Has the Apple Brand Jumped the Shark

In November of 2018, I made a $2,499 purchase that would have normally been a relatively routine purchase for myself and my business that in any other year would have been considered wise and drama free. Although this time, even the buying process that month was a harbinger of what was to come. Normally straight forward with few options and clear direction, that year, buying my MacBook Pro required much more consideration as I weighed the pros and cons of various chips compared to processors, compared to memory, compared to, I have since long forgotten. I remember it was an unusually frustrating experience for buying an expensive Apple product.?

Fast forward a mere six months later when, in the midst of taking copious notes during consumer research sessions, I found my keys inexplicably sticking. As I recall, it appeared I was typing while drunk on a sailboat in a storm rather than in the very sturdy, chic, concrete walls of my client’s Industry City co-working space. Fortunately in this case, I had kept my old Macbook Air as a backup. While it was incredibly concerning that my six month old computer’s logic board already had to be replaced along with the keyboard, I had little other recourse than to have it replaced with another faulty keyboard. Not super logical. The threat of my faulty keyboard followed me from gig-to-gig, even making me question the balance of oils in my fingers as the black paint on certain keys quickly denigrated beneath my fingers.

Then two years later, fortunately missing the height of the pandemic, it happened again. In every case, the Genius bar employees were helpful and understanding but I could sense their frustration as they had to deny any larger issues, while the internet was buzzing with rumors around this dreaded keyboard. This time, long since parted ways with my old Macbook Air, I temporarily purchased a new computer at the advice of an Apple employee (a minor middle finger to the man) to hold me over while my logic board and keyboard were replaced, yet again.?

Finally, after nearly five years of living on the edge, I decided to trade in my not so trusty MacBook Pro for a Macbook Air. Moving away from Macbooks was not an option. But the butterfly keyboard bit me once again. I missed the cut-off for their service plan related to the faulty keyboards (finally willing to admit?!) and nearly didn’t get the full trade-in value, if it wasn’t for a more understanding Apple service employee who let me honor the expired program.?

So today, I am $395 richer, having just received the full class action lawsuit payout against Apple for having had my logic board replaced not once, but twice. For about four years, Apple knowingly put a product out into the world that was faulty, choosing profit in favor of their hard earned brand reputation, customer trust and loyalty. Or at least that’s what I imagine was the choice they made. I think about other choices they’ve made more recently - new iPhones that no longer come with headphones, for the environment they say. Expensive AirPods that seemed made to fall out of ones ears and get lost, and let’s not even talk about their lack of battery longevity on their phones.?

Last week, the news broke that Warren Buffett had sold off 55.8% of his stake in Apple since the beginning of 2024. Apple is facing both external and internal challenges, whether it’s a saturated market, lack of growth from China, a poor AI strategy compared to other companies and legal woes. And last May, to our collective horror, Apple introduced a new ad that featured creative tools being crushed and destroyed by technology. Would we have canned this ad so ruthlessly if our love of Apple wasn’t already waning? Shann Biglione already spots evidence of this declining reputation, 72/100 in Q2 2024 (compared to 94/100 at the beginning of 2023) through his company, Signal AI, which tracks the global reputation of companies. Or was Apple’s decision to create this ad evidence that they have completely lost their connection to both their customers and the core of their brand?

So I ask, is this a harbinger of what’s to come? Was the butterfly keyboard the moment that Apple jumped the shark???