Apple's iPhone 5 praised as 'a Rolex among a sea of Timexes'
The quality and build of the iPhone 5 will be enough to impress consumers in a market dominated by cheaply made smartphones, according to one analyst.
Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray said while the iPhone 5 is like a Rolex, many competing phones "feel more like cheaper Timex-brand watches. He questioned why someone would buy a Timex when they can have a Rolex for the same price.
Munster believes Apple will sell anywhere from 6 million to 10 million of the iPhone 5 in the September quarter, which concludes just over a week after the iPhone 5 goes on sale in 9 countries, including the U.S. He thinks total iPhone sales will hit 49 million in Apple's December quarter.
The analyst dismissed a sense of mixed opinions in what he referred to as the tech "media bubble." Having spent time with the iPhone 5 himself, he believes customers will be pleasantly surprised.
In particular, he said the feel and build of the iPhone 5 is beyond that of any previous iPhone. He also feels the weight difference between the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 4S is "meaningful," and many consumers will immediately notice the difference.
Piper Jaffray also tracked online consumer sentiment surrounding the iPhone 5 through a firm called Investing Analytics. It showed that Twitter posts about the iPhone 5 were up 460 percent year over year compared to the day Apple announced the iPhone 4S.
In addition, blog posts about the iPhone 5 were also up 100 percent year over year compared to the iPhone 4S unveiling a year ago.
"Most importantly, we believe the sentiment around iPhone 5 was significantly better than that of the iPhone 4S," Munster wrote on Friday. "Based on the same study by Investing Analytics, we believe that 73% of tweets about the iPhone 5 during launch day were positive compared to 51% for the iPhone 4S launch. We believe this is to be expected given the phone is redesigned while the iPhone 4S was not."
Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray said while the iPhone 5 is like a Rolex, many competing phones "feel more like cheaper Timex-brand watches. He questioned why someone would buy a Timex when they can have a Rolex for the same price.
Munster believes Apple will sell anywhere from 6 million to 10 million of the iPhone 5 in the September quarter, which concludes just over a week after the iPhone 5 goes on sale in 9 countries, including the U.S. He thinks total iPhone sales will hit 49 million in Apple's December quarter.
The analyst dismissed a sense of mixed opinions in what he referred to as the tech "media bubble." Having spent time with the iPhone 5 himself, he believes customers will be pleasantly surprised.
In particular, he said the feel and build of the iPhone 5 is beyond that of any previous iPhone. He also feels the weight difference between the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 4S is "meaningful," and many consumers will immediately notice the difference.
Piper Jaffray also tracked online consumer sentiment surrounding the iPhone 5 through a firm called Investing Analytics. It showed that Twitter posts about the iPhone 5 were up 460 percent year over year compared to the day Apple announced the iPhone 4S.
In addition, blog posts about the iPhone 5 were also up 100 percent year over year compared to the iPhone 4S unveiling a year ago.
"Most importantly, we believe the sentiment around iPhone 5 was significantly better than that of the iPhone 4S," Munster wrote on Friday. "Based on the same study by Investing Analytics, we believe that 73% of tweets about the iPhone 5 during launch day were positive compared to 51% for the iPhone 4S launch. We believe this is to be expected given the phone is redesigned while the iPhone 4S was not."
Comments
I would have thought Casio or G-shock.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogifan
But it's just a stretched 4S with an ugly two toned back. If Steve were alive he would have thrown this in the rubbish bin at first sight. /s
I think "disappointment" is the current mot du jour.
And there are many time pieces built better than a Rolex.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chadmatic
Not a good analogy in my opinion. There are so many great watches out there, but smartphones, not so much... And if we are talking about Swiss watches, there are plenty of watches in that price and quality category that I would choose over a Rolex.
I think it's a great analogy.
There's iPhone. And then there's everything else. He nailed it.
So called "analyst"?
How about a fanboy in disguise using emotional language to generate views and publicity?
I agree that iPhone is in a class of it's own, but Rolex is not, not even close!
Not if you know about time pieces. Everyone knows Rolex because they advertise heavily but there are plenty of better built watches and some are even less expensive than a Rolex.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogifan
But it's just a stretched 4S with an ugly two toned back. If Steve were alive he would have thrown this in the rubbish bin at first sight. /s
Yep. That's why it's selling faster than any other phone. Ever.
It doesn't matter if the merits of Rolex and Timex aren't up to the same standards as iPhone and everyone else. What matters is that you understand the point he's trying to make and everyone does.
So you think the quote would be better if Munster researched what he thought was the very best watch maker, bar none, and used some obscure name that no one had heard of? How does using unrecognizable names that need to be researched by all buy the very few and explained to nearly everyone make a quote better?
"Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray said while the iPhone 5 is like an IWC, many competing phones "feel more like cheaper Huangpu-brand watches."
Quote:
Originally Posted by dasanman69
Not if you know about time pieces. Everyone knows Rolex because they advertise heavily but there are plenty of better built watches and some are even less expensive than a Rolex.
No smartphone has ever been released that was built as well as an iPhone.
But there are watches built better than a Rolex.
Had he said Mercedes-Benz instead of Rolex all the car enthusiasts would've been arguing the same point. I understand why he used Rolex because it'll be more understood by the general public but for us horologists it's a joke.