View all newsletters
Receive our newsletter - data, insights and analysis delivered to you
  1. Technology
January 9, 2017updated 13 Jan 2017 11:21am

The iPhone at 10 – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

It's not all been smooth sailing for the iPhone, does social data point to its imminent demise?

By James Nunns

The iPhone revolutionised the way the world thought about mobile phones, helping to usher in the era of the smartphone.

Today, 9th January, marks the 10th anniversary of the revolutionary product that has become one of the most popular devices in history.

Over one billion units have been sold since its inception, and as Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO describes it: “iPhone is an essential part of our customers’ lives, and today more than ever it is redefining the way we communicate, entertain, work and live.”

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing for the iPhone as historical user insights since 2010 from Crimson Hexagon shows.

 

The most popular:

The iPhone 5 raised the highest level of interest, with conversation peaking on social media at 6.7 million posts about the device in 2012. Compare this to only 2.4 million posts about the release of the iPhone 7/7Plus in September 2016.

iPhone conversationThe iPhone 6/6 Plus release was the second most talked about with 4.5 million posts in July 2014.

Content from our partners
How businesses can safeguard themselves on the cyber frontline
How hackers’ tactics are evolving in an increasingly complex landscape
Green for go: Transforming trade in the UK

According to the social media analytics company, people are more likely to discuss the full release of an iPhone than the in-between releases – such as the iPhone 4s, 5s and so on.

 

The most loved iPhone features:

Not all of the new iPhone features have been loved, as we will show later, but there have been some which have landed with great success.

According to social media data, which looks at positive sentiment within a month of the release date, the Do Not Disturb feature of the iPhone 5 was by far the most popular, closing on a 3,000 post volume where the sentiment was positive.

iPhone bestIn second place is Siri, which came in the iPhone 4S, with post volume at around 1,250. Touch ID with the iPhone 5S comes in third with around 600, while the camera on the iPhone 7/7 Plus is fourth with just about 400.

 

The least popular:

Recent releases have courted controversy and have been met with plenty of backlash from loyal iPhone users. While none of the new phones have had as much bad press as an exploding phone, some haven’t exactly gone down well.

The removal of the headphone jack for the iPhone 7/7Plus comes out on top as receiving the most negative sentiment within a month of its release date. The changes to the phone gained around 1,300 negative posts.

Then comes #bendgate – the issue with the phone bending out of shape in people’s pockets. This was an issue for the iPhone 6/6 Plus and it received just over 600 negative posts.

Phone bad.In third place is the malfunctioning maps app. This app would often send you on the wrong route, or direct you through large expanses of water to reach your destination. This was an issue for the iPhone 5 and received around 500 posts.

Finally, the small screen size of the iPhone 5S hit just over 400 negative posts.

What’s clear is that people spent a lot more time complaining about the negative aspects of the phones and this volume of complaints is growing with every new release.

Combined with the falling overall conversation volume, and Apple missing its annual sales targets, it’s clear that the company needs to bring back the wow factor to the iPhone if it is to last another 10 years.

[yop_poll id=”3″]

Topics in this article : , , , ,
Websites in our network
Select and enter your corporate email address Tech Monitor's research, insight and analysis examines the frontiers of digital transformation to help tech leaders navigate the future. Our Changelog newsletter delivers our best work to your inbox every week.
  • CIO
  • CTO
  • CISO
  • CSO
  • CFO
  • CDO
  • CEO
  • Architect Founder
  • MD
  • Director
  • Manager
  • Other
Visit our privacy policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.
THANK YOU