Several critics believe the iPhone 5 doesn’t bring enough to the table to be a worthy successor to the iPhone 4S, subsequently leading the door for competition to make its mark in the market (see: Samsung Galaxy S3).
Tech Radar’s Patrick Ross said:
Although the 4S sold wonderfully for Apple and brought some interesting additions, few would argue against the suggestion that it opened the door for competitors.
Wall Street Journal’s Jessica Vascellaro added:
Few heralded the new device as a great leap forward. What’s more, the iPhone 5 doesn’t have several features that are becoming standard across other smartphones, such as ways to pay with your phone or even bigger screens.
Criticism from The Telegraph’s Shane Richmond, meanwhile, read:
The extent of the redesign of the new iPhone only really becomes clear once you hold it in your hand. On first impressions, Apple has delivered a handset that looks – and feels – very good indeed. There is nothing here that leaves the Galaxy S3, the HTC One X or the Nokia Lumia 920 looking dated or out of touch.
Finally, New York Times’ David Pogue expressed his concern with the Lightning connector:
I’ll grudgingly admit that the Lightning connector is a great design…Still, think of all those charging cables, docks, chargers, car adapters, hotel-room alarm clocks, speakers and accessories—hundreds of millions of gadgets that will no longer fit the iPhone.
The iPhone 5 releases in US and UK markets on September 21st.