Why You Should Let Your iPhone X Run Around Naked
It’s time to let go of fear and the mistakes from your past
I recently attended a party. It got a little wild.
At one point the DJ started playing House of Pain’s Jump Around. Naturally, everyone started jumping around. Including me.
And then it happened.
I jumped my iPhone right out of my pocket.
There I was, crawling around on the floor, looking for my iPhone in the dark. My hands roved the floor, while everyone else kept jumping.
That was probably a bad idea, too. Maybe there was a little alcohol involved. I muttered under my breath, berating myself for my lack of foresight and maturity.
Someone reached down and tried to help me up by my shoulders. “Are you OK?” she asked in concern.
“Oh, I’m just looking for my iPhone.”
“YOUR WHAT?” The music was loud.
“MY IPHONE.”
“OH!”
That was when it hit me.
I had a minor epiphany as to why the iPhone X would be a big, raging success that would propel Apple on a tidal wave of cash to over a trillion dollars in market cap.
No company in the history of capitalism has been worth a trillion dollars. It is a monumental watermark. But it will be surpassed.
And it will be an incredible testament to the enduring legacy of Steve Jobs.
A World of Worries
Only a couple days earlier, I had been troubled by the Other Steve, Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak, who had inexplicably double crossed his own begotten child. Other Steve had publicly announced the iPhone X would be the first iPhone he wouldn’t buy on day one.
“I am just worried about what it provides me. I’d rather wait and watch that one. I’m happy with my iPhone 8, which is the same as the iPhone 7, which is the same as the iPhone 6, to me. I think I will watch other people in this case.”
Why Other Steve, why? Didn’t it feel mean spirited to tell the world you’re not planning to buy the new phone from a company you cofounded? Did you need a ride on iPhone X publicity? You must have known your quote would get blown out of proportion because of the incredible interest in the iPhone X.
Some time before that, I read Quincy Larson’s warning: Why you shouldn’t unlock your phone with your face. Did you know the police or a US court can make you unlock your phone with your face?
And then there’s the prohibitive price. Starting at $999.
I’m conservative and moderate when it comes to purchases of electronics. I remained wedded to an antiquated Blackberry for years before switching over to an iPhone. I generally wait for the second, faster version of any new iPhone model and skip one or two alternating generations at a time. As a result, I’ve lingered on an iPhone 6S Plus for the last few years.
Add it all up, and it seems logical that I’d wait and see when it comes to the iPhone X. Would I really want to spend so much money on a phone, when I just jumped my iPhone out of my pocket?
And I’ve learned some hard lessons over the years.
On a business trip to the UK three years ago, I stepped out of a quaint London cab, and my phone slipped out of my pocket. I had it protected by a slim plastic case, so I thought nothing of it.
It fell all of two feet—at the most.
But when I looked down … lo and behold, the front, unprotected screen had hit a rock right by the home button—a weak spot in the design—resulting in a long, radiating crack that rendered the touch display all but useless.
After having the screen replaced at an Apple store, I decided to add even more protection. On top of the belt, I added suspenders—a glass shield on the face of the phone.
And it’s obvious that the world around me has learned similar lessons.
Glance around your office or pretty much anywhere people congregate, and you’ll invariable find most people cover up their phones in shame.
Plastic covers in gaudy colors. Dirty leather covers. Glass screen overlays, often cracked themselves. Big, bulky fold-over covers.
It makes for an ugly, motley crew. And for the last several years, I’ve been part of that crew.
That moment on the dance floor made me realize something (at least after the initial sting of stupidity had faded).
It had been years since I had done anything remotely close to damaging my iPhone. And for all of that time, I had needlessly suffocated it under belts and suspenders.
Had I learned the wrong lesson?
After all, would you mar the elegance and beauty of a Ferrari with a protective bra?
So I made a paradoxical decision after jumping my iPhone out of my pocket.
Not only was I going to buy the iPhone X as soon as it became available. I was also going to let it run around naked.
A Perfect 10
Since Other Steve decided to worry the world about what the iPhone X will provide you, I’m providing a counterpoint.
The single most intimate relationship I have with anything I own … is with my iPhone.
I carry it around in my pocket. It sits on my desk when I work. I sleep with it by my bed.
I use it for work. I use it for entertainment. I use it to keep in touch with my family and friends. I’ve used it to write this very article.
In fact, I spend more time with my iPhone than my laptop, my TV, my refrigerator, my bed, or my car.
And, ironically, I spent far more money on each of those less intimate items.
In addition, the iPhone is arguably the single greatest invention since the Internet. It unlocked the wild world of apps, which let tiny little companies such as Uber, Airbnb, and Snap grow rapidly into world-eating Appzillas.
Admittedly, I’m addicted to my iPhone. I know the apps are designed to hijack my mind, but I still check it compulsively.
Since publishing a book for the first time, I’ve become even more addicted. I’m constantly checking the analytics across social media platforms, watching and learning from the 100,000 views and 30,000 reads/listens/watches, I’ve managed to scrape together in my first month of concerted effort.
But how about that moment of stupidity at the party? How about the lessons learned from the London cab? How about the fear of the past?
All the success I’ve had in life has come from confronting the things that make me uncomfortable. It’s how I’ve grown as an entrepreneur, a manager, and as a human being.
When I got rejected from VCs early in my career, I asked them what they didn’t like about my startup idea. As I stated in another article: What you don’t know … can make you smarter.
