The iPhone 5 received nearly twice the rate of negative comments at launch compared with the Galaxy S4, but Apple clearly wins in the most important metric of all, according to social media analysts We Are Social. Users have a love/hate relationship with these two, but one received a little more hate at launch. (Credit: CNET) If you believe the griping on social media, then the iPhone 5 caused the most user angst of the major smartphone releases of the past year. Social media analysts We Are Social gauged the reaction on Twitter, blogs, and forums following the release of the iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S4, Nokia Lumia 920, and BlackBerry Z10. What the research firm found, according to the Daily Mail, was that the percentage of comments about the iPhone with a negative connotation (20 percent, the highest ratio among the four phones studied) was nearly twice that of the rate of negative feelings expressed about the Galaxy S4 (11 percent, the lowest rate out of the four). Before you accuse anyone of being any particular kind of fanboi, it's worth revisiting the fall of 2012, when the iPhone 5 was launched -- and when Apple found itself ensnarled in an Apple Maps PR nightmare, leading CEO Tim Cook to go so far as to issue a public apology for the half-baked product. The phone's new lightning adapter wasn't exactly universally welcomed by all users, either. The Galaxy S4, by contrast, has avoided any such debacles that rise to a level of notoriety worthy of a faux New Yorker cover (although the campy media event for the phone's release was certainly a valiant attempt.) It's also worth pointing out that the echo chamber for any flub emanating from Cupertino is quite sizable. When Apple screws something up, word travels fast in these United States -- just a consequence of having one of the most recognizable brands in the world. Also telling is the finding that much of the online conversation about the Galaxy S4 was driven by discussion of the well ... galaxy of new features introduced with the GS4. Say what you will about the true utility of eye-tracking, hovering fingers over your touch screen, and auto-pausing videos -- the features certainly seemed to keep users distracted from spending much time griping about the relatively cheap feel of the materials used to make Samsung's flagship phone. In fact, We Are Social reports that 56 percent of online discussions about the GS4 focused on new or different features, compared with 37 percent for the Lumia 920, 29 percent for the iPhone 5, and 27 percent for the BlackBerry Z10. But before we go drawing the conclusion that the iPhone is totally over, it's important to note what's arguably the most important metric culled from We Are Social's data: The iPhone 5 received more than 10 times the amount of launch day chatter (1.7 million online conversations) than the Galaxy S4 (140,000) did. So, this would be an appropriate time for iOS fans to type "score" over and over again in the comments below.
The iPhone 5 received nearly twice the rate of negative comments at launch compared with the Galaxy S4, but Apple clearly wins in the most important metric of all, according to social media analysts We Are Social.
Users have a love/hate relationship with these two, but one received a little more hate at launch.
(Credit: CNET)
If you believe the griping on social media, then the iPhone 5 caused the most user angst of the major smartphone releases of the past year.
Social media analysts We Are Social gauged the reaction on Twitter, blogs, and forums following the release of the iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S4, Nokia Lumia 920, and BlackBerry Z10. What the research firm found, according to the Daily Mail, was that the percentage of comments about the iPhone with a negative connotation (20 percent, the highest ratio among the four phones studied) was nearly twice that of the rate of negative feelings expressed about the Galaxy S4 (11 percent, the lowest rate out of the four).
Before you accuse anyone of being any particular kind of fanboi, it's worth revisiting the fall of 2012, when the iPhone 5 was launched -- and when Apple found itself ensnarled in an Apple Maps PR nightmare, leading CEO Tim Cook to go so far as to issue a public apology for the half-baked product. The phone's new lightning adapter wasn't exactly universally welcomed by all users, either.
The Galaxy S4, by contrast, has avoided any such debacles that rise to a level of notoriety worthy of a faux New Yorker cover (although the campy media event for the phone's release was certainly a valiant attempt.) It's also worth pointing out that the echo chamber for any flub emanating from Cupertino is quite sizable. When Apple screws something up, word travels fast in these United States -- just a consequence of having one of the most recognizable brands in the world.
Also telling is the finding that much of the online conversation about the Galaxy S4 was driven by discussion of the well ... galaxy of new features introduced with the GS4. Say what you will about the true utility of eye-tracking, hovering fingers over your touch screen, and auto-pausing videos -- the features certainly seemed to keep users distracted from spending much time griping about the relatively cheap feel of the materials used to make Samsung's flagship phone.
In fact, We Are Social reports that 56 percent of online discussions about the GS4 focused on new or different features, compared with 37 percent for the Lumia 920, 29 percent for the iPhone 5, and 27 percent for the BlackBerry Z10.
But before we go drawing the conclusion that the iPhone is totally over, it's important to note what's arguably the most important metric culled from We Are Social's data: The iPhone 5 received more than 10 times the amount of launch day chatter (1.7 million online conversations) than the Galaxy S4 (140,000) did.
So, this would be an appropriate time for iOS fans to type "score" over and over again in the comments below.
