Has Apple Lost Its Styling Nerve?
27/02/08 17:24 Filed in: Musings
This morning
I got out of bed and made my way to the study so that
I could rouse my PowerBook G4 15" Aluminium (Last PPC
Model) from sleep so that I could check out Apple's
web site to see if the rumour sites had it right or
wrong. I often go through this series of events
around critical release dates as I am in Australia
and I have to wait until Wednesday morning to see
what Apple has announced on Tuesday. So this morning,
encouraged by some of the new styling seen on the
MacBook Air, I was expecting an enclosure redesign
for the MacBook Pro series. What I was presented with
was yet another slight 'under the hood'
upgrade, with the addition of multi-touch. Has Apple
lost its styling nerve?
Many out there would state how they like the Aluminium enclosure, why change a winning formula? Apple appologist mentality asside, one has to admit that the Aluminium enclosure has been around for just a tad too long. The same enclosure has practically addorned the Apple pro series of laptop computers since January 2003. The enclosure stagnation is not isolated to the laptops as Apple's professional workstation enclosure has also stuck around since the Power PC era.
We all love our Apple computers for multiple reasons one of them being the industrial design. We all knew that this aspect would be neglected as Apple made the transition to Intel processors, but that transition is well and truelly complete. Apple has always been able to, though not to everyones liking, come up with very compelling ways to express physically what they where about philosophicaly. Has Apple's philosophy changed? Even though they've dropped the 'Computer' from the company name, when we look at the iMac update from mid 2007, we see that visual styling is still very much part of the product development lifecycle. And the Macworld 2008 revelation of the MacBook Air also reassured us that Mr. Ives still masterfully combines Function with Stytlish Form. So why not the professional series? Are us professionals so pre-occupied with what we are working on that style becomes secondary or tertiary? I'd have to disagree, especially when it's something as personal as a portable computer.
My opinion, which is no doubt shared by others, is that clearly identifiable styling differentiators between model generations serve as an instant iconographic representation of one's investement in their 'tools of the trade', much like the polycarbonate in contrast with the aluminium, or the 17" in contrast with the 15". I'm not talking about your old-fashioned Mac snobery here, regardless of the tool people use, they like to diffentiate themselves from the users of the same tool a series behind. And it doesn't have to be a functional differentiator, in my experience it most oftenly isn't. "I can see by the blue handle that you're using the Series III, how are you finding the improved gamma field disruptor?" the conversation would go.
Here's another scenario, I'm looking to have an outside agency do some digital media work for my company. I visit two of them and they each give me a brief tour of their offices. Both have many aluminium clad Mac desktops on the artists' desks and the representatives assure me that they are using state of the art equipment and that they will be able to produce what I need by my specified deadline. Though I was unable to discern it at the time, one agency has the latest series of Mac Pro's and the other has PowerMac G5's and is charging less. Now I don't know about you, but if I am made able to easlily identify the latest series of Mac desktop at the hypothetical agency I would pay the higher price having the piece of mind that they are serious about the tools they use and thus be reassured that the work will be both of high quality and would be complete by the deadline.
Note: Please don't pick appart the aformentioned scenario as it does not constitute a challenge.
Some 80% of information about the outside world comes in through the eyes. Apple has always understood this very well. I just don't understand why they've forgotten it with their professional series of computers.
Many out there would state how they like the Aluminium enclosure, why change a winning formula? Apple appologist mentality asside, one has to admit that the Aluminium enclosure has been around for just a tad too long. The same enclosure has practically addorned the Apple pro series of laptop computers since January 2003. The enclosure stagnation is not isolated to the laptops as Apple's professional workstation enclosure has also stuck around since the Power PC era.
We all love our Apple computers for multiple reasons one of them being the industrial design. We all knew that this aspect would be neglected as Apple made the transition to Intel processors, but that transition is well and truelly complete. Apple has always been able to, though not to everyones liking, come up with very compelling ways to express physically what they where about philosophicaly. Has Apple's philosophy changed? Even though they've dropped the 'Computer' from the company name, when we look at the iMac update from mid 2007, we see that visual styling is still very much part of the product development lifecycle. And the Macworld 2008 revelation of the MacBook Air also reassured us that Mr. Ives still masterfully combines Function with Stytlish Form. So why not the professional series? Are us professionals so pre-occupied with what we are working on that style becomes secondary or tertiary? I'd have to disagree, especially when it's something as personal as a portable computer.
My opinion, which is no doubt shared by others, is that clearly identifiable styling differentiators between model generations serve as an instant iconographic representation of one's investement in their 'tools of the trade', much like the polycarbonate in contrast with the aluminium, or the 17" in contrast with the 15". I'm not talking about your old-fashioned Mac snobery here, regardless of the tool people use, they like to diffentiate themselves from the users of the same tool a series behind. And it doesn't have to be a functional differentiator, in my experience it most oftenly isn't. "I can see by the blue handle that you're using the Series III, how are you finding the improved gamma field disruptor?" the conversation would go.
Here's another scenario, I'm looking to have an outside agency do some digital media work for my company. I visit two of them and they each give me a brief tour of their offices. Both have many aluminium clad Mac desktops on the artists' desks and the representatives assure me that they are using state of the art equipment and that they will be able to produce what I need by my specified deadline. Though I was unable to discern it at the time, one agency has the latest series of Mac Pro's and the other has PowerMac G5's and is charging less. Now I don't know about you, but if I am made able to easlily identify the latest series of Mac desktop at the hypothetical agency I would pay the higher price having the piece of mind that they are serious about the tools they use and thus be reassured that the work will be both of high quality and would be complete by the deadline.
Note: Please don't pick appart the aformentioned scenario as it does not constitute a challenge.
Some 80% of information about the outside world comes in through the eyes. Apple has always understood this very well. I just don't understand why they've forgotten it with their professional series of computers.
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