About three harsh punishments for iPhone fans. Why Apple fans love queues so much

Are you about to purchase another Apple gadget for Christmas? And do you really like him? Then, from now on, you can officially consider yourself one of those loyal fans of the Cupertino company, idolizing Steve Jobs, whom you have previously treated with contempt.

Ten years ago there were two types of people: PC users (aka " ordinary people") And Apple fans. At least that was the case on the part of PC owners.

Macs were beautiful, but were not considered by us PC users because they were overpriced, did not support enough software and hardware, were too complex to configure, optimize or repair, and were almost completely incapable of being used as gaming devices.

The world was black and white. You could only be on the Mac or PC side. Now everything is much more complicated.

In 2001, Apple launched the iPod. After some resistance at the beginning, many PC users purchased this player for themselves. For example, I bought myself one of the first devices. Then again and again. They made great gifts for my family members. And it didn't take long for a few iPods to show up in our house.

But owning an Apple player did not make me a fan of the Apple company. I and everyone in my family remained full-time PC users for the better part of a decade.

When the iPhone became a hit, I was fascinated by it user interface, but wasn't thrilled with AT&T, call quality, or overall performance. Next phone, which I got after the iPhone, became the BlackBerry Pearl. I loved this phone because the call quality was excellent and the size of the device was surprisingly small. The Pearl trackball was the biggest innovation in hardware. mobile phones. And I found it very convenient to use the SureType system, which allowed me to place two characters on a key, despite the miniature size of the phone.

I was happy. But on July 10, 2008, Apple did a really insidious thing - it launched an application store for the iPhone.

With this one powerful step, Apple turned the iPhone from a gadget used by a few into a truly mass-produced device. Friends, colleagues, popular bloggers discussed one application after another, most of them free.

Like millions of other PC users, I got my iPhone and love it. I'm interested in several other platforms, firstly Android queue, on which applications are in abundance and quantity various devices on its basis is constantly growing. But it's hard to give up the iPhone, partly because it's so easy to find and download new apps.

And of course, when the iPad became a hit this year, I bought one for myself. As a regular iPhone user, I was very familiar with iPad interface. And I was not disappointed.

Like many PC users, I was completely blown away by the 13-inch MacBook Air, which came out in October. I would have bought it if I hadn't bought an iPad by now. I just couldn't figure out how to justify a new purchase.

Meanwhile, without my knowledge or permission, Apple was training me. For example, iPad keyboard taught me to use the “Command” key instead of the “Ctrl” key for copying and pasting.

When I bought an Apple TV for Christmas, it dawned on me: what have I become? Of course I still use a powerful 18" laptop Sony VAIO as the main system. I'm still a PC devotee, but surrounded Apple devices: iPod, iPhone, iPad, and now Apple TV.

Changes happened to my family too. My wife now works at an Apple store. She has her own MacBook Pro, and she uses a 27-inch iMac at work. My eldest son, once an enthusiastic PC user, now has an iPhone and iPad, Apple TV and iMac.

My Sony VAIO still works great and I have no problems with it. But if it were to die today, I'm sure I would purchase a replacement from the Apple store.

This is how it happens. You don't become an Apple fan by having some kind of "religious" epiphany. Angels didn't sing, light didn't come down from the clouds, and even you didn't make a conscious decision to use Apple products all the time. You just woke up one day and realized that the name of almost every favorite gadget you own begins with a lowercase “i”.

The main smartphone of the year went on sale just a few days ago, and the first owners of the gadget are already returning it to stores. What are the reasons for the failure?

On November 3, the flagship iPhone X finally fell into the hands of its first owners and, judging by numerous reviews on social networks and forums, most fans were disappointed with the smartphone. Some of the buyers went to return the gadget back to the store and found a whole line there to process the return.

It seems that Apple was in such a hurry to introduce a new product to the market that it did not have time to eliminate many of the shortcomings. For those who still doubt whether to buy the Yabloko flagship, here are the five main reasons not to do so, at least this year.

Defective display

For a long time Apple products was considered the standard of quality. Exactly to the high iPhone quality X “Yabloko” put pressure, justifying its inflated price in comparison with analogues. However, in reality, many buyers received a smartphone with an outright defect. Users of the popular American forum Reddit post photos showing that the matrix of an expensive OLED display has obvious highlights.

To independently determine the defect, just turn off the light and open a black picture on your smartphone in complete darkness. If there is a defect in some parts of the screen, the picture will not be dark, but light. Users assume that the problem occurs on all smartphones, but it manifests itself in some to a greater extent and in others to a lesser extent.

