Is Apple boring - or just awesome?

On the one hand, Apple has been praised and celebrated for its own product design for years, on the other hand, a certain lack of ideas is often criticized. So is Apple boring or, in the end, maybe just awesome? My opinion is now in the current edition of the weekend column.

Apple's conservative product design under fire

Word should have got around by now. When it comes to updating its own product design, Apple takes a more conservative approach and avoids short-lived experiments. We find examples of this in abundance.

Despite the larger displays, the Apple Watch 7 ultimately still looks exactly like the original, which Apple presented to us for the first time in autumn 2014. The iPhone SE is basically a recycled iPhone 8, the original design of which goes back to the iPhone 6, just like the Apple Watch from 2014. The recently introduced 9th generation iPad clearly has all the basic elements (edges, home button) of an original Apple tablet, a design that has remained unchanged for a decade. And the iPhone 13? Outwardly hardly distinguishable from the iPhone 12. In addition, the basic design genes still go back to the iPhone X. The appearance of a MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro has not fundamentally changed for many years.

In short: Quite a few contemporaries have the unmistakable feeling that Apple only ever presents the same devices. Stop with the latest technology, but in long-known forms - new wine in old bottles. Especially after a keynote at an Apple event, some people get frustrated. People like to complain loudly about Apple's boredom.

The iPhone SE is a very good example of Apple's conservative approach - seen here in the video :

With the competition, especially in the cell phone segment, the wheel of innovation seems to be turning at the speed of light. New shapes are thrown among the people several times a year and new design approaches are experimented with.

Design vs. fashion

So is Apple doing something wrong and just resting on its own laurels? The suspicion is obvious, but in my opinion it is unfounded. It is based on a false assumption. A new design is not innovative per se. This only applies if there is a good reason for the change in shape. That should always be in the function. Everything else is just a fad.

My thoughts on the weekend: The column would like to provide food for thought and reflect the "flood of news" of the week towards the end. A small selection of the previous articles in the column:

iPhone 14: That's why Apple's striving for perfection is now a problem More like Samsung, please: The country needs nicer TVs Amazon founder vs. Tesla boss: And it depends on the size!

If you emulate this as a manufacturer, you devalue your own product portfolio by deliberately making older devices look old due to a misunderstood compulsion. Fortunately, Apple thinks differently about it and customers are happy about it.

Steve Jobs knew the essence of good design, Apple is still emulating the company founder today - a review in the video :

The critics, on the other hand, often move in their own bubble. Follow the innovations of the tech world every day and greed for innovations - regardless of whether it makes sense or not. But outside of this sphere there are actually still people who are not interested in the iPhone, iPad and Co. as such , but in their basic function . They pursue a purpose, the devices are the necessary tool for this.

If a new acquisition is pending, one is happy to find something familiar. You don't have to learn everything from scratch and you feel at home. Apple's conservative design approach accommodates this. An anchor of aesthetics in an otherwise constantly changing world . Some might call this boring, but to me Apple is just awesome and understood the very essence of product design.