X Owns X: Apple Owns User Experience

There are many great and iconic brands that have disrupted, transformed, and shaped their industries; this entire X Owns X campaign was designed to celebrate that very idea. However, very few brands can take credit for changing the fundamental ways in which the world works. Apple is one of those brands. Since the release of its first computer in 1976, Apple has radically and permanently altered the way technology is integrated into daily life in virtually every corner of the world. As competitors have come and gone throughout the years, the company has continued to dominate the market across every product category for one reason that is seemingly simple, yet quite complex in reality: Apple’s user experience is second to none.?

From the moment you receive the box of a new Apple product, it is an experience. Everything about the crisp white packaging, to the sleek, shiny device branded with the iconic apple logo, to the peel-off stickers that keep everything pristine utterly delights the senses in the subtlest way possible. In fact, this is such a universal experience that in 2021, a tweet went viral that said, “I don’t know who needs to hear this but throw away that box your iPhone came in. You don’t need it. You will never need it.” On the surface, this may seem like a silly anecdote that over half a million Twitter users retweeted and chuckled about, but it holds a deeper psychological truth that speaks to Apple’s success and influence as a brand: people cherish the experience of Apple products so much that they don’t want to part with a single bit of it – not even the box it came in.?

If you look around in a crowd of people using their phones, you’re likely to see a disproportionate number of iPhones compared to other smartphones. Walk into an urban Starbucks on a weekday and you’ll struggle to spot someone who’s not typing away on a MacBook (antiquated company laptops don’t count). It is not for a lack of features that many people shy away from other tech brands; in fact, many of Apple’s competitors actually pack their gadgets with more, and sometimes undeniably better, features in an attempt to convert users, with little success. Apple has created such a cult-like following that many people simply can’t imagine using anything else (personally, my iPhone could blow up in my hands and my first move would be to grab my MacBook and google if explosions are covered under AppleCare before making an appointment at the Genius Bar to get a replacement).?

Every single component of an Apple product, from the dynamic operating system to the stunning visual design, shows extreme attention to detail and works together to create the most intuitive user experience possible. Form and function are expertly balanced to the point where everyone from a toddler to a senior citizen can grasp the basic functionality of these devices.?

And even if you are among the minority of anti-Apple tech users, it simply cannot be denied that the brand has achieved an astonishing level of global success and impact. Co-founder and late visionary, Steve Jobs’ primary focus from day one was on innovating technology that has the power to change how real people interact with their world, and Apple continues to harness the disruptive potential of user experience in each and every product it releases.?