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Apple Gets the Importance of Packaging; Why Doesn't Google?
Hugh Pickens writes "Rebecca Greenfield writes that Google's Nexus tablet with its taped sides and fussy plastic takes effort to open, eliciting what some would call 'wrap rage,' the linguist-approved word for the anger associated with opening a factory sealed product, and as a montage of frustrated Google Nexus 7 owners struggling to open their new tablets' packaging proves there is at least one thing Apple gets that Google does not: boxes. In comparison to the minutes-long process that it takes to get to Google's well-reviewed tablet, opening an iPad takes a simple slide of a cover — a lid that 'comes off easily, but not too easily,' as Random Tech's Anthony Kay puts it. Apple boxes aren't beloved by accident. The company thinks about the way a box informs a product and takes boxing seriously for a reason. 'Not only does the box give people warm and fuzzy associations with the product from the get-go, but also, people form emotional attachments to the actual pieces of cardboard. Instead of tossing them like the trash that they are, people have been known to keep their iBoxes,' writes Greenfield. 'Instead of forgotten in a dump or recycling facility, the boxes sit on shelves serving as a constant reminder of the beauty within.'"
I think I'm gonna be sick.
I mean I know people worship Apple and all. But...come on guys.
yes, because my iCrap is going to be worth something in a few years and selling my used iCrap with the original box in good condition will increase its value
Seriously? There was nothing more important or interesting going on than some nebbish mumbling about the importance of packaging? Even for Apple fanboyism, this reaches new depths. "The boxes sit on shelves serving as a constant reminder of the beauty within." I wish there was a more appropriate and genteel response to that than, "Get a life!", but there you are.
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People keep the packaging for returns and because selling your mint condition iDevice with mint condition packaging means you get higher resell value on eBay.
Well, of all the things that qualify as first world problems...
And really? People keep i* packaging? That's kinda weird and squirrelly.
Exactly... The story about "packaging fetishists" is just as much about doing something wrong as it is about doing it right. Why not just make packaging that is easy to open and recycle, and let the consumer enjoy just the product instead of worrying about the box? Or, at least, make the box in a form factor that is easy to actually reuse instead of inspiring Apple fans to collect shelves and shelves of meaningless cardboard. I mean, at least pewter figurines or tea sets or pictures of old people has some prolonged sentimental value. With an iPad, are you really going to give two shits about it after you get the next generation version?
Thanks, Apple, for putting time into thinking about how to get me to hang on to MORE shit I don't need.
Yeah this story confuses me.
Step 1: Push box out of sleeve
Step 2: Cut two pieces of tape
Step 3: Open box
Step 4: Profit
There's not even a ??? step. Is cutting tape really that difficult?
The story about "packaging fetishists" is just as much about doing something wrong as it is about doing it right. Why not just make packaging that is easy to open and recycle, and let the consumer enjoy just the product instead of worrying about the box? Or, at least, make the box in a form factor that is easy to actually reuse instead of inspiring Apple fans to collect shelves and shelves of meaningless cardboard.
Many people don't understand packaging is very important and your post, unfortunately, is no exception.
In the case of tablets and phones, packaging is the first personal encounter with what is intended to be a personal device. Getting this step right is crucial to shaping how a consumer perceives the product and too many companies neglect this simple but ineluctable point.
It's not fetishism to want a consumer's experience of "getting at the device" to be quick, obvious, and easy. Furthermore, packaging that is easily opened and which is not damaged upon opening makes that packaging reusable.
Apple's packaging of phones and tables is exemplary in this regard. The only thing that must be permanently damaged in the unboxing process is the shrink wrap, and even that can be preserved so that it can be reused. This means that when I upgrade my tablet I can sell the old device on eBay in its original packaging and allow my buyers to have a very-close-to-new out-of-box experience. I've sold quite a few phones, tablets, and laptops on eBay and people really appreciate the out-of-box experience, so much so that I mention that the item has all the original packaging intact.
Style, simplicity, and reusability are not shallow but deep. It's the failure to appreciate the work that goes into making something simple that is shallow.
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Did Slashdot get invaded by Engadget? Are we already living in the era of idiocracy?
I find it hard to understand how a difficult to open packaging could lead to comparisons between two major technology companies. Oh, by the way, Motorola sold their phones in smoothly sliding boxes way before the iPhone was launched, so it is not like it is yet another of Apple's 'innovations'.
To tell you the truth, I find these huge number of insipid 'unboxing videos' and 'reviews' to be an insult to the intelligence of discerning viewers and readers who might be actually looking for useful information about a product.
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without requiring the customer to locate sharp objects.
I have never met tape that requires anything sharper than a housekey to remove. If you can't locate your keys, you've got bigger issues than failure to open a toy.
John Siracusa wrote a full page on the literal "out of box" experience with the G4 Cube, it seems it's still relevant today:
Love or hate Apple, but they think everything through.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. - Aldous Huxley
And why in the world would you think that Apple's packaging is not recyclable?
You should be applauding Apple's approach because you and MisterSquid get what they want out of it.
Google and others think the user experience of a product is confined only to the actual use of it. But that's only one part pf a user experience, and forgets walking into the store (or using the online store), buying, unboxing, first start and setup, support, and eventual recycling.
Apple does everything in its power to make all aspects of the user experience perfect. Apple does unboxing tests for products, even did store mock-ups instead of just slapping up the usual crowded aisles. That's their brand strategy, and it's popular with consumers and profitable.
The referb Kindle I got from Amazon came in a package like this. A zip open cardboard box with a plastic insert to hold the Kindle, all of which was recyclable.
"Ah, the joys of owning an iDevice. You have to constantly plan ahead financially for when the next version comes out."
So in all of technology, only Apple users ever upgrade?
Moving once every 3 years is not normal, and nothing you do to facilitate that will be considered normal.
Never heard of the Armed Forces, have you?
https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
Mostly agree, but I wouldn't have thought "nonchalently" was the best adverb. "Narcissistically" seems to be closer.
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