Really enjoyed this article, and I too, have my small collection of Apple boxes that I still haven’t thrown away.
A small anecdote from my 30+ years in IT (and it touches one something Satya asks down below in the comments)
A bunch of years ago, I was doing some IT work for a large audio company (Starts with a “B”, rhymes with “hose” :)) and we had 20-30 machines delivered from Apple for us to roll out. If I recall correctly it was around the time of the first Intel Mac Pros.
A group of employees approached us and asked if they could unbox a few of the machines.
Well, we thought this was a little odd, but we figured no harm, as long as they kept the machines in the area that we were unboxing them in.
So, a little while later we wandered over to where they were opening the boxes… And taking notes…
So of course we asked them what they were doing.
They replied that they worked in the group of the corporation that designed packaging for their products. Obviously, they were taking notes on how Apple did things.
I suspect any major company does this. Apple is definitely phenomenally good at it.
Hey Trung, realized that you moved your newsletter to https://trungtphan.com. Might be a good idea to put up a PSA post of some kind so that new subscribers head there directly. Loved your post on how Marvel lost Spiderman!
Solid post Trung! I definitely agree that the product is much more than the "product". it encompasses the entire user and customer experience - the emotion, the mindset, the dopamine rush the user gets from the moment they get their hands on the product to the daily sprinkles of joy that happen. (Even though I'm a Pixel user, I must say that Apple has definitely nailed everything right about the entire iPhone product).
This was a great article. I was relating to so much of the experiences you shared opening the box , the drag and the satisfying sound of peeling the plastic off. Thanks for writing this.
Great article, thank you. One other aspect of this story that brings home Apple's brilliance with packaging is remembering the era they were in when they made these decisions. Most tech products came in boxes with tons of text on them, including legal small print. It was like they were trying to communicate "complexity".
Aren't other companies doing similar level of packaging?? I am curious to know if the there is a significant difference between Apple's packaging and its competitors or is it more of a feel due to the brand associated with Apple.
Really enjoyed this article, and I too, have my small collection of Apple boxes that I still haven’t thrown away.
A small anecdote from my 30+ years in IT (and it touches one something Satya asks down below in the comments)
A bunch of years ago, I was doing some IT work for a large audio company (Starts with a “B”, rhymes with “hose” :)) and we had 20-30 machines delivered from Apple for us to roll out. If I recall correctly it was around the time of the first Intel Mac Pros.
A group of employees approached us and asked if they could unbox a few of the machines.
Well, we thought this was a little odd, but we figured no harm, as long as they kept the machines in the area that we were unboxing them in.
So, a little while later we wandered over to where they were opening the boxes… And taking notes…
So of course we asked them what they were doing.
They replied that they worked in the group of the corporation that designed packaging for their products. Obviously, they were taking notes on how Apple did things.
I suspect any major company does this. Apple is definitely phenomenally good at it.
Hey Trung, realized that you moved your newsletter to https://trungtphan.com. Might be a good idea to put up a PSA post of some kind so that new subscribers head there directly. Loved your post on how Marvel lost Spiderman!
Funny I do the same thing, saved all my Apple boxes, never thought why What throwing them in the recycling didn’t feel right
Solid post Trung! I definitely agree that the product is much more than the "product". it encompasses the entire user and customer experience - the emotion, the mindset, the dopamine rush the user gets from the moment they get their hands on the product to the daily sprinkles of joy that happen. (Even though I'm a Pixel user, I must say that Apple has definitely nailed everything right about the entire iPhone product).
This was a great article. I was relating to so much of the experiences you shared opening the box , the drag and the satisfying sound of peeling the plastic off. Thanks for writing this.
Great article, thank you. One other aspect of this story that brings home Apple's brilliance with packaging is remembering the era they were in when they made these decisions. Most tech products came in boxes with tons of text on them, including legal small print. It was like they were trying to communicate "complexity".
Ok, iPhone boxes make the best drawer organizers ever.
Aren't other companies doing similar level of packaging?? I am curious to know if the there is a significant difference between Apple's packaging and its competitors or is it more of a feel due to the brand associated with Apple.