Apple has become an ever-looming giant in the tech industry and is synonymous with clean, minimalist designs. The new MacBook Pro 16-inch (2023) is the brand’s latest triumph in consumer computing, showcasing the new M2 chips that offer incredible processing power. The tech giant has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to aesthetics, and its products set standards and trends for other companies to follow, even as they pull off controversial stunts like removing the headphone jack on the iPhone.
The core design philosophy we see in every Apple product today is “minimalism.” The company adheres so strictly to this philosophy that they have removed essential elements from products for the sake of aesthetics or thinness (again, the lost but never forgotten headphone jack comes to mind). If a company other than Apple had taken this incredibly bold move, it probably wouldn’t have gone as well as it did. I’m not saying there weren’t objections at the time, but we all forgave and forgot pretty quickly.
That said, I’m bored. Yes, the hardware itself is great, and yes, they are super powerful (not to mention expensive), but MacBooks all look the same! It seems to me that the company has taken its philosophy way too seriously and has become rather boring. The technology itself is absolutely amazing, but completely devoid of personality – which is such a shame, because with the right pops of color, MacBooks could completely change the game.
Better in color
Throwback to January 1999, when Steve Jobs announced five colorful iMacs and completely changed the computing world. Computers no longer had to be square and ugly and beige! The era of beautifully colored iMacs emerged and changed the way people thought about computers.
The funky colors and all-in-one design meant you could have something fun in your living room; it could match your decor or your personality, and they all had super fun names like Bondi Beach or fruity names like Strawberry or Grape. We don’t have those anymore; rather we have very exciting names like MacBook, MacBook Air and… MacBook Pro. The slogans they used were clever and memorable, such as “iThink, so iMac”. Who wouldn’t want a Mac with a slogan like that?!
Even the ads for these funky little slot machines were so much better. Slogans like “No Artificial Colors” or “iCandy” are so memorable. The translucent case allows you to see all the useful components inside your computer and I imagine it felt pretty futuristic at the time (I can’t personally comment on this as I wasn’t even born yet). The creativity and ingenuity of the 1999 iMac pushed Apple forward as a serious commercial competitor and laid the foundation for the success of the iPod, which came in a similar color scheme.
Of course, I’m not saying that Apple is devoid of all joy and is launching purely monochrome products these days; iPhones, iPads, and even the new HomePods have different color schemes, even though the colors are according to Apple’s terms.
I can only speak for my own generation here, but the pink iPhone is a bone of contention for many, as we’d been begging for a true pink iPhone and the pale, barely there metallic pink finish Apple released wasn’t all that satisfying. The diversity of colors with the iPhone 11 is the whole reason I bought a yellow iPhone! I refused to buy an iPhone 12 or 13 because they simply didn’t have the color yellow. Many of my friends opted for the lilac iPhone instead.
Apple used to be the ‘fun’ technology brand – what happened?
The current generation of MacBooks all come in the same four colors: gray, darker gray, ‘starlight’ (which is an admittedly attractive shade of gold), and blue-black. The pastel versions of the modern all-in-one 24-inch iMacs are very popular. So many people love it, and hopefully Apple will take that as reassurance that people love colorful computers and that it should incorporate color into more of its hardware.
I recognize that the aesthetics of MacBooks are carefully crafted. There’s always that implication that if you use a MacBook, you’re an artsy creative, pretentious college student, or a free-spirited professional who works in a “nice office.” They strike the perfect balance between status and social symbols – and the overall cost of the MacBooks helps with that.
But Apple will be dealing with a nostalgic, expressive and creative younger generation that wants to get more out of their technology. If zoomers and millennials grew up with technology as second nature, an extension of their formative years, why not give them something that expresses their personality?
Hopefully, with the new Apple silicon, we’ll see updates to the 24-inch iMacs soon – and that could bring more vibrant hues. If not, we may have to wait another 22 years for the sad grays to get old and color to return in a big way. I somewhat doubt that will be the case, but I’m still hopeful that Apple will start thinking in color again.
