You could hear the groans of disappointment all the way from Cupertino. Fanboys (and girls) were left deflated yesterday as tech giant Apple launched not an iPhone 5 but instead something called an iPhone 4S, which was not - let's face it - what most people were expecting.

The markets felt the 'huh' instantantly. Apple's share price fell by as much as three per cent during the announcement. The market wanted a major update but what it got was a minor tech tweak.

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What the iPhone 4s offers is an A5 processor which promises to make it seven times faster than the older model.

There is also an ever greater new 8-megapixel camera with 60 per cent more pixels than the iPhone 4, for even clearer shots, and the ability to handle high-definition video.

The device will utilize what Apple called an 'intelligent antenna system' that’s designed to improve call quality and weed out the previous antenna problems of the iPhone 4.

But it wasn't an iPhone 5. And so perhaps Apple should do a better job of managing the public's expectations prior to a big launch. Certainly the markets today were looking for a boost and they got a pffft instead.

Major upgrade or no major upgrade, a recent survey commissioned in Ireland shows that more than half of Irish respondents own a smart phone, and the iPhone is the most popular device. So perhaps Apple can rest on their laurels for a little longer. But hopefully not too much longer.