Verandah’s own social media expert, Lucy Birchley, takes a look at the eagerly awaited iPhone 6, and suffers a severe dose of underwhelm.

On September 19th Apple’s iPhone 6 was made available to the world and with four million presales in just 24 hours it would seem that Apple devotees are excited. I’m just not one of them.
For the past five years I have been thoroughly Team Apple. I got on board with the brand back in 2009 when I bought my first iPhone 3Gs and I was blown away by its beautiful and easy-to-use design. I couldn’t believe that such a lightweight phone could have so many functions or that every morning I could check the local weather and plan my outfit for the day. Genius!
Quickly I joined the ranks of the initiated, joyously expanding my collection with each new technological marvel to include a Mac Book Pro, iPad and iPhone 4s. It felt so cool to be a part of this trendy community. My friends and I would sit in cafés sipping our soy lattes with our pink Converse resting on the coffee table as we casually showed off our cutting edge Apple products. But the love affair which started with such passion has, predictably, begun to dwindle.
Despite this week’s wave of expected media hype around the new offering from the temple of Apple, the bad boys of Silicon Valley are missing their usual swagger. The shine is gone. From where I am standing this technology giant – that was once at the forefront on innovative design – has taken the colossal leap forward and delivered their devoted user base… a bigger version of the iPhone 5.
Really? That’s the best you could do?
Yes they have provided a bigger screen, a thinner design and promised more efficient battery lifespan (I’ll believe it when I see it) but the response from the wider Apple going audience seems to be one of confusion and or indifference.
The new iPhone 6 Plus appears to be the major focus of confusion. As a ‘Phablet’ – a cross between a phone and a small tablet computer – the sheer size of this device, at 5.5 inches, has most people either shaking their heads in bemusement or laughing outright. Show me a man who is brave enough to hold a tablet computer to his ear in public and I will show you – well, I’ll leave you to guess.

So with the sad and untimely passing of Steve Jobs has Apple lost its mojo or is it just a case of what goes up must come down?
If the cringe worthy product announcement on September 9th by Apple CEO Tim Cook is anything to go by then it might be time for them to go back to the drawing board. Despite Mr Cook’s attempts to create a vibe of ‘seminar fever’, with the never ending parade of ‘look over here at this shiny thing’ presenters, I couldn’t help but squirm in my seat with embarrassment at the lack of innovation. To top it all off prehistoric rock group U2 performed at the end of the presentation, a band that could not have less relevance to today’s Apple concert-going audience if they tried, and if that were not enough they forced their new album onto unsuspecting iTunes users for good measure.
So what is my real problem at the end of all this?
Apple. You used to be cool. I miss you.

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