iSheep have been for the iPhone 6, but no need to chuck the older model

Liron Segev is an avowed anti-Apple techie, calling devotees to Steve Jobs' brand iSheep and accusing us of drinking the Kool-Aid that tells us to "buy more, buy new". So he wasn't surprised at the overnight queues and excessive demand for the new iPhone 6 and Apple's computer watch. But once the hype dies down, many who might today sell their mother for the new product will have lost interest. Interesting views on the specs, too. – AH

ALEC HOGG: Well, joining us now for a look at the launch of the iPhone-6 last night, the first Apple wearable in the state of Apple is Liron Segev, Social Mobility Specialist, Blogger, Mobile App Developer or anything else I can describe you as.

LIRON SEGEV: Well…Tech-Logo good.

ALEC HOGG: A guy who 'doesn't wear a tie when coming on TV'.

LIRON SEGEV: Sure, absolutely.

ALEC HOGG: Pretty easy going.

LIRON SEGEV: Sure…absolutely…They called, they said 'come, we have to chat'.

ALEC HOGG: Well, thanks for coming through. We really appreciate it. Last night, the iPhone6…two people on this floor, who got their iPhone-5S just a week or so ago…

LIRON SEGEV: Ouch.

ALEC HOGG: Is it 'ouch'?

LIRON SEGEV: Ouch…okay, look there are always going to be the Apple fans' who are going to queuing up, cannot wait, and they'll eat every word that Apple produces. Then as soon as it's announced, they are ready, they're camping outside the stores, and they want to be the first (they have to be the first). It's the 'i-Sheep', as they are commonly, known.

ALEC HOGG: Liron…you are talking to an 'i-Sheep' here.

LIRON SEGEV: I hear you. Look, I think Apple did a great thing, they did. They had to. The launch was on a 'world scale'. It was streamed, once again, and everybody was tuning in and what they did was they showed, 'Listen, we're still here.' Okay, 'yes, we have been taking a bit of a beating everywhere else but look, we're here'. We are not going to launch just one product. We have a couple and they did the old thing, but wait…there is more, and that was the part that we were all waiting for. Unfortunately, a lot of the stuff was already circulating around the internet (it was already known), so there wasn't the great surprise that there was in the past, where we couldn't wait to see what will they unravel. We knew what was coming. There were pictures. There were specs. It was just a matter of, 'yes', confirming, tick that box, yes, it is what it is.

Fans will buy the stuff…absolutely. If you've just purchased an iPhone, you know, if you want the latest and the greatest, you're going to feel a little bit hard done by.

ALEC HOGG: How much difference is there?

LIRON SEGEV: From a spec point of view, all the new ones are slimmer, faster, better and all of those good things. Realistically, as a layperson using a device, we have to ask ourselves what we want it for. What are we going to be doing with this?' It doesn't matter that that processor is that many nanoseconds faster than the previous. No, I don't think so.

ALEC HOGG: Okay, so the 'i-Sheep' are going to be very excited about this but for the rest of us…the iPhone is fine.

LIRON SEGEV: For the rest of us…yes, the iPhone is fine and, you know what, there's so many people with an iPhone4 and still loving it. The iPhone5 is still around still doing a great job. One of Apple's biggest problems is that the devices are really, really that good so people keep them for a really, really long time. How many iPad1's are still around? They're still there. Why? We use them for what they are meant for.

ALEC HOGG: And this watch?

LIRON SEGEV: Yes, 'the watch'. Okay, this iWatch, again. For two years, we've been waiting for something to arrive. It's not the iWatch. It's the Apple Watch. Now we can look at our wrist and tell the time…mm, sounds familiar. We used to be able to do that in the past. There's a couple of issues for me that I've picked up… Well, the first one is they didn't mention whether it was waterproof or not, so I would hate to switch or take the wristband off.

ALEC HOGG: Is that important?

LIRON SEGEV: If you're showering…

ALEC HOGG: For the computer?

LIRON SEGEV: Yeah, I do…

ALEC HOGG: Do you shower with your watch?

LIRON SEGEV: I have to…you know.

ALEC HOGG: [Inaudible: 09:04].

LIRON SEGEV: I want to know if I'm fit…

ALEC HOGG: Oh, that sounds fine…

LIRON SEGEV: Okay, so is it waterproof? It's a big thing. Every time it rains, it's like my phone…I have to start hiding it away, so we have to think of those.

ALEC HOGG: Okay.

LIRON SEGEV: The battery life…no mention of how long it's going to be. Are we talking about a 12-hour day? Are we talking about, like my phone, I'm going to be charging multiple devices every night…that's an issue. Left-handed people…there's a problem. It's only a right-handed watch. How do we handle those? I find it fascinating, as well.

ALEC HOGG: You are looking for trouble here…

LIRON SEGEV: I find it fascinating that the device is great. The concepts of wearables are here to stay. It's like a 'sale figure'. They are here, like it or not, it's here to be. Wearables are great, if they are used correctly, so is this an extension of the device? Is it an add-on to the device? Are we happy to control our text messages?

ALEC HOGG: What messages…why would you have a watch when you have an iPhone? Do you have an iPhone?

LIRON SEGEV: You've hit the 'multi-dollar' question on its head, exactly that. If you are looking for your time, the phone has it. If you want to know how fit you are, the phone has it. If you want to know your email or your SMS's, the phone has it. Do we need another screen to say 'hey, heads up, you have a message'. Read a little bit, uncomfortable, get irritated and take out the phone, I don't think so. How many milliseconds will that save you in your life?

ALEC HOGG: Are they doing this because others have done it?

LIRON SEGEV: You know there is that school of thought to say, look, they have to be in the game. My concern with this particular kind of category, as a whole, they are doing the same mistake (I think) that Blackberry did when they launched the Z10. On the night of the Z10 launch, if they had containers full, they would have sold container fills. Unfortunately, it wasn't. The Z10 was only available much later, giving people time to process it. It's the same thing with this iWatch. Right now, everybody wants it. It's the coolest thing ever. I think giving it some time to settle in; minus the hype and the R5.000 price mark, we're going to be doing a double take.

ALEC HOGG: Liron…thank you for coming through to the studio, at such short notice, as you told us and emphasised.

LIRON SEGEV: Okay.

ALEC HOGG: That was a Social Mobility Specialist, Blogger, and Mobile App Developer and expert on all things, Apple, even though he's not an 'i-Sheep' Liron Segev. Remember, you can email us on powerlunch@abn360.com and after the break, we'll find out more from the World Economic Forum in China more Power Lunch right after this.