I miss my smartphones. A few years ago, I bought a Droid when they were first released, and it was wonderful. It gave me directions, I could watch TV at work, and most importantly, I could show other people how much better my phone was than theirs. That phone tragically and mysteriously snapped in half at the end of a four-day music festival, and apart from the few squatters we let sleep in our tents, I have no idea how it happened. What I mean by this is, I want an iPhone, but I shouldn’t.
I shouldn’t want an iPhone because they are expensive, because I can find other phones of comparable quality and because I really don’t need to update my Facebook at 4 a.m. It’s a nice convenience item that I really don’t “need.” My life will be fine without it. But the success of the Apple market — and the new iPhone 5 in particular — is a testament to how Steve Jobs and the Apple corporation mastered marketing.
The new iPhone has a screen that’s a tiny bit bigger than the iPhone 4S, it’s a tiny bit thinner, it’s more updated, and it’s supposed to be faster. A recent skit on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” demonstrated how minor these changes are. The show interviewed people on the street after showing them an iPhone 4S but pretending it was an iPhone 5, and most people not only thought it was the newer version but also commented on how much nicer it was and how they needed to buy it.
The changes are minor, but it’s the brand that allows the product to survive. Everything from the limited colors to similar designs and logos on Apple products creates a familiar uniformity that people relate to and desire. Apple isn’t advertised as a company that sells products; it’s advertised as a community and a lifestyle choice.
Why else would people put Apple stickers on their cars? I wouldn’t put a Toshiba or Sprite sticker on my car not only because it looks ridiculous, but because I have no reason to advertise for them. But many people don’t see it as an advertisement for a company; they see it as a reflection of who they are, an “Apple person.” This is why so many of us can rationalize forking over hundreds of dollars for a product that is almost identical to what we already have.
Steve Jobs is not only one of the most successful and innovative CEOs of all time, but he is also one of the most controversial. After reading more about how he started his company and how much adversity he faced, I can see how he became such a powerful and aggressive businessman. Apple’s lawsuit against Samsung’s patent infringement and Jobs’ statement of going “thermonuclear war” on Google are examples of how aggressive he can be. Apple has also come under scrutiny for its human rights violations in China. Factories that make Apple products in China have experienced high rates of suicide and wage and hour violations.
The reason you and I and others want the iPhone 5 is because the brand is well-known and synonymous with shiny, new, cutting-edge products. So much so that we just assume if it has a higher number than the last one, it must be the greatest new product, even if it might not be that great. So maybe hold out for the iPhone 6 or 6B or whatever, because at this rate, we might get another one by Christmas.