Embracing discomfort was also one the most important lessons I learned as a manager. If I felt uncomfortable discussing a topic with someone on the team, I learned to approach them immediately. Waiting only let issues fester and magnify, which increased the cost to the team and our business over the long run.
Having wired myself to overcome discomfort over the years, I realized in my moment of stupidity the power of the iPhone Upgrade Program.
At 12:01 AM on October 27th, not only did I stay up late ordering the newest iPhone, I enrolled in the new iPhone Upgrade Program. It starts at $49.91 a month or $598.92 a year. 40% less than the $999 price tag. Over two years, you will pay $1,197.84 (basically the $999 for the phone plus AppleCare+ at $199).
Like AppleCare+, it includes two incidents of accidental damage protection (along with a “deductible” of $29 for screen damage or $99 for other damage), but more importantly, it lets you have a brand new iPhone every year.
Sometimes, it’s better not to learn from your mistakes. Sometimes, you just need to forgive yourself.
Especially when you can buy a little insurance.
So instead of being shackled to the mistakes of the past, I’ve decided to believe in myself. I’ve decided to believe in my future judgement.
I’ve decided to believe in the value of beauty and elegance.
There’s so little beauty and poetry in life. But a naked iPhone … is gorgeous. And the iPhone X is simply stunning.
Oh, there are more reasons I bought the iPhone X. How do I love the iPhone X? Let me count the ways:
- Screen size matters: When I moved from the smaller form factor to the iPhone Plus a few years ago, the larger screen dramatically improved my ability to ingest information. I accomplished more work (and fun) than ever. But I didn’t like the increased width. The iPhone X is less wide AND has a larger diagonal screen size, which makes it easier to use one handed. And I’m fine that the slimmer profile results in less total surface area. The iPhone X measures 5.6 x 2.8 x .3 inches vs. the iPhone 8 Plus at 6.2 x 3.1 x .3.
- The incredible lightness of being: The iPhone X weighs only 6.1 ounces compared to the iPhone 8 Plus’s heftier 7.1 ounces.
- With no home button, it’s all about display: The iPhone X has an OLED “Super Retina” display with 2,436 x 1,125 pixel resolution and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. In contrast, the iPhone 8 Plus has 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution and a 1,300:1 contrast ratio.
- Face ID: Despite Quincy’s warning, I’m going to unlock the phone with my face. For me, the convenience factor overwhelms the risk—as it will for the majority of consumers. It does make me wonder, though, what does Quincy Larson have hiding in his phone? Probably nothing given the awesome mission of freeCodeCamp, but his article made me curious.
- Last, but definitely not least, the poo animoji: I can’t wait to deliver bad news with my voice and expressions mushed into an animated pile of poo! And I mean that seriously. I’m tempted to record all of my articles and my book with the poo animoji. For the critics that blasted Apple for investing engineering effort and leveraging some of the most sophisticated tech on the planet to animate poo … we could all benefit from a little more frivolity in our lives.
All of which brings me back to why I think the iPhone X and the iPhone Upgrade Program will power Apple to a trillion dollar market cap.
Apple has built its market dominance bucking conventional notions of innovation, as framed by books such as The Innovator’s Dilemma. Instead of subscribing to Clayton Christensen’s narrow view of disruption, Apple didn’t bother to attack a neglected segment of the market with a simpler product and make its way from the bottom up.
While Christensen and his model predicted that Android would disrupt the iPhone, the results in revenues and earnings could not be farther from the truth.
Apple is the world’s most valuable company.
Instead of starting from the bottom, Steve Jobs went over the top, delivering a superior product that deeply satisfied premium buyers—those who want the best and are happy to pay for it. And then they went downmarket, too, as consumers realized the deep, intrinsic value of a superior product.
For the universe of premium buyers, the iPhone X is the only choice … as it will be for the rest of the consumers who will first envy and then follow once they see it in use in daily life.
And the iPhone Upgrade Program is freedom from the ugly tyranny of prophylactic cases.
Apple already has over a quarter trillion on its balance sheet and counting. The combination of an impending iPhone refresh cycle, a higher priced premium product, and a compelling program upsell will further line Apple’s overstuffed coffers. And the iPhone Xs that cycle back after the first year of the iPhone Upgrade Program will provide a wave of refurbished inventory at a lower cost for price sensitive buyers.
But in the end, this is not about dollars and cents. It’s not even about incredible engineering and design.
It’s about our relationship with technology.
This is about living without fear. This is about confidence, a backup plan, and valuing beauty.
There’s a lot of ugliness in the world today. Some of it created by technology companies.
We need more beauty in our lives. And more courage.
It turns out when we shed our fears, when we shuffle off our layers of protection, we can find our hidden selves. After publishing a book and a series of blogs, podcasts, and videos, the lesson I learned is that the world responds and engages more … when I’m vulnerable and laid bare.
Have the courage to be vulnerable. Be who you’re meant to be.
You’re perfect when you’re naked.
So I’m going to let my iPhone X run around naked as the day it was born. Just like Steve Jobs intended.
About Me
I’ve spent two decades decoding innovation, collecting the hidden frameworks that drive many of the most successful entrepreneurs in technology today. I’ve personally implemented these frameworks, inventing software products at Delphix and Avamar that have driven more than $4 billion in sales. Disrupt or Die (available on Amazon) is my first book.
