APPLE INC.

THE GOOD AND THE BAD



When thinking of well-designed products, I couldn’t help but ignore the ones that I and many other use the most these days. A mobile phone. There are hundreds of options out there, many that people would argue are better than Apples offerings. I think I’d struggle to use a different phone and I suppose that means I think it’s ‘great’ design. Obviously, Apple makes more than just phones, ranging from desktops to audio equipment and I’m almost ashamed to admit I own a fair few of these. This got me thinking about Apples products over the years and what I would consider their great designs. As we see progressively less inspiring products release year after year let’s take a look back at what I think are a couple of the hits of the Steve Jobs and Jony Ive era and compare them to today’s counterparts.

iPhone Launch 2007
"Apple reinvents the phone with iPhone." - 2007 Apple Press Release

The iPhone is obviously Apple’s most successful product and the reason for this blog. It was the first phone to really harness the use of a touch screen. It’s a product that revolutionised and reinvented an industry with everything that followed it trying to copy it. I would say that would play a pretty big part in making something great design.

The last model Steve Jobs worked on was the iPhone 4 and 4s, before his unfortunate passing in 2011. This to me is the pinnacle of smartphone design. I remember receiving a hand me down iPhone 4 some years after it released, and I loved it. I used that thing until it physically didn’t work anymore with broken glass on both sides. There is something so stunning and satisfying about the contrasting stainless-steel band encasing the matching front and black glass panels.


iPhone 4, 2010
These metal accents appear around the entire device encompassing the small camera unit with a small and elegant ring. The iconic Apple logo and iPhone branding also feature this bright and reflective finish to contrast with the dark backdrop. This was also one of the last iPhone cameras that didn’t feature a camera bump, with the camera seamlessly blending into the form of the phone, allowing the phone to sit flush with the table. Another feature I love is the circle buttons with the subtle plus and minus engravings for the volume. It’s the little details like this that I feel were almost refined out of the design as it got simplified over the years.




Unfortunately, this phone was plagued with a bit of controversy with the stainless-steel antenna causing some connectivity problems. Although from a purely aesthetic standpoint, I do not think it doesn’t get much better than this. Maybe it’s just nostalgia talking, but I truly don’t think anything has come close since. I feel like this was one of the earliest products that I probably truly appreciated the design of.


iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, 2023
If you look at their newest flagship offering, the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro Max, you can see that the design is similar, but I would argue that it is not executed nearly as well. After years of curved form factors, they returned to the angular edges, a nod to this previous design. The screen is a massive 6.1” compared to the tiny 3.5” display. The camera is now a huge unit protruding from the rear of the device. When you sit it on a table it rocks from side to side when you tap it. I also feel like it is simply disproportionate to the form factor of the phone, particularly the smaller model. Maybe I am being quite critical, but the design has not been altered to accommodate this size of camera unit. It looks like it’s been taken from a different product and smacked onto the back of this phone, sitting a-symmetric on one side. Obviously, these modern cameras can no longer fit within the thin frame, but surely there must have been a better way of doing this. I feel like this wouldn’t have been the solution they would have come up with under Jobs and Ive. I’ll still buy it year after year though. So will many others and that is likely what’s lead to this sense of complacency with the designs.


Apple Macintosh, 1984
iMac G3, Running Bugdom 
The defining product of Apple’s early years was obviously the Mac. Pre-dating the iPhone by over 20 years. This was one of the first computers to take a user focused design approach, with a clear and easy to use interface. Similar to the iPhone, the Mac created a new product that was easier to use, understand and interact with. This was a sharp contrast to the existing text based computers of the time, opening up personal computing to the masses. 

This evolved into the iMac which has changed drastically over the years. Although, maybe not as much as you would think. The iconic G3 introduced a range of fun playful colours, becoming an instant hit with consumers. I have very fond memories of playing on one of these in my primary school. We never did any work on them, purely spent time playing a game called Bugdom that as far as I’m aware strangely came with the system. This is shown above. A great game and a great computer from what my child brain could comprehend at the time. However, the next generation, the iMac G4, is what I consider the greatest iMac design with every model after this seeming to almost take a step backwards.


iMacG4, 2002 
This was the first Mac to feature the ‘floating display’ that the company seemingly became obsessed with. The idea that the entire computer could be stored in the stand or the display instead of a bulky seperate box. This was done by housing the components in a solid semi-spherical base design that attached to the display via a flexible metal hinge. The reason I feel like this is the best Mac is because of this very hinge. The heavy base allowed the user to effortlessly rotate the computer to any angle left or right or up and down using the two hinges. It can be done with one hand. The simple shapes are still fun and playful like the previous model while being more sleek and professional at the same time. While the screen is small by todays standards, it stands out as it quite literally protrudes towards you. I just think this is just such a unique design. It doesn’t really look like any computers before it and it doesn’t really look like any computers after it.

Surprisingly the following generations removed this functionality as they strived for the unibody design. Not a single Mac produced since this model is able to rotate left and right. Not only this, but none of them also feature the same flexibility up and down. I feel like this is a case of form over function, removing a great design feature in pursuit of a more streamlined design. Although this is probably a controversial opinion as this product was not a great commercial success, so what do I know. Simply looking at the iMac over the years does make you think what happened to this once innovative company.


2021 iMac
The newest model is a nice-looking computer. Again, it lacks this functionality of the iMacs from years gone by. As a consumer I just don’t really understand this choice. Some may argue it looks a bit nicer, but why remove these useful features. That is in essence what I have a problem with. This desire to innovate year on year when you’re not actually innovating, you’re moving backwards. I like a lot of what Apple does but some of it just seems lazy. How difficult would it be to design a more adaptable hinge for example? I think they got too focused on the sleek minimilist polished style that they are so well known for. Why can’t we have something with a wacky unconventional shape or truly bright colours. It’s not a bad thing for a consumer electronic product to look fun.

The one thing that Apple does fantastically well these days is software, and I suppose that’s why I’m essentially now stuck with them. Designing all of their products, chips and software in house creates a fluent polished experience where everything works well together. It’s simple and effective. My phone works with my laptop and my laptop works with my tablet. Seamlessly synced together. While hardware innovation has perhaps slowed down, software innovation certainly hasn’t. Many people criticise the simplicity of the software and how it limits what you can do. My thinking is why would you need these devices to be overly complicated? There’s a reason so many people use them. Simplicity and ease of use is literally the entire reason Apple has become as popular as they are. The products do everything you want them to do, without it being too difficult. People just want something that lets them do whatever mundane task in the least annoying way possible. Apple offers them that in a nice, sleek and pretty package. What’s not to love?

Plenty of people love them and plenty of people hate them. I’m sort of ashamed to admit I’m a big fan of Apple, but I can clearly see the company is not perfect. Gone are the days of radical and bold designs that stood out against everything else. I suppose that’s what happens when technology and the competition catches up with you.