect:
- The new iPad would use Senseg technology to make a textured touch interface.
- The new iPad would come in a smaller 7″ form factor to more directly compete against the Kindle Fire as an ‘iPad Mini’.
- The new iPad would incorporate Siri, Apple’s voice assistant.
- The new iPad would come at a significant price increase.
- The new iPad would have an expansion slot and offer more local storage.
I think we are at an interesting cross-roads currently on the Internet community. Things can go viral and spread very quickly. Wishlists turn into rumors with no basis. Blogs make up rumors from “unnamed sources” for extra traffic. Some rumors are based on evidence found in betas of the iOS software. As long as there is a
Should Apple dive in, engage the community, and negate or confirm rumors? Following the iPhone 4S announcement, I think there was a very real disappointment in the product. Sure, it’s still selling incredibly well but I think the hype outpaced the delivered product. With the new iPad, the rumors were still in full force but I don’t think the rumors were as extreme.
Will there be a point where the disappointment negatively affects Apple? I understand the way Apple delivers there announcements is designed to generate excitement and speculation and they are far from the only company. Samsung devices also have a lot of rumors – they’re already ramping up for the Samsung Galaxy III devices. The rumored release date for the Galaxy Nexus was incredibly annoying but part of that was how badly Verizon botched the US-launch. I think when you have as many people connected and thinking about “sky’s the limit” technology, you are bound to have people thinking way outside of the box with just enough others hoping that it could be real, making rumors more believable.
What do you think? Do you like following all the latest rumors or find them annoying? Do you buy into the hype or just enjoy the speculation of possibilities? Were you disappointed by any of the recent tech rumors that didn’t come true?