In addition, Apple itself has admitted that OLED displays are susceptible to burn-in. At the presentation it was announced that the possibility of this unpleasant effect was minimized, but in reality many users complain that if a bright, contrasting image is displayed on the screen for a long time, then even after closing the application its traces remain on the screen for quite a long time.

Disadvantages of Face ID

New smartphone unlocking technology is perhaps the main one iPhone feature X. However, everything is not so simple with her either. At the presentation in September Apple announced that the Face ID sensor is so smart that it will recognize the owner even in a hat, even with a false mustache, even under the scorching sun, even in complete darkness. In fact, customers complain that the smartphone cannot recognize them even just in dim lighting.

But if these shortcomings Apple yet can eliminate, then users can only put up with some of the inconveniences of Face ID. For example, the iPhone X cannot be unlocked when it is lying on a table - you will have to either reach for it with your head, or lift it off the table and point it at your face.

Pointless Animoji

At the presentation, Apple spent a lot of time on such a feature as animated emoji. Various emojis and stickers are really experiencing a boom now, but the problem is that only two can exchange “Animoji” with each other iPhone user X and only when iMessage help. But who uses iMessage these days? Everyone has been using instant messengers for a long time, but “Animoji” cannot be used there and such an opportunity will not appear in the near future. So, most likely, no one will simply use the function so promoted by Yabloko.

Minimal changes

OLED display with virtually no frames, Face ID and Animoji - that's basically it iPhone innovations X. They touched only on the outside of the smartphone, but otherwise the flagship is practically no different from its counterparts - the same performance, the same battery life, the same cameras. Users expected a revolutionary product from Apple in all respects, but what they received was an outwardly improved G8 with a couple of funny features.

Maximum boost

Perhaps the most dissatisfying factor among buyers was the exorbitant price of the gadget. In the USA the most affordable iPhone X costs $999, but in Russia the minimum cost is much higher - from 79,990 rubles. At the same time, Reuters experts calculated that the cost of the flagship is only about 357.5, so the markup per gadget in the US is 64%. This is much higher than everyone else previous models iPhone.

In Russia, the markup is another 10% higher - iPhone X is sold here at four times its cost. Judging by the queues in electronics stores, buyers are not at all opposed to paying that kind of money for a flagship, but the higher the cost, the higher the responsibility. So far, the iPhone X does not justify this responsibility.

How normal people become Apple fans and how to continue to live a healthy, full life - in Life's material.

Negation

Apple technology doesn't interest me. Because she's miserable. It's not functional. It costs too much. Am I stupid to buy accessories ten times their cost?

No, I really need widgets, I use them all.

No, it’s really extremely important for me to know at any moment what the weather is like right now, down to the degree.

No, life without file transfer via Bluetooth is unthinkable, and microSD cards still rule.

No, you can buy an analogue Macbook much cheaper.

No, it’s better not to update me at all than to send me firmware, after which the phone will work like a neurasthenic.

No, it's really important for me to change desktops and root my phone.

NO, I CAN'T USE A SMARTPHONE WITH A CAMERA STICKING OUT.

Anger

APPLE FANATICS ARE POSITIVELY CULTISTS! IF SOMETHING IS NOT IN THEIR IPHONE, THEY IMMEDIATELY GIVE UP THAT THEY DON'T NEED IT! ONLY BLONDES WITH WEAK MINDS USE THESE iPhones AND MacBooks! OR HIPSTERS, YOU KNOW WHICH IS WORSE!

POINT, BUT FOR A LOT OF MONEY! EVERY YEAR NEW STANDARDS AND CONNECTORS, AND THE HERD RUNS FOR NEW LACES - CHARGE YOUR PHONE! AT THE same time, THEY ALSO SCREW UP IN A MONTH! What about ITUNES? HAVE YOU EVEN SEEN THIS BASTARDIAN ITUNES?! ONLY FANATICS WITH CURTAINS OVER THEIR EYES IGNORE HOW CROSS THIS PROGRAM IS!

EVERY YEAR THEY DEMONSTRATE SOLUTIONS THAT THEIR COMPETITORS HAD A FEW YEARS AGO AND PASS THEM AS INNOVATIONS! I POKED IT IN A RESTAURANT - ALL IN ONE PLACE! THIS JUNK WITH A GLOWING APPLE IS NEITHER TO PUSH IN "DOTA" OR RUN "ARKGIS"! YES, I NEED ARKGIS, ALTHOUGH I AM A CONSULTANT AT ELDORADO!

