My question is: why in the least bit should us techies care? Sure — catering to the unfathomably well-off will make an impact on Apple’s fortunes in the long run, and spinning out into a fashion brand might make the company grow at an even more breakneck pace. But I was under the impression that we were Apple fans in the first place because they made best-in-breed products for everyone, not just the elite.
An Apple that sells “bling” to billionaires is not a company that many of us could muster any passion about. Maybe Woz had the right idea all along.
Alexei Baboulevitch
There has always been a fair amount of idealism in tech, the idea that it will ultimately make the world a better place, and people’s feelings often get hurt when ideals are confronted with harsh reality. The same thing happened as people started to realize Google’s ‘Don’t be evil’ motto got abandoned along the way, pushed aside by corporate interests.
Then again, declaring that Apple makes products for everyone is a bit disingenuous to say the least. The Mac has always been and still remains a niche product, especially outside the US; it was Microsoft who delivered the vision of a PC in every house. The iPhone proved more successful, but it was Google and Android who spread the smartphone around the world. While fans may hold on to the premise of Apple’s superior user experience, the fact is that the company is selling this user experience at a high premium and has no intention to satisfy the masses. In other words, the user experience would be the same even if Apple would earn 5% margin instead of 30% and more, but the company chooses higher margins nevertheless. The gold Apple Watch simply makes the situation more obvious for people who weren’t willing to admit it.
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