Following Apple’s launch of the iPhone 5 last week comedian Jimmy Kimmel conducted a highly unscientific ‘survey’ of an unsuspecting American population which, as the Wall Street Journal points out, has a few things to say about how the average, less tech-savvy consumer, views all things Apple.
Kimmel’s prank involved sending a camera crew out onto the streets with an iPhone 4 S and handing it to passersby, asking for their opinion of the new iPhone 5. The iPhone 5 only goes on sale later this week but, as far as the video shows, the average consumer is none the wiser as to the similarities between their existing handsets and the ‘new’ one being presented in Kimmel’s video. Everyone in the clip (below) offered the opinion that the ‘new’ handset was faster, lighter or in some way better than their existing Apple device and, though the footage and participants involved were likely edited for comedic effect, Kimmel’s video does make a few points.
Despite the updated hardware in Apple’s iPhone 5 the fact remains that it is very similar to the previous generation of phones, with minor updates and changes on a visual level. But as Kimmel’s skit shows, the average consumer continues to view Apple’s latest products as an improvement, even if it isn’t actually Apple’s latest product. That sort of public perception is something that money can’t buy but Apple may struggle to sustain that sort of mind-share in subsequent iPhone generations unless they have something dramatically new up their sleeves.
