[Ben]

The BBC has an article stacking up the iPhone 4S against the competition: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15165048

One thing's for certain; Apple didn't dish out any surprises with the release of iPhone 4S, so for the first time players like Samsung may feel that they're no longer on the back foot. Design-wise, they've leapfrogged Apple in their own way. The Galaxy S2 may not be the sensual amalgamation of steel and glass, exuding luxury, that the iPhone 4 is, but it has new traits - a different form factor, a thinness and lightness that contradicts the seemingly massive expanse of its screen.

The customer certainly has real choice at the top end now.

As the dust settles, the reality is going to creep back in. Apple's real strength is, and always has been, the OS. And we're about to get a level of power and integration with iOS 5 and iCloud that Samsung and other manufacturers can only dream of, no matter how heavily they lean on Android and Google. The question waiting to be answered is whether the Android experience, particularly on handsets like the Galaxy S2 where, by many accounts, Samsung have done all they can to hamper it, is good enough to negate the benefits of the Apple ecosystem? Good enough that an increased number of customers will pick form factor without caring that the OS isn't by Apple?

Two thirds of me says that Apple's iPhone 4S is still going to sell by the boatload. The remaining third, however, looks at the iPhone 4S design next to its competitors on the shelf and thinks the screen just looks a little small now. The next 8 months will be a real test of what the customer wants.

[gorilla]

You're spot on Ben. This and the other models will continue to sell and sell well. As Cook said yesterday the smartphone still has huge potential and Apple only has 5% of the mobile phone market, so there is plenty of scope for all smartphone manufacturers.

I've started taking my iPad with me to most places and I still believe that the combination of the iPad and an Android is the best option for me and with the imminent release of iOS 5 I wont feel left out.

If I had an iPhone 4 at the minute and had had it for a while then I would definitely sell it and upgrade. The 4S is a better phone than the 4 (which has been out for an enternity!).

You should stick a poll up and ask are people going to buy the 4S or upgrade or leave the Apple ecosystem altogether!

[Ben]

That's a great idea, coming up!

[Hands0n]

I cannot imagine a mass exodus from Apple iOS to Google Android on the strength of the 4S announcement. There has been a lot of gnashing of teeth but at the end of the day this is Apple technology, and ecosystem, that cannot be ignored. It is a very powerful whole to those that have experience of and use it. While there are various means of emulating parts of the Apple ecosystem it is not coherent nor comprehensive, and requires a fair deal of end user knowledge that simply does not exist out there in the streets.

For a moment let us take a brief step back from Apple and looking at Samsung, mostly because they are the supposed hottest competitor and perhaps the Android bar that is being held up to Apple. Let us examine for a moment the Galaxy S range. Everyone and their uncle are banging on about how superb the Samsung Galaxy S 2 is, and it is indeed an impressive smartphone. But look at what it preceded, a smartphone that was weak in comparison to the iPhone as existed then (the 3GS and shortly after the 4). So the Galaxy S 2 is very similar, in terms of specification jump, to what has occurred between the iPhone 4 and 4S. Not exactly revolutionary, more evolutionary and an discernable difference between the versions.

Yet there wasn't the huge verbal outrage at Samsung about that. So why do we see the outrage directed at Apple? My own thoughts on that are that Apple have set a very high bar that everyone has come to accept and expect. The thing is, the buying public are holding up Apple's bar against that company itself. Apple have a challenge to impress the entire planet Earth at each and every iteration of the iPhone.

Apple certainly have made life difficult for themselves, at least in terms of PR, if nothing else.

[gorilla]

It really amazes me that there is so much attention on the iPhone release. It's a phone, people!
If you think about how we in the UK have been conditioned to buy phones, most people expect an upgrade every 12 months (or least they used to). This upgrade cycle fits in nicely with the iPhone release cycle and will create that extra buzz from those looking to upgrade. All the other manufacturers release phones every few months with little to no fanfare so it's not hard see why there is so much attention on Apple.
I do wonder though why they kept the 3GS alive? Apple now have a range of phones (and iOS devices) which could cause some discrepancies in the performance of iOS apps.