The 12'' Macbook has stirred up a lot of controversy. Recently, there has been a lot of back and fourth about whether this product has a market, whether or not it's worth the buy, and whether or not it made sense to make.
I was recently thinking about my product choice decisions and why I make those decisions. Up until very recently, I've actually owned an iPhone 4S in white. While I absolutely love that phone, I thought that it's time to upgrade "just because I was bored" of the phone. So, naturally, one would ask - which phone did I decide to upgrade to? Was it a 6? a 6S? Or maybe a plus variant?
The answer? An iPhone 5.
Now, while the iPhone 5 is, by today's standards, an underpowered phone that pales in comparison to the 6S, the 6 or even the iPhone 5S from a spec standpoint.. the reason I decided to get this phone was very simple: I felt that the phone (iPhone 5 in black glass and slate) aeshetically speakinig, was and still is the absolute apex in terms of industrial design for any iPhone ever created. It's the lightest, near thinnest, and most amazingly desgined phone Apple has ever pushed out of it's company.
Now, you might ask if this was an easy decision. The answer is yes. For starters, I wanted the cheapest possible phone to upgrade while I "float by" waiting to see what the iPhone 7's design looks like. As you can probably tell, I'm very unsatisfied with the 6/s and 6+/s design.
But more importantly (as this ties back into the 12'' Macbook comparison) I felt as if we've reached a point in technology - more specifically mobile device technology - where the incremental changes made by smart phones producers no longer produce that immediate and strong urge for me to update.
In other words, I'm willing to compromise performance on my phone for aesthetic beauty. This is no different than, say, someone who chooses a 12'' Macbook over a Retina Macbook Pro. Both amazing machines, but one is, arguably, more sexy than the other. While one, again, arguably, is more for work than for light use.
I'm not a person who uses my phone for 30%, 40%, 50% of my work. I don't ask too much of my phone. Is it reasonably fast? Can it make calls? Can it text? Does it take decent quality picture and video? Is the latest OS sufficient on it? Can I go on the internet, and use apps? If the answer to these questions are "yes" then I don't see much need in shelling out more money for a newer phone.
Most likely the same reasoning for many for 12'' Macbook users. And although I might have given 12'' Macbook users a tough time in the past, I've come to realize that the product, from a market perspective, actually makes sense.
Technology is sufficient enough to the point where consumers can actually decide to make compromises between price, aesthetics, and performance without completely screwing themselves over.
And that's okay.
I was recently thinking about my product choice decisions and why I make those decisions. Up until very recently, I've actually owned an iPhone 4S in white. While I absolutely love that phone, I thought that it's time to upgrade "just because I was bored" of the phone. So, naturally, one would ask - which phone did I decide to upgrade to? Was it a 6? a 6S? Or maybe a plus variant?
The answer? An iPhone 5.
Now, while the iPhone 5 is, by today's standards, an underpowered phone that pales in comparison to the 6S, the 6 or even the iPhone 5S from a spec standpoint.. the reason I decided to get this phone was very simple: I felt that the phone (iPhone 5 in black glass and slate) aeshetically speakinig, was and still is the absolute apex in terms of industrial design for any iPhone ever created. It's the lightest, near thinnest, and most amazingly desgined phone Apple has ever pushed out of it's company.
Now, you might ask if this was an easy decision. The answer is yes. For starters, I wanted the cheapest possible phone to upgrade while I "float by" waiting to see what the iPhone 7's design looks like. As you can probably tell, I'm very unsatisfied with the 6/s and 6+/s design.
But more importantly (as this ties back into the 12'' Macbook comparison) I felt as if we've reached a point in technology - more specifically mobile device technology - where the incremental changes made by smart phones producers no longer produce that immediate and strong urge for me to update.
In other words, I'm willing to compromise performance on my phone for aesthetic beauty. This is no different than, say, someone who chooses a 12'' Macbook over a Retina Macbook Pro. Both amazing machines, but one is, arguably, more sexy than the other. While one, again, arguably, is more for work than for light use.
I'm not a person who uses my phone for 30%, 40%, 50% of my work. I don't ask too much of my phone. Is it reasonably fast? Can it make calls? Can it text? Does it take decent quality picture and video? Is the latest OS sufficient on it? Can I go on the internet, and use apps? If the answer to these questions are "yes" then I don't see much need in shelling out more money for a newer phone.
Most likely the same reasoning for many for 12'' Macbook users. And although I might have given 12'' Macbook users a tough time in the past, I've come to realize that the product, from a market perspective, actually makes sense.
Technology is sufficient enough to the point where consumers can actually decide to make compromises between price, aesthetics, and performance without completely screwing themselves over.
And that's okay.
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