Why Apple has lost its “Different"
Recently I wrote a letter to Tim Cook analyzing why I switched, I haven’t gotten a response yet…maybe one day. Below is the letter.
Hey Tim,
About two years ago I switched from an iPhone to Google’s Pixel. I am now, officially, the little green bubble on everyone’s iMessage, the annoying, different one, who can’t seem to get with the “in-crowd.” At what point did NOT owning an Apple product make me different? I finally understood why I switched.
I no longer feel Apple is different.
Here are my two cents (focus group of one) on what happened, and what it would take to win me back.
Apple needs to provoke its enemy once again
In the 90’s the Mac vs. PC wars were iconic. Apple the rabble-rouser fighting the evil corporate PC man. A Mac represented thinking different, a PC represented the status quo. A Mac was built for creatives, a PC was built for suits. A Mac focused on a deliberate UX, a PC was built with an annoyingly open customizable feature set. Ultimately, the PC’s mainstream persona exaggerated Apple’s outlier status symbol. Today, though, Apple looks a lot like their legendary enemy — cameras and updated operating systems. I can no longer tell the difference between a PC, a Mac, an Android… How might Apple reengage THE enemy and separate itself from the crowd as the anti-status quo tech company?
Apple needs to create a platform for today’s “Crazy Ones”
Taking on that enemy requires that the “credible” icons of society carry your message forward. Originally, Steve was that icon who contributed to the “against the grain” persona. I’ve always believed that if someone other than Apple were to have made the “Crazy Ones” ad, Steve Jobs would have been cast as one of the crazy ones. Steve was different and by osmosis Apple retained some of that “crazy” equity. Without him, we are missing that physical manifestation of his rebellious belief system. Who might Apple cast as the “crazy” ones to help shepherd Steve’s rebellious spirit for the next generation?
Apple needs to make me see past the physical form of its technology (because it has become table stakes)
Now…when it comes to your product I have a hard time understanding the real, differentiated, value of most of your features and the complexity of the technology behind it. Because now, thanks to the forsaken obsession we have with newness, every time a new product is released it’s physical design informs how I view the disruption within it. Meaning, I miss the major internal hardware and software disruptions you are making, because I cant see past the lack of physical changes. How might Apple lift the curtain on what makes your products actually different and help me see past the physical form?
Apple needs to stand for something more than features
That lack of obvious disruption has sparked a neck and neck features war race. Or, as Steve once put it “speeds and feeds.” Better cameras, better battery life, better health monitoring, better touch screens, better colors…it’s not that I don’t appreciate a good tech upgrade just like the next guy, I just want to see Apple stand for something more than features.
What might Apple stand for again…?
Apple can become the hero to the homogenization of different
We all see it, the smartphone, and all of its features, have reached ubiquity. As our devices have become the new human extremity, they’ve also contributed to the homogenization of creativity, making it much more difficult to be different today. Creativity, as a skill, is more accessible than ever before. Filters for photo editing, cameras that mimic professional lighting, and the beautiful memes that make us all comic writers. (I do love a good meme) Everyone is a creative, an artist, a photographer, an interior designer…what was once a skill only accessible by counter-culture, has now become a part of mainstream culture. In other words, if everyone is a creator now then it’s hard to see and appreciate those who actually Think Different.
So…
Apple’s challenge: How might Apple reinvigorate a creative culture that thinks, acts, and speaks different?
1. Celebrate those who actually Think Different
Your original campaign celebrated the rabble-rousers who had changed or were changing the world. How might Apple celebrate those individuals today? If we take a note from Nike’s “Dream Crazy” campaign, it’s a perfect example of celebrating individuals who have gone their own path — e.g. Serena, Kaepernick, Zeina Nassar, Lacey Baker, Shaquem Griffin. They focused on celebrating a belief we can all relate to — crazy dreams don’t mean impossible.
For Apple, what are the beliefs of those individuals you want to celebrate that we can all relate to? Is it the belief that real creativity is worth the pain it requires? Is it the belief that thinking different takes courage?
Take a stand for a belief I can rally behind.
2. Challenge the world to Think Different
The world needs those who Think Different. Why? Because the future deserves different. Martin Luther King said it best,
“This hour in history needs a dedicated circle of transformed nonconformists… The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority… Human salvation lies in the hands of the creative maladjusted.” — Strength to Love (1963)
What can you ask the world to Think Different about that we can all agree on?
Is thinking different seeing the humanity in others? Is thinking different embracing the realities of climate change, and going against the naysayers in a more deliberate way? Is thinking different directly pushing against the homogenization of culture? Is Thinking Different telling the bureaucratic elite that we are not just another number?
Or a substantially more important question could be: what must we Think Different about today to change the world for tomorrow?
3. Protect the art and importance of Thinking Different
Thinking Different is dangerous today. But, when has thinking different really ever been safe? Philosopher Albert Camus penned his famous speech in 1957 in the face of a looming fascist Europe, calling on people to “Create Dangerously.”
“Tyrants know there is in the work of art an emancipatory force, which is mysterious only to those who do not revere it. Every great work makes the human face more admirable and richer, and this is its whole secret…Whatever the works of the future may be, they will bear the same secret, made up of courage and freedom, nourished by the daring of thousands of artists of all times and all nations.”
There is an artistic revolution happening today that needs protection. Fight to protect our freedom to create…our freedom to Think Different.
Your recent stance on Privacy is a perfect example of this. It’s a much longer subject for a different letter, but one that I believe does begin to position you against the masses and stand for something significant we can all agree on. Privacy is the new battleground that is necessary to protect our freedom to think and be different.
In summary: Apple can become the brand that redefines, once again, what it means to Think, Act, and Speak different.
So…I’d ask you, make us believe again. Make Apple mean something more than features again (like Spike Jonze’s recent ad brought to life). Make owning an Apple a statement. Because when you do, it will be because Apple is shaping culture and as a result shaping the world.
On that day, I will believe again that by owning an Apple product I am an individual who thinks different.
Best,
Garett
