TIME:

The fact that yesterday’s bash wasn’t full of startling twists presumably helps explain why it prompted lots of stories declaring the event, and even the iPhone 5 itself, to be a disappointment. Product rollouts aren’t action movies. Surprises are nice, but they aren’t the ultimate goal — at least if the idea is to sell lots and lots of gadgets and make lots and lots of money. Surprise has no inherent relation to quality or popularity.

It will be interesting to see if this “lack of secrecy” regarding the details of the iPhone 5 are an anomaly or the new standard operating procedure for Apple.