Why has Apple become so BORING?

I'm a geek. I'm the type of person that used to livestream Apple events to see what goodies lay in wait, even though I'm far from an Apple fanboi and the only product I own is an ageing iPod touch.

They were genuinely interesting viewing for a geek as Apple continued to push boundaries and surprise the viewer.


I've now stopped bothering watching Apple events.

Yesterday's event gave me even more reason to skip following them. A new 5S with, surprise surprise, a new chip and a fingerprint reader. Plus a "cheaper" iPhone 5C. I'm yawning as I write this. It's a big bunch of meh. The iOS7 update is an improvement but, in my humble opinion, the UI has been surpassed by Android years ago for usability and eye-candy.

Don't get me wrong, I think having a fingerprint reader is both neat and addresses a real problem with mobile security and privacy. But it's not something that produces any kind of emotional response whatsoever. Nor are chip updates, which are entirely expected.

Maybe I'm wrong. Perhaps a cheaper (but still very expensive) iPhone 5C will tear open new markets both here and overseas. Who needs surprise and innovation if the profits pile up. We'll be testing this in new research - the new iPhone 5S and 5C will appear in next month's Harris Buzz report, which measures the familiarity and excitement of new technology and entertainment releases.

And maybe I'm wrong and the iPhone 6 and upcoming iWatch will be revolutionary and I'll get back to thinking that Apple really is the innovative company I thought it once was.