iPhone 5 Release Date: Tim Cook Fails to Impress - Missing Steve Jobs' 'Wow Factor'
Can Tim Cook bring the wow factor of his predecessor Steve Jobs?
Many are attributing Apple’s stock drop to new CEO Tim Cook’s failure to impress at the “Let’s Talk iPhone” press conference.
Apple stocks dropped by 5.2 percent as of Tuesday afternoon, but recovered by the end of the day at a 0.6 percent decline.
The fall began yesterday afternoon at 1.7 percent, almost immediately after Cook announced the iPhone 4S, instead of the highly anticipated iPhone 5, at Apple’s presentation in Cupertino, California.
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This lackluster upgrade serves as Cook’s first product announcement since he overtook the CEO throne from his ailing predecessor, Steve Jobs, who now serves as a chairman.
Critics are asking two questions:
First, why did Tim Cook choose such an unimportant product to announce himself as the new face of Apple management?
Second, will Cook ever be able to match the “wow” response of products previously announced by Jobs, who introduced the legendary first iPhone in 2007?
Although appearing comfortable on stage, “[Cook] was working a room clearly missing the energy Jobs used to infuse into these events,” contended the Seattle Times.
Analyst Colin Gillis argues that this is another Apple publicity ploy, and the eventual release of the iPhone 5, will garner even more profit due to continued anticipation.
“It’s a mild disappointment, but they’re still going to be selling millions of units,” Gillis said.
Sprint, expected to be the new, and possibly exclusive, carrier for the iPhone 5, also experienced a stock drop of 10 percent with heavy selling prior to the press conference.
“Sprint is reportedly putting down $20 billion to provide several years’ worth [of iPhones],” reported CNN.
The company is predicted to buy 30.5 million iPhones in the next 4 years.
This is a wise move on the Apple side, because Sprint’s budget plans will lure in more users from more demographics.
Apple’s competitor, the Google Inc. Android phone, also experienced a minor stock drop of 1 percent at $371.32. Google will unveil its new Android Ice Cream Sandwich in mid-October.
“Fandroids,” the nicknamed tech rivals of Apple’s iPhone, await the Ice Cream Sandwich with expectation, and analysts question which competing tech company, Google or Apple, will come out on top.
Although Apple's press conference failed to unveil the new iPhone 5, Cook did discuss an array of other Apple promises, such as the 4s’ new voice recognition system “Siri," and the iCloud, which includes free sharing and downloading.
