The iPhone 6 is the subject of a lot of interest right now and we’ve already discussed some possibilities of what it might offer. Strangely enough though, there doesn’t seem to be the same amount of fascination in the iPhone 5S, even though this may be making an appearance in just a few more months. Therefore we thought we’d take a look at just why the iPhone 6 is the focus of attention at the moment instead of the iPhone 5S.

Although nothing has yet been confirmed by Apple the consensus of opinion in the tech world seems to be that the iPhone 5S will be introduced at Apple’s WWDC this June with a release soon afterwards and the iPhone 6 is unlikely to launch before early 2014. So just why is it that the iPhone 6 is the phone that seems to be the more appealing of the two as far as consumers are concerned and why do we think this?

We’ll answer the latter part of that question first. We have noted ourselves that articles on the iPhone 6 seem to be more popular than posts on the iPhone 5S and generate more comments from readers but it’s not just us that have noticed. A look at Google Trends reveals that people have almost double the amount of interest in the iPhone 6 than they have for the iPhone 5S. This is not just a recent thing either as there has been more interest in the iPhone 6 than the iPhone 5S since before the iPhone 5 was launched.

Google Trends allows the user to search terms of interest and to compare search data over time. If you take a look at the image above, the chart shows searches for the iPhone 6 marked in blue while searches for the iPhone 5S are in red. The chart goes right back to last July through to this month and the obviously noticeable thing straight off is that the iPhone 6 peaked in interest just after the iPhone 5 was released last September.

Although searches for the iPhone 6 dipped down again after October they have still been higher than for the iPhone 5S throughout the whole of the time since, right up to this present month. We do know now then that the iPhone 6 as a term of interest is indeed the iPhone that’s creating the most attention at the moment and seems to be more appealing to consumers but now to answer the first part of our question, why is that?

For a start we have to consider that part of this may all be down to the name rather than the device itself. There are many consumers who simply assume that the iPhone 6 is the next iPhone after the iPhone 5, despite the fact that we saw the 4S and therefore we’re likely to see a 5S. Therefore it’s not the iPhone 6 itself they are interested in, more likely they are just interested in the next iPhone but aren’t aware that it’s likely to be the iPhone 5S.

Regular readers may remember our article from last weekend where we asked if Apple’s present naming system shouldn’t be overhauled and that the iPhone 5S moniker should be skipped so that Apple moves straight on to the iPhone 6. You can read more about that here but one of the reasons that we discussed also applies to why consumers seem to be more interested in the iPhone 6 over the iPhone 5S. Another reason then is that even those who are expecting an iPhone 5S are not expecting to see any major changes and that’s why they are more drawn to the iPhone 6.

Most tech sites seem to agree that the iPhone 5S is likely to be a minor refresh of the iPhone 5S and that any groundbreaking differences will not come until the iPhone 6. This backs up an almost unconscious feeling among consumers that the addition of an ‘S’ to the iPhone 5 implies some sort of ‘filler’ iPhone with only incremental changes, rather than a full-blown ‘new’ iPhone. It stands to reason then that that even for those who know there is likely to be an iPhone 5S next, they still have more interest in the iPhone 6 merely because they feel this will have more to offer.

We’d be really interested to hear where you stand on this issue. Have you been more focused on the iPhone 6 rather than the 5S? If so is this because you thought the iPhone 6 would be the next iPhone, or is it more because you feel an iPhone 5S will be nothing to get too excited about? Let us know with your comments.

Source: Gotta Be Mobile