Trade

Listen, okay new macbook seems good. Retina seems okay.

If I were into photography, I would probably get one for myself. But I'm not a photographer. And not a designer. Although sometimes a security guard wants beauty.

The new makos seems to be okay too. There you can now send text messages directly from your computer, that’s cool. And Siri searches for your last year’s photos from Gelendzhik independently and on demand. It's comfortable.

If I had an iPhone, I would definitely choose a MacBook, but I just don’t need it.

No, of course, I won’t buy this equipment for myself. I have specific needs, I need to steal software and music... Surely this is made more difficult. And I don’t want to be among these. Fanatics. They are really beaten off. They buy everything.

If only you could download programs from torrents... What? Is it possible there too?

If they made this 3D Touch normal and functional, I might be interested. I read that no one uses it.

Or they would have installed a normal battery... Or they would have started optimizing the software for Russian users, for them we are a third world country.

Maybe borrow a 4s from a friend. To be objective. Form an unbiased opinion, so to speak. You probably won't like it. Just for general development.

Depression

How I hate this Windows. Lord, well, as much as possible. How slow she is. Where is the logic anyway? Why are there two control panels, why? How can I remove the dancing woman from the corner of the screen? Why are they pushing all this built-in software? Why do I need this garbage? Why is it so difficult to remove? I can not take it anymore. I hate my laptop, but I won't admit it to anyone. What will mom say?

I hate my smartphone too. I want to tear out the nails of the person who wrote the shell for my Samsung and feed them to him. Even the gallery started lagging after two months. I'm already tired of installing custom settings and reflashing my smartphone. How tired I am. I want to go home. I can not take it anymore.

Adoption

I always liked iPhone design 4s. In my opinion, he is the most beautiful. It was developed under Jobs. Glass. Metal. Heaviness. I didn’t take it because I only had enough money for this model. You could strain yourself, borrow, save up. But this is of no use to me. I'd rather save my money for a MacBook. Now I need a MacBook, you know? There is no point in keeping Windows now. Ecosystem. She works. She is important. She's perfect.

Apple has released embarrassment in Russia. As fans would say Androids, "finally". To be fair, we were embarrassed apple marketers not alone and not across the entire line of expensive products, but only...

…one by one promising new

The start of sales of the new #iPhone XS and XS Max unexpectedly ended up in the news - but not at all in the category that was expected marketing guru from Russian partner Apple Inc. Instead of the “Gadgets” or “Technology” sections, reports suddenly began to appear in the “curiosities” or “jaundice” categories. And as a result, new items Apple received real anti-advertising.

No, at first everything went according to a proven marketing scheme. A traditional atmosphere of fan excitement was formed around the start of sales of new products. In Moscow, a queue began to form at the re:Store on Tverskaya Street even after five days before the start of sales. Despite the sharp cold snap, in the fight against which some buyers set up tents and brought cots and chairs. One might say that nature itself became for them first punishment - who knows how long fans then they will come down with ARVI or cystitis.

At the same time, brisk trade developed passable in some places. The day before, Avito press secretary Alena Burova said that the cost of a place in line for iPhones on their service reached two million rubles

And then Something went wrong.

On the morning of Friday, September 28, when the first devices were supposed to be in the hands of happy buyers, the entire Tverskaya was filled with boys and girls... with homemade posters in their hands: “I’m selling my place in the queue.” Rajahs of this moment they stood for life and death five days contract. Wrapped in blankets, hungry and chilled, an hour before the start of sales they hoped for a miracle.

But it didn't happen. There were no buyers, not only for places, but for the new items themselves they were found with difficulty. First a man standing in line bought himself a brand new gadget 247 -m. He received his ticket without any problems. in a couple of hours before the store opens.

A first four the numbers ended up in the hands of an enterprising Apple fan who was planning to resell the seats to others to the suffering. But it didn’t work out. The guy simply tore up the coupons and, wishing everyone happiness, disappeared in an unknown direction.

And he was lucky! Literally the entire Internet A video of an unlucky buyer went viral... the seats were closer to the entrance.

A certain Valery bought ninth place in line for 50 thousand rubles and, like many, was going to resell it. But I couldn’t. The store employees asked Valery if he had any money left after buying a place in line and wildly celebrating his future luck. The seller had already taken out the box with the gadget, and the man began to look for money. But in the end I was left without iPhone, explaining this by the fact that lost 170 thousand rubles that were in his pocket. That is, too optimistic " iPhone fans“Life itself also punished us with a ruble.

