Apple I am frustrated. I am on my third iPhone. I feel like my trips to the genius bar are so regular the workers should know my name by now. The reliance on Apple products are essential to a millennials survival in both the workplace, the classroom, and the social sphere. Because of this reliance, I so eagerly dish out hundreds of dollars for repairs to products, I wait anxiously for the announcements of new products such as the iPad Pro or the Apple Watch or the iPhone 7. But do I really need these new products? Will my quality of life improve that much with the addition of these products?
With each new year, the subtle changes to Apple’s products add to the consumer’s hunger to purchase them. 3D touch? Adding that to the shopping cart! Larger display? Must have that! Thinner laptop construction? What would I do without it! The need to have the latest and greatest of all the latest products is not necessary. Those long lines when a new Apple product is released are pointless. Wake up people! What is wrong with the phone that you are on right now? Nothing.
Apple products are expensive. “Apple’s decision to limit its product line to solely premium devices is a deliberate decision – one that has allowed them to become the quintessential aspirational tech brand” (makeuseof.com 2016). To own a Mac or to carry an iPhone gives its users a sense of the luxury, it is a privilege to own such products. Their sleek designs and ease of use makes them very popular among consumers. They ooze a higher standard of living. Apple, to the tech world, is almost like wearing a designer brand. Apple is referred to as an “aspirational brand”. People dream of owning their products. I remember my Dad setting his alarm for four o’clock in the morning to preorder the iPhone when it was released under our cellular carrier. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on the iPhone, he aspired to be an owner of an Apple product. Apples business model is based on the fact that the products are expensive. People pay up for apple. Just like not everyone can afford a Mercedes-Benz, not everyone can be blessed with affording Apple products.
So maybe my frustrations with Apple aren’t with the company itself. Maybe my frustrations are with the fact that I give into their business model- that their products are far more superior to similar models. I am reliant on Apple products. Apple has produced technologies that keep me close to family, when I am attending school far from home, their software designs contribute to the ease of research for classes, their camera designs allow me to document little moments of my life with the touch of a button. Apple products are used every day; they are almost as important as a toothbrush- a very expensive toothbrush.
