What?? The 'S' is the iterative product. The 5 was a new design and new screen size and overall a much bigger update.
>> "people are waiting for the second version of Apple products to get it 'right'."
What was wrong with the 5 that the 5S fixes?
When I said something like, "The 5 upgraded the body style, the screen, the processor, and the camera, what's left?" he responded, "Most of that was probably just suppliers saying they'd no longer make certain parts."
He's not a techy, but is a Boeing engineer. I'm not really sure where that attitude comes from, but it's interesting to see what people outside of the tech bubble think.
2007: iPhone.
2008: iPhone 3G. Same phone but with 3G.
2009: iPhone 3GS. Same as 3G but a bit faster.
2010: iPhone 4. New case, retina display, faster etc.
2011: iPhone 4S. Faster, better camera and Siri.
2012: iPhone 5. Faster, new case, bigger screen.
2013: iPhone 4s. Faster, Touch ID, better camera.
It's hard to say any of those releases were revolutionary except the original iPhone. All since has been steady improvement. And that's a good thing.
The fetishization of "big bang innovation" is really bizzare. Especially considering most of HN's startups are not really big bang innovation.
As long as these people are buying an iPhone every two years, Apple is delighted.
Apple has painted itself somewhat into a corner now. Similar to Windows Service Packs, people are waiting for the second version of Apple products to get it 'right'.
This isn't to say they got it 'right' THIS time, either. It just is what it is.