There’s no doubt that an iGadget is a sort of status symbol today. However, at the other end of the spectrum, the motto seems to be – if you don’t own an iProduct, you must absolutely hate them. I’ve never seen anyone straddle the line or take a conciliatory stance – you either love Apple or you hate it.
For the lovebirds, it’s the loyalty factor that kicks in – if your first product was an Apple, you’re probably still sticking with the iOfferings because they’re great on quality even if they’re not so great on price. Also, if you’re enamored by the buzz that always surrounds an Apple product, you’re never going to buy anything else.
However, people who are not iGadget owners probably have a bone to pick with Steve Jobs and his company and go all out in hating what they have to offer because:
- Of sour grapes mentality: If there’s one thing that can be said strongly about Apple, it’s that its products stand out in terms of quality. You have to admit, even if grudgingly, that there is no compromise when it comes to quality. Even the smallest iShuffle with the minimum options offers a better experience than other MP3 players that come with all the bells and whistles like a touchscreen or more memory space. So it’s only natural that people with these other products love to hate Apple – it’s just a case of sour grapes.
- They cannot afford the price: In spite of all the benefits Apple’s products offer, they’re still a little pricey and not easily affordable. So yes, there are people who secretly lust after the iPad and the iOS4 iPhone, but because they’re unable to afford the asking rate, they prefer to badmouth it and say they don’t like any of Apple’s offerings.
- It’s the only way they can project their gadgets as better: And finally, how else are people going to claim that their products are way better than any of Apple’s gadgets if they don’t declare that they hate any gizmo that is tagged with the (in)famous “i”? They look for small quality-related issues that are bound to crop up with any new product, and immediately jump on the “I hate iProducts” bandwagon claiming simultaneously that this is why their brands are better.
Apple’s problems arise because it has set a standard for quality, one that it has to achieve and surpass every time it comes out with a new product. So even if it fails just a little bit, it’s bound to be maligned and hated by people who, to put it simply, love to hate Apple.
This guest post is contributed by Omar Adams. He writes on the topic of online accounting degrees. He welcomes your comments at omaradams47@gmail.com.
I agree that people hardly ever take the conciliatory stance when it comes to opinions about Apple. However I think that there are many more sides to this story than you have mentioned. As well as many more reasons why people do not like Macs.
People often do not dislike Apple products but Apple people. Most of all they dislike Steve. Lets be honest the man is hard to take during his keynote speeches. He does come across as an egomaniac with the way he hypes his products. That is not to say that they are not very good.
Your first two reasons for why people hate apple products in my opinion are really just one reason. Yes, some people might be “sour” about not owning the Apple version of something and the reason they do not have the Apple version may very well be due to the price of the Apple product. However, I am going to have to disagree with you about there being “no compromise when it comes to quality” with Apple products. There have been numerous problems that have plagued Apple products for far to long before being addressed. Such as the chipping and cracking cases of Macbooks. As well as the the optical drive destroying media. This is not to say that Apple products are sub par, far from it they are very good. What I mean to say is that an argument that puts quality forward as a major why Apple products are so good and why people who own alternative are jealous, is a bit foolhardy.
Like I said previously your first two reasons are really one reason. In essence your argument is a follows. ‘People are jealous of Apple products because they want it but can not afford it.’ This statement says a lot about a Apple products and who they are intended for. Their increased cost over their rivals and “haute couture” looks points to a middle to upper-middle class customer or University student children. Apple products are not intended to be adopted by the masses, if Apple tried to appeal to the masses they would be crushed. Their own history points to this being the case.
Furthermore it is only fitting that article that makes the above statement would end up on a Apple site focused on Lawyers.
I did enjoy the article.
I posted a review on Amazon of my iPad 64GB WiFi+3G within days of its arrival in late April. I immediately got an attack from someone complaining about, among other things, the lack of flash, USB input, and SD slot. His attacks went on for weeks. I finally checked out his reviews to find he had written precisely one, about the iPad, which obviously he had never owned. When ATT was compromised by a hacker who took a number of email addresses (including mine) he launched a whole new round of attacks.
My thought was he worked for HP, Microsoft, or someone trying to create a competitive product.
I own the cheapest version of the iPad. I bought it mainly simply because after owning a iPhone, I simply thought a larger version of an iPhone would be a nice thing to have. As it turns out, use it for at least 90% of my computer use. I don’t use it to show off, now do I see it as a prestige item. I never expected it to be the be all and end all machine or for it to be perfect. I appreciate what it does and don’t worry about what it doesn’t do. It’s quiet, light weight, great for reading and writing, and the touch screen is much easier to control than a track pad or a mouse. I travel a lot right now, and it is so much lighter to travel with than my laptop, and I seldom need more than it when I am away from home. I suspect in the future I will replace my laptop with a desktop, and just use the iPad when I am away from home.
But what has started really annoying me lately is the a amount of negative reactions that I get when I use it in public. I’m not an evangelist. They are always the ones that start it. Right now the teacher of a language class that I am in is particularly bad. He speaks of Apple users having a religion, but he was the one who attacked, not me. I don’t bring my iPad to class to impress people. I bring it because it is lighter than the two dictionaries and the grammar reference book that I have on it, but lately I find myself sneaking peeks at it when he’s not looking to avoid getting into an argument with him.
For some reason it seems that Mac haters hat the iPad even more than they hate any other Apple product. I find this really mysterious. They say it’s because it it’s a waste of money, but the wouldn’t make the same comments about any other waste of money. I’m an adult. If I want to waste my money it’s my own business.
My car is a Honda Civic. It is my second one, and I like them in part for the same kind of reasons a like Mac. There are cheaper cars, but I find the bit of extra quality and particularly the dependability worth the extra price, and nobody would think of attacking me for this.
Why the devil is it everybody else’s business then if you “waste” money on an iPad? I can maybe understand whey techies would write bad revues of an iPad, but I am really struggling yo understand the mentality of the ordinary man on the street iPad basher.