One of the reasons for Apple's meteoric rise in popularity over the past few years is that they appear as if they can do no wrong. Every product they release is better than the previous, which was itself already the best. Then you have the cult of Steve and the fact that tens of thousands of people camp out and bask in every syllable of a Jobs-note. There's definitely an echo chamber effect happening, but there's little denying the cultural impact that Apple has made in recent times.
This phenomenon will culminate in 4 days with the release of the God Machine (aka iPhone). A convergence device that is getting EVERYBODY worked into a fervor. You can't go one day without someone talking about the iPhone, and with its release so close the hype is starting to get insane.
However, this hype could be the very source of Apple's weakness. For ever Apple fanboy there is an anti-Apple hater just looking to poke holes in what they're doing. The hype of the iPhone will also make it one of the most scrutinized products in history. And while no product is perfect, and there are bound to be issues with the iPhone (no 3G), what if there are problems that really are a deal breaker? The iPod has been able to get away with poor battery issues, and other problems, but phones are very complicated machines, and a lot could go wrong.
Now I know the thought is kind of weird. I mean, this is Apple we're talking about right? And they KNOW how important this product is, so of course they're going to make sure there are no major problems. But that's entirely the point. This kind of faith in Apple's ability is centered around a near perfect track record. If the iPhone stumbles this would show a major chink in Apple's armor and reverse a lot of the momentum and good will that they've built up.
We've already seen how uber-successful companies can royally screw up. So just because Apple has a great track record so far does not make them immune from mistakes.
So what would happen if the iPhone sucks? Would there be the greatest backlash in history, where the true fans are separated from the posers? Or would the world give Apple a second chance to redeem itself with the iPhone and beyond?
Obviously this is all moot if the iPhone really does what it sets out to do, and comes close to meeting the hype. But early reports are not 100% positive so we'll see what happens when it really gets out into the masses.
