Apple has launched its biggest damp squib, since, well, it started launching impressive, must-have products like the Apple II in 1977.
In the lead up to the launch, the twitterverse and the media whipped itself into a frenzy of anticipation for the fictitious iPhone 5.
The announcement of the iPhone 4S, an upgrade to the iPhone 4, meant the buzz among tech media fell flat.
Speaking to the BBC, Gareth Beavis, phones editor at TechRadar, said: "It was quite disappointing. I think there is going to be a lot of anger from users expecting something big bold and quite exciting after a long time of waiting from the iPhone 4."
Tweeter @BobbySabel summed it up succinctly tweeting: "I don't want an #iphone4s I want an iphone5 goddammit!". @patricksalyer tweeted: "All they had to do was name that same phone "iPhone5", and I would have been 20 per cent happier in every aspect of my life...."
Technical criticism was also directed at Apple.
Andreas Bernstrom, CEO at Rebtel, believes the company made a mistake by not enabling the iPhone 4S with 4G.
“Apple has missed a trick today,” he told the Huffington Post UK. “Enabling 4G would have enhanced the user experience of the latest iPhone by tenfold. On 4G networks, our smartphones could work similarly to regular broadband routers. Our devices could actually cooperate for increased capacity, rather than compete with each other.
“We would have literally be able to jump back and forth from congested routes to less congested routes – it could have put an end to dropped calls due to over-capacity, slow loading times and poor VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) service quality."
While the lack of an iPhone 5 might disappoint the early adopters, the new iPhone 4S should do wonders for the company's market share.
Apple are under threat from HTC and Samsung, both making strides in the smart phone market. As Tim Cook, Apple’s new CEO pointed out in his keynote address, the iPhone-maker only has 5 per cent of the global handset market.
The Guardian reports that Samsung leads the EU smart phone market at 22 per cent, while Apple recently fell from 25 per cent to 21 per cent. HTC has also gained ground on Apple, rising from 8 per cent to 14 per cent.
Thomas Husson, a consumer products analyst at Forrester, says the iPhone 4S will help Apple manage the on-going paradox of maintaining premium leadership while meeting the growing global smart phone market's demand for entry-level phones.
"Apple’s new iPhone line-up provides a complete portfolio of products, from the premium 4S in memory configurations up to 64GB, to the 8GB iPhone 4 which will allow all of Apple’s carrier customers (including new partners Sprint and KDDI in Japan) to offer a mid-tier iPhone,” he said.
Apple’s product strategists have opted to add an entry level option for its GSM-based carrier partners by maintaining the 8 GB iPhone 3GS."
Tech fans may be without the iPhone 5, but they are not without a sense of humour. @Trevornoah tweeted: "Dalai Lama - "First I don't get a visa to go to South Africa for Desmond Tutus party & now no iphone5?! Fml" @InbetweenersJay, the actor Jay Cartwright tweeted: "Just got an iPhone 5 in the post, Apple want my approval before they release it next year." @Queen_UK, who calls herself Elizabeth Windsor tweeted: "Nick Clegg on the phone. Devastated that there's not going to be an iPhone 5. He was hoping to upgrade his Fisher Price."