They say that after the official start of sales, part with your hard-won the enterprising poor fellows were literally ready with coupons for food. But no one even took them for a package of Rolton. The collapse of hopes is another real punishment...

So what was it? Got wiser fans, whose solvency was crippled by the jumping dollar-ruble exchange rate, or #Apple completely went too far?

This happens every year: Apple presents new iPhone, and crowds of loyal fans, like salmon to spawn, line up in unimaginable queues outside all brand stores. For example, just recently there was a start iPhone sales 5S and iPhone 5C. This day brought a record number of 9,000,000 sales. But why, oh why exactly do Apple fans love to line up so much? Why can't you wait one or two days? This question was asked by director Casey Neistat, who made a short film on this topic with Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in New York.

The video is posted below, but we warn you that after watching you may be disappointed in humanity. :)

Completely irrational

Let's be honest - there is no reasonable reason to stand in the cold at night waiting for the store to open. Of course, if this is not a queue for sausage in the perestroika USSR or a queue for water in central Africa. These people do not die of hunger or thirst. Although no - they are thirsty. Thirsty new smartphone. But why do they express their desires in such a wild form?

Surely most of them already have an iPhone in their pocket, which is not so different from the new one. In addition, smartphones are not so high in Maslow’s pyramid.

Moreover, anyone can order an Apple product online and it will be delivered right to their doorstep. To my honor, this times Apple did not accept pre-orders for the 5S model. But even if I did, the queues wouldn’t get any shorter.

So why are they there?

Here's the thing: Apple fans love standing in lines. Yes Yes. Understand that everyone is different. Some people love hunting and fishing, others love cruel cartoons filled with “sadism” and dark humor (fans of Happy Tree Friends are an example of this), and others dream of standing in line for a new iPhone.

For example, in New York, some people stood outside the store for 14 days. And it was completely pointless, since neither the media nor the public paid attention to them until the last night. Yes, these people stood outside the store for 13 days just like that, while they were fired from their jobs, and their wives moved in with their mothers in tears.

But here's what you need to understand: this is not about the product. It's about about the brand. The Apple brand is so powerful and compelling that people want to be associated with it at any cost. They want everyone to see them at the most important thing Apple store. They yearn to be identified with Apple and everything that Apple stands for: good taste, sophisticated design and minimalism.

For most marketers, such displays of love evoke two reactions. The first is the desire to make fun of crazy consumers. A completely fair desire, by the way. But as soon as they laugh it off, marketers begin to tear their hair out, asking the heavens how to achieve a similar effect.

Let's face it: on the one hand, Microsoft and Samsung are making fun of Apple with all their might. On the other hand, these brands are ready to do anything to get the same ones.

What's the secret?

And there is no secret. Roughly speaking, most companies are unlikely to repeat this. If only because Apple has been achieving success for 40 years, systematically developing its amazing cult. However, here are some tips that can be useful for any company.

1. Offer a great product

Yes, it was said above that people line up not so much for the product. And so it is. But the product must be first-class, and Apple products almost always boast amazing quality. Apple is so consistent with this that people are convinced that by purchasing new phone, they will not be disappointed.

2. Provide first class service

Have you ever had an Apple product repaired or contacted their support? Their service is amazing. They do everything they should and more, knowing full well that the moment a person comes with a problem is an opportunity to create a deep and lasting connection with them. You come with resentment and dissatisfaction, and leave happy. Oddly enough, but in this way support turns disadvantages into positives.

3. Be helpful

State why your business exists? Who are you useful to? What do you bring to the world? What is your mission? Apple probably understands more deeply than other companies what a mission is, what loyalty to its own traditions means. They have their own point of view and their own view of the world. This gives clients a sense of identification.

4. Don't try to please everyone

Apple openly admits that their products aren't for everyone, and there's no problem with that. Because of this position, customers who are convinced by Apple end up with a strong emotional attachment to the brand. IN Apple blog it's called "Cult of Mac". And they're not kidding: clients truly see themselves as members of a tribe, united by common rituals, beliefs and principles.

Of course, these tips are obvious. AND higher value It’s not they who have it, but Apple’s proprietary magic. To list all the things that led this company to success, you need to write a ten-volume book. But these tips may give you some inspiration and food for thought. You're unlikely to get your customers to line up in kilometer-long queues, but add passion to your relationship... why not? It's not that difficult.

High conversions to you!