Apple’s iPhone 5 is the most hated handset – Study
One in five posts on social networks were critical of Apple’s most recent handset, with the majority of people complaining about the introduction of a new power socket, the inaccuracy of Apple Maps and how similar the phone was to previous models. Samsung’s Galaxy S4 received the least complaints – just 11 per cent – […]
One in five posts on social networks were critical of Apple’s most recent handset, with the majority of people complaining about the introduction of a new power socket, the inaccuracy of Apple Maps and how similar the phone was to previous models.
Samsung’s Galaxy S4 received the least complaints – just 11 per cent – according to figures from analysts We Are Social.
We Are Social scanned Twitter, blogs and forums following the launch of four major handsets – Apple’s iPhone 5 in September 2012, Samsung Galaxy S4 in March this year, the BlackBerry Z10 launch event in January and Nokia’s launch of the Lumia 920, first announced in September 2012.
The iPhone 5 came in for a barrage of complaints for everything from its lack of innovation to its new power connector socket and its mapping application.
Apple added a Lightning to 30-pin power socket to the iPhone 5, which meant previous Apple users couldn’t use their older chargers to charge the new device.
Apple then charged extra for an adapter.
Previous iPhones used a Google mapping application but this was replaced with Apple Maps in the iPhone 5.
This led to complaints about misplacement of landmarks, poor satellite images and wrong directions.
Less than a fortnight after the launch, Apple issued a statement apologising for the frustration Apple Maps had caused customers and recommended they try alternative mapping apps.
There were also complaints about picture quality of photos taken on select iPhone 5s, with some customers saying there was a purple discolouration on images.
Other iPhone 5 owners were left angry when the coating on their handset chipped off, exposing bright aluminium underneath.
This became known as ‘scuffgate’ when Apple refused to acknowledge the problem.
Other iPhone 5 users reported that white handsets leaked light behind the screen.
Ed Kitchingman, senior analyst at We Are Social, said: ‘Brands were often on the receiving end of criticism for their handsets offering nothing new to the previous model.
‘The most successful launches were those that captured the consumer’s imagination by talking about the handset’s new and innovative features.
‘And while leaks can be an important tool in building success, give away too much and the handset loses its ‘wow’ factor upon launch.’
He said Samsung had the most ‘wow factor’ with 56 per cent of discussions being about new or different features with a particular emphasis on its eye tracking.
In contrast, only 29 per cent of conversations about the iPhone 5 launch were focused on different features as dissent grows about the lack of innovation at Apple.
However, the iPhone 5 was by far the most talked-about launch on social media, with around 1.7 million conversations, compared to 300,000 mentions of the Z10, 140,000 references to the Galaxy S4 and 45,000 comments about the Lumia 920.