Xistencial crisis
Why the iPhone X came to be
2017 has been an amazing year for Smartphones.
Samsung released a duo of acclaimed devices with the S8 and Note8 (while also reclaiming customer respect after the Note7 fiasco).
LG got it’s footing firmly in how Smartphones should be designed with the equally amazing G6 and the V30.
Andy Rubin; the father of Android released his own device made by his own company with the Essential PH-1.
And the sequel to what is widely claimed to be the kick-starter of the ‘bezel-less’ movement; the Mi Mix 2 was also released but to less fanfare than the original and the other devices mentioned.
In short, 2017 has been the year of reinventions.
Reinventing Smartphones aren’t that easy…
After all, there are only so many different ways that you can design a colored rectangle with a screen on one side and the camera on the other. But as manufacturers have shown, there isn’t a limit to novelty and ‘innovation’ as long as there’s someone willing to pay you for it.
Then in September, after months of rumors, speculation and an unhealthy dose of leaks, Apple finally released not one, but two smartphones; the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X. The iPhone 8 being a conformist’s dream device while the iPhone X being a controversy and a break from the norm in itself.
But this is Apple we’re talking about, almost everyone has something to say about it and the devices it makes.
If it was any other manufacturer everyone would claim they were late to the ‘bezel-less’ party and that the iPhone X was bound to fail. Even more so with the iPhone 8 as they recycled the same design for a fourth generation of device.
But this is Apple we’re talking about, almost everyone has something to say about it and the devices it makes. The iPhone 8 and X are no exception.
The controversy of the two new iPhones lie in what they mean for the Smartphone industry’s future in the long term. Now of course to see how that might work out, we need to look back at how it has happened before in years past.
When talking about reinvention especially in the Smartphone arena it has become a cliche to bring up the original iPhone launch that happened way back in 2007. That event and the iPhone that was released, along with it’s contributions to the world have become the stuff of legend. Most of these stories and claims have being dissected and examined time and time again. It has come to a point where mentioning the original iPhone launch has become nauseating, which is why I’m not going to talk about it.
But one doesn’t need to travel that far to see how reinventions usually pan out. After all, the world and the Smartphone arena nowadays is tremendously different from that of 10 years ago. Instead let’s focus our attention on 2013, when Apple did something eerily similar to what they did this year.
Welcome to the future!
Apple accompanied the iPhone 5s launch with its usual set of marketing jargon and touted it “the future of the smartphone” (ring any bells?).
While having the exact same body as the iPhone 5 the year prior, the iPhone 5s was an incremental ‘s’ update to the lineup. But what it lacked in design, it gave in spades as features, so much so that much of what it introduced back then has become the norm today.
At launch the iPhone 5s was the first to have;
- A user friendly fingerprint scanner
- Integrated Motion sensing (fitness) capabilities
- A 64 bit processor that could run 64 bit apps and OS
- A Gold color
At the same launch Apple pulled the curtain on another device.
‘C’ for cheap
It goes without saying that the iPhone 5c was at the receiving end of many jokes back then (and even so today). “The unapologetically plastic” 5c had a poly-carbonate body and the exact same specs as the previous gen iPhone 5. On the bright side it retailed at a cheaper price. But still, people reviled it, the media hated it and the reviewers pissed on it so hard that it was discontinued almost a year later.
But the iPhone 5s continues to receive updates and support to this day, almost 4 years later. While officially it has been discontinued, the 5s has become a sought after future proof device that was way ahead of it’s time back when it launched. Looking around at other devices in 2017 and we can see how 64 bit processors and fingerprint scanners have invaded the mid range and lower end smartphone markets. Saying that this growth was jump started by the iPhone 5s would be an understatement.
That’s not to say the iPhone 5s didn’t have its own share of controversy. When people saw the features on the 5s, almost everyone (including myself) went ‘why?..’
Why do we need 64 bit processors? Why do we need a fingerprint scanner? I mean passwords and PINs work just fine! And why the flying f**k do we need an obnoxious Gold color? Neither I nor many others understood the real purpose for any of this, but as you might understand at the end of this article, there is a valid yet equally controversial reason.
While one device was an expensive peak into the future, the other was a cheap cash grab from the past. The iPhone 8 and X seem no different. But is there really more to it than that?
Selling a brand and selling a future
Since the beginning, iPhones had an appeal that didn’t exist for other devices. This appeal can be alluded to one major reason; Exclusivity.
Sure, back in the early and late 2000’s Blackberry and Nokia also had expensive models aiming specific target markets, but even so, there were cheap Nokia and Blackberries that were common place. Everyone had a Nokia or a Blackberry and while Blackberry was synonymous with business, that mindset was quickly becoming old while Nokia didn’t have any focused mindset to begin with at all. This ultimately lead both of them to doom.
The iPhone on the other hand was expensive and rare. Owning one and flaunting it in public was a display of your social status and income. By selling a single product Apple sold an entire lifestyle, and that was what people were clamoring to buy.
So where does the iPhone X come into the picture?
After 2007 a lot changed. Not only did competitors attack Apple left, right and center but Apple also had to adapt and change to stay relevant. When the phablet craze was on the rise Apple quickly came up with the ‘Plus’ variant of iPhones. When dual cameras were up and coming the iPhone 7 Plus got that feature.
Apple’s tactics worked. Year by year there was constant growth in the company so much so that Apple is currently claimed to be the most valuable company on the planet with most of that coming from iPhone sales.
But it lost something important in the process.
Apple lost the iPhone’s exclusivity.
Not only did consumers start using and buying second hand iPhones which were way cheaper but they also looked exactly the same as newer ones. What’s more the newer devices didn’t have much “innovation” to keep users hooked onto them and buying them. Newer devices weren't Exclusive enough for consumers.
I myself live in a 3rd world country and even I notice more and more people in both my friend circles and outside using iPhones. Though it should be noted that the number of users aren’t as large as that of Android given that there are multiple better offerings from different competitors, it goes without saying that the loss of exclusivity is apparent.
So that’s exactly what they did or at least tried to do on the 10th Anniversary of this iconic device. They put the ‘exclusive’ back in iPhone.
What the X stands for…
Since it’s the 10th Anniversary, the common understanding is that the ‘X’ stands for 10. Plus ‘X’ sounds way cooler than a generic ‘10’.
But I believe the real meaning behind the iPhone X is more than merely a number.
Apple is learning from it’s past mistakes.
When broken down it becomes obvious that every single expensive detail of every flagship iPhone to date, from the over-the-top colors to the ‘why is this needed’ hardware and even the extremely restrictive software is in the name of exclusivity. It’s what drives Apple’s appeal and its sales.
The X is obnoxiously expensive, made in limited supply and drifts away drastically from the established iPhone design. All this to create a new mold of exclusivity that only a very limited audience can afford. And remembering what happened with the 5c they’ve taken extra precautions to not penalize those who want to buy the 8. They too get the same internals and performance but at the cost of exclusivity and prestige.
So just like the iPhone 5s introduced 64 bit processors and fingerprint scanners to the mobile world, the iPhone X intends to be harbinger for Augmented Reality, Facial Recognition and bezelless displays (also Animojis, maybe).
But even more than that it intends to bring a much needed dose of uber exclusivity to the iPhone lineup. And ultimately that’s what the $1000 ‘X’ in the iPhone X stands for; eXclusive. And how that exclusivity will transpire in the years to come we’ll just have to wait and see… ;)
