iPhone 5 – Something had to go wrong

Note: This is a guest post by Sheridan Carnell from gizmobird.co.uk

iPhone 5

Given the initial excited flurry of a staggering 5 million sales racked up in the first 3 days of launch, it will have come as a surprise to many that a couple of significant glitches have emerged following the launch of the much anticipated iPhone 5.

First there was a cartographical calamity with the iOS 6 Maps software, which meant that many customers were sent “up the garden path” (quite literally!) to locate some world famous landmarks and cities. Major locations such as train stations and towns simply ceased to exist, some cities appear in different continents, and cloudy satellite images are relayed for some sites.

Now, following huge criticism for this faux pas, they’re also facing the charge of being too accurate and divulging confidential views of a top-secret Taiwanese radar base. Frustratingly, Maps developers had warned Apple, in an avalanche of bug reports, emails and forum posts, that the service was just not good enough to release. So could their reluctance to iron out these issues beforehand be a sign of Apple beginning to cut corners?

iPhone 5 aluminium chassis slows production

If you’ve finally decided that you want to get your hands on the new iPhone 5, we’re afraid you could be in for quite a wait. Indeed according to Apples’ website, you can now expect to wait between 3 and 4 weeks to get one delivered. One major network indicated that “iPhone 5 production has slowed down due to stricter quality control” Recently there have been reports of customers complaining that their iPhone 5’s were already scuffed and scratched on arrival. The problem being that Apple chose to use an aluminium chassis, instead of the stainless steel and Gorilla glass backing that were the signature components of the iPhone 4S.

iPhone 5 back

Of course, this has meant that Apple could deliver on their promise of a “thinner and lighter” device, but at what price? As well as being lighter and crack resistant, its other main quality is that it’s a lot softer, which means it has a higher propensity to scratch and dent even during the manufacturing and packing process.

As a result Apple has demanded that quality control is even more rigorous at the Chinese Foxconn factories. Workers are increasingly struggling to build the casings to Apples exacting standards and keep up with demand, according to Bloomberg reports.

Phil Schiller, Apples VP of Marketing responded to a customer email saying that “aluminium products may chip and scratch with use” and “that it is normal”. It may well be “normal” given the inherent qualities of aluminium, but that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable. When customers are spending huge amounts on a high-end Smartphone like the iPhone 5, they expect it to be in pristine condition, and for some time in the future.

Ultimately, this has been a trade-off of design and innovation over durable quality and a timely production process. If it’s difficult to get perfect in a factory environment, imagine the damage that will soon be done by daily wear and tear and what reactions that will bring. Only time will tell whether this trade-off has paid off for Apple, and whether the haste to get their latest device to market will cost them dear in the long run.

Note: This guest post was written by Sheridan Carnell. She has a wealth of experience working in both IT and mobile phone marketing for the past 17 years, and has a keen interest in all technological developments. She currently writes insightful articles and expert review content for GizmoBird and other blog sites about interesting events and advances in the mobile world.

Comments are closed.

Share via
Copy link