Why Isn’t the iPhone Pretty?

The Essential Phone comes in a variety of gorgeous colors, and is crafted from titanium and ceramic.

I started this post on a phone I’m reviewing currently, the HTC U11. It’s the “solar red” model, a vibrant red color that, in the right light, goes between a golden yellow and deep red, like a sunset. It’s stunning, and it was actually incredibly difficult to photograph because it has to be seen in person. Regardless, between the HTC U11 and a photo I saw of the lilac Samsung Galaxy S9, I got to thinking: why are these phones so much prettier than the iPhone?

I’m not saying the iPhone isn’t elegant; it’s like a cold silver metal and black leather chair in a room with a “modern” interior design. To be fair, I just described much of my interior decorating style, but it’s certainly not for everyone. It’s a cold, industrial kind of style, which, while striking and potentially beautiful, is not warm. It’s not pretty.

Why doesn’t Apple make anything that’s pretty anymore?

The iMac G3

When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, he set out to make Apple a unique brand. Computers were lacking something car designers knew was vital to a company: a branded design. A consumer shouldn’t need to see the badge on the front of your car or the logo on your computer to know who made it. You can surely tell a difference from the black and LED designs of Razer, or the angular design of an Alienware computer from the smooth corners and straight metal lines of a MacBook Pro. Apple brought that kind of branded design to computers in 1997 with the release of the iMac G3. Before this, even Apple’s computers had devolved into beige blocks on your desk. In the late 90’s, Apple added a splash of color, and Apple’s new branding was born.

The iMac G3 could be discussed at length for entire articles. Jony Ive’s design was revolutionary, iconic, and beautiful. It was also colorful and, while the original only came in one color, bondi blue, it would eventually come in a color for everyone, from a deeper blue, to lime green orange, and purple. You could get the perfect desktop companion for your style. The iMac G3’s pretty design, elegant curves, stylish, bubble gum transparent plastics made the personal computer personal. Compare that to computers today, and you can see the stark difference in design. These designs are great, but what happened to the originality that those options provided?

MacBook 2006 vs MacBook 2018

Steve Jobs simplified Apple’s product offerings. No longer were there complex model numbers, you could easily identify your computer by its name. He split Apple’s product group into a 2×2 grid like the one below.

From “A device just for you” to “A device you could aspire to.”

From all the colors of the rainbow to black and white.

Apple started off as a company that wanted to bring tech to everyone, not just hobbyists and people in business. They wanted to make computers easy to use and understand, so people curious about them could buy one and enjoy it. Apple’s products have never been cheap, but people understood that they got what they paid for. An Apple product could last you many long years, and retain its resale value as a result. My 2006 MacBook is still chugging along, and my personal computer that I still use for work and photo editing is a 2010 MacBook Pro. But that kind of brand quality is difficult to communicate without specific designs, which Apple used to set itself apart. However, competitors finally started matching Apple’s style, even directly copying it, so Apple had to evolve.

Apple couldn’t be the computer for everyone that was also more expensive, it had to become a company whose products seem out of reach. An Apple product was always a status symbol. They were cooler, more artistic, and the people who used them were more interesting. At least, that’s what the unintentional marketing movies and media provided for Apple’s distinctive products. However, Apple needed a way to stand out once more. They ditched the plastic and went with aluminum and glass across the product line, occasionally mixing in stainless steel (the iPhone 4 and iPhone X) in the process. The result was a high-end product that looked to be worth the higher price. Apple became a greater status symbol, but their products took on what I’d call a New York color pallet: black, gray, and sometimes—for the adventurous—white. Elegance to some, drab to another.

A Sign of the Times

Apple’s use of elegant design is interesting. The last of the white plastic devices started to die off during our latest economic depression. The middle class is crumbling, and, just as it looked like it was to be rebuilt, politicians turned once again to economic policies that benefit the wealthy. The gap between the middle class has never been higher, and wealth has never been so unequally distributed. The idea of the American dream is just that, a dream we wake up from every morning. Even in tech, where a new idea can catapult you from middle class to rich, venture capitalists look almost exclusively for people who fit their profile: white, male college dropouts. The stark lack of women-lead or minority-lead companies coming from venture capital backing is astounding.

Pessimism about our economic futures is the hallmark of the millennial generation, one drowning in debt and stagnant wages. For the shrinking middle class, the effort to keep up appearances came in a number of ways. House remodeling, pyramid schemes on Facebook for cosmetics and vitamins, a side gig on weekends at a local fast food joint, or driving a Lyft. Suddenly the side hustle and 60 hour work week became the norm. To maintain one’s status, people looked to their electronics to serve as an indicator of their personal worth. It even became criteria in dating. Those with a new, pristine iPhone are more likely to be viewed positively than any other smartphone user, with the worst being those with outdated, broken Android phones. The smartphone became a way to show what you aspire to be. It’s the modern day equivalent of “dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” Now it’s “Share with the phone you want, but not the life you have.”

Can We Appreciate Prettiness Again?

There’s a style resurgence happening, and it’s not Apple leading it this time. Apple has sat at the top of the design throne, looking down on other developers as they caught up. The Galaxy S9, HTC U11, and Essential Phone show that Android manufacturers have finally figured out how to make a high-end design. What’s more, they also figured out how to make those designs more personable. High end materials and unique colors made these phones pop. Now, these phones are doing what Apple did in the late 90’s and early 00’s. However, they’re taking from the lessons learned in design over the past few years: elegant designs and high end materials. Only now, they’re adding a splash of color, and Apple’s iPhones are still classy, but monochrome. I’m jealous of two friends of mine, who held off on upgrading to the iPhone 7 until they saw Apple’s (Red) iPhone 7. The (Red) iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are the most colorful iPhones Apple has released recently. They are rare, as Apple sold them for a limited time after the launch of the original dark gray and light gray models. They’re as much of a status symbol as the iPhone X, perhaps more. They’re unique, pretty, and a portion of the sales even went to help in the worldwide fight against AIDS. The glass on the iPhone X and iPhone 8/8 Plus would have been perfect for a splash of color, but Apple canceled the (Red) iPhone last year.

It’s Time for Hope, Optimism, and Individuality

Apple needs to read the writing on the wall. The ostentatious designs that worked for them aren’t going to work forever. Increasingly, users cover their smartphones in cheap plastic cases, both to protect them and personalize them. However, as phones become more durable (the Essential Phone is incredibly durable), and as other manufacturers cater to the uniqueness of each person, Apple could be left behind as a relic of a time we needed to idolize what we can’t have. Apple needs to start making electronics for everyone again, because their competitors are taking lessons they learned from the master, and those competitors are winning.

Sources:

• Nick Statt, The Verge