Leaving Apple

Timothy P. Brown

Apple introduced me to my first computer. I started out with a blue bondi iMac and from the moment I started using it, I felt liberated. Since that moment, I loved computers, not because I wanted to be a coder, but because I found computers to be fun and provided me with an endless thirst for learning and knowledge. It gave me an opportunity reinvent myself, going from someone who was immersed in the analog universe, to someone full immersed in the digital world.

Several things began to happen that signaled the slow deterioration of this love and fascination with Apple: The death of Steve Jobs, Apple's assault on skeuomorphism, and the most recent implementation of the subscription model. Combined, those three things are what led to the end of my love affair with Apple. 

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs was a great and complicated figure, primarily known for his relentless and aggressive management style that refused to settle for second best. Former employers recount harsh words and decisions that would make your hair curl, yet everyone still seems to herald him as one of the greatest leaders in the tech world. For my purposes, it' s best to quote Steve Jobs in his own words:

"The thing I would say is, when you grow up you tend to get told that world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world, try not to bash into the walls too much... try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money. But that is a very limited life. Life can be much broader when you discover one simple fact. That is, everything around you that you call life, was made up by people who are no smarter than you. And you can change it. You can influence it. You can build your own things that other people can use."

Most people associate this quote with developers or aspiring developers. In other words, "you can code, too." I never interpreted the saying that way. For me, the quote was far more existential. With my Apple computer at my finger tips, I found a way to move beyond the walls that Jobs spoke of, and create new worlds, both real and imaginary. Apple in the time of Jobs harnessed my subjectivity in ways that allowed me to envision the possible and the impossible. The relationship with Apple was personal. You can even say there was an emotional bond or connection that was made. When you view the content on this website or check out my output on my YouTube channel, my passion for Apple is palpable. You may say I was one of those nerdy Apple Fanboys. I never once viewed my relationship with Apple as a business/client relationship. It was always personal to me.

Welcome to the World of Flat

When Apple introduced iOS 7, they introduced a radically new design. The new design was essentially an assault on skeuomorphism. Simply put, skeuomorphism represented aspects of Apple's software design that featured simulations of real world items (e.g. the visual presence of notebook paper in the Notes app, a bookshelf in iBooks, or app icons rendered in three-dimensions with shadows). All that ended with iO7 and design has been disappearing ever since. The idea beyond this philosophy was to essentially get design out of the way, so that the user could become more fully immersed in the process of using apps, rather than being hindered by visual things that had no functionality.

Ironically, in contrast to Apple's expectations, iO7 did not increase my engagement by getting design out of the way; it alienated me. I found the menus difficult to find or read. It alienated me from the subjective pleasure I enjoyed most about using Apple products: The beautiful visuality of its software and hardware. I did not want to get design out of the way. I wanted more design, more visual creativity to further enthrall my user experience.

I have two fine arts degrees, so my interpretation of these developments has some foundation. Visual design has three basic forms (illustration, graphic design, and industrial design). Illustrators typcally produce work that is highly pictorial in nature (renderings of people in three dimensions, immersive landscapes, representations of objects that are “real,” sometimes called trompe l’oeil). Graphic designers typically focus on two dimensional design. There is prevalence of formal elements (line, shape, color) but a great emphasis is placed on typography and photography. Gradations are employed but not to render three dimensions. Industrial design pertains to three dimensional objects like furniture, commercial products and packages, computers and mobile phones. In many cases, illustration, graphic design and industrial design work interdependently.

With iOS 7, illustration was removed as an integral facet of Apple’s designs. Flatness and minimalism as a framework for designing products and interface design abandoned pictorial representations. Yet, skeoumorphism for me gave Apple a personal touch and communicated with me on a personal level. The visuality of its software was just as important is its functionality. When they abandoned it, they abandoned me. The flat, empty design essentially negated my existence (figuratively speaking). Apple no longer seemed to value me as an individual with personal tastes and preferences, but as a nondescript, indistinct essence, interfacing with another essence. Flat design seemed so generic and impersonal. Pictorial design represented something I could identify with both visually and conceptually.

Apple's introduction of its flat design was hegemonic. They essentially pushed an entire industry to follow its precepts. Gradually, all of my favorite apps began to loose interest for me. Djay, one my all time favorite music creation apps, went from beautiful turntables to digital circuit boards. In most apps, I can barely find the menus in today’s apps, relying on intuition to determine how something should work. Yet, the depersonalization did not end there. Apple introduced the subscription model, which started as a choice but ended as a de facto business model forced on all of us.

The Subscription Model

The subscription model essentially changed the very nature of Apple's relationship with the public. The subscription model went from a personal relationship to a business relationship. Personal choice is no longer having the option to choose between Freemium, Paid, Paymium or Subscription models. Subscriptions are being forced on us the same way we were forced to embrace Apple's flat design. Coincidentally, both developments managed to sabotage my personal relationship with Apple.

The flat design de-personalized my experience and subscriptions made me into an abstraction. In other words, I feel more like an object immersed in a web of objectifications in the form of weekly, monthly and yearly subscription fees. The objectifications are intensified by time, a constraint I never concerned myself with. Like the movie In Time, I’m now plagued with the challenge of how to buy more time. By putting a price on time, Apple destroyed the timelessness of pleasure and the fundamental process of learning.

I once had a personal relationship with Apple, but the death of Steve Jobs, the subsequent assault on skeuomorphism, and the forced payment into subscription models has left me largely detached and uninterested. There is no longer anything distinctive or inviting about Apple and the developers who have followed suit. My relationship is now purely transactional.

​And more and more, I’m thinking of other ways to “spend my time".

Note: I will continue using Apple hardware and software and feature reviews and tutorials. From here on out, I will also feature topics related to the tech world at large.