Don’t get me wrong, I’m very excited to get the new iPhone 7 in September. However, having a new iPhone come out every year teaches us something about ourselves: We will never be satisfied. When the iPhone 5 came out, people said it was too thin, but when the iPhone 6 came out people didn’t care about the thinness anymore and they complained about how big it was. I'm sure Apple designers want to hear these comments, but because the 6 Plus sold better than the 6, Apple might be hesitant to go smaller with the 7. Rumors are being spread about a new navy blue color being added to the iPhone family, but even if people like that now they will probably change their minds when it comes out and say, “It’s not blue enough” or “It’s too blue.”
It’s almost a scientific fact that as humans we want what we can’t have. If we set out expectations for one thing and eventually get it, then we want something else. Technology has only given us another way to fuel our never-ending appetite for the next “cool thing.” By the time the iPhone 7 will be announced, potential buyers will already have a vision of the perfect iPhone but, the reality is, regardless of the design people will still buy it. People need to feel technologically updated and the bottom line is we want new things. New is cool and old is cool, but what we currently have is never cool enough.
Will we ever be satisfied with other things either? Chipotle is great, but it doesn’t have queso. Starbucks is cool, but it’s so expensive. Thoughts like these come from the idea that everything should be perfect, but our definition of perfect is always changing. We always like something, but there’s always a “but.” With technology, we always want to have the fastest device. Rather than being appreciative for the strides that technology has taken in terms of speed and accessibility, I complain about not being able to load a shopping website fast enough on my phone. When we experience something new we sometimes forget our previous standards and adopt new, higher standards.
In addition to always wanting the coolest thing, we also want what everyone else has. We get so excited about getting a new iPhone or iPad, but if has a different color or model, then we immediately regret our decisions. We might not have wanted what our friends had yesterday, but today it is all we can think about. It’s interesting how our comparisons to other people make us want something for the sake of having it.
This is not to say we need to change the way we think, but it’s just a thought about how greedy we can be. Sometimes, our “greediness” allows us to see our full potential, but other times our desire to have everything leads us to complaining about our iPhones. We are so focused on the past and the future that we rarely take time to notice the perks of the present. Apple cannot please everyone’s desires with the iPhone 7, but why should they when our attention on this iPhone will only last a few months until we can start thinking about the 7s?
