Steven Yang

1103-006

10/6/2015

The Apple Question: A Proposal

For the last decade, one company in particular has made a point. A point that spans the

entire globe. A point that the consumer is sometimes ignorant and misinformed. A point that

most people don’t even know exists. A point that Apple created. Now don’t get me wrong, Apple

makes great products, I even use some of their products. But what is it about Apple what makes

it different? Why do they produce a new iPhone every 6 months? Why do consumers buy them?

Why is it that Apple seems so be a social symbol for the better off? Why is society so focused on

Apple? That’s what I hope to find out.

So what do I know about Apple? Well first, visionary Steve Jobs and entrepreneur Steve

Wozniak had a vision. A vision to deliver computers, then a plaything for the wealthy, to the rest

of society. They focused on quality of their innovative Mac personal computers. They made sure

customer satisfaction was key to their business, for “the customer is always right”. Since then,

Apple has grown to a large corporation that sells more than just computers. However, the main

source of Apple’s success will always be the iPhone. When the first iteration of the iPhone came

out, the world was taken aback by the innovation it represented. The first consumer product

introduced multi-touch touchscreens, a new way of interacting with the computer through touch.

Steven Jobs even introduced the iPhone at a keynote address as a combination of three devices:

an iPod with touch, a mobile phone, and an internet communicator. Never before had all 3 been

put in a single product that had critical widespread acclaim. iPhone redefined what the consumer

looked for in the consumer mobile industry, but what makes Apple so special? Even though it

was a technological innovation at the time, it still didn’t sell as good as the iPhones of today. So

why did other companies such as Google, another globally recognized technological think tank,

not become a social icon?

So why did I choose to research Apple? Why not research why other companies didn’t

rise like Apple? Well I have a special interest in technology. Ever since I was a kid, messing with

technology has sort of been my hobby. But most importantly, I am the sort of person that

embraces all sorts of technology, and as a result I use a combination of Microsoft, Google, Apple

and countless other product brands. My friends question me when they see me with a Windows

laptop as well as a MacBook paired with my iPad and Samsung Android phone. “So are you a

Windows or Mac kind of guy?” they ask. But why discriminate? Technology comes from all

different places. But the only thing I don’t understand is why. Why do people line up 2 weeks

ahead of the latest iPhone release year after year? It has become a cult gathering of phone-crazed

individuals who want their hands on the latest and the greatest tech products. But from what I

know, iPhones aren’t always the greatest, often times their competitors are better in certain

aspects of their phones. Therefore, I want to know why Apple is still considered the best.

Questions:

1) What is it about the way Apple markets and advertise their products that makes it

appealing?

2) What makes Apple products appealing?

3) What are some drawbacks to Apple products?

4) Is the high price of Apple products justified?

5) What makes society oriented on iPhones?

6) Why is only the iPhone seen in the media such as movies and tv shows?

7) What are some truly innovative things Apple has done? Or are they copying others?

8) What makes this generation and the previous generation different with iPhones?

9) Is Apple a monopoly?

10) Which is better? Android or Apple?

I think I will mostly find my information on the web through blogs, news articles,

and statistical sites. I’m sure there have also been studies performed to observe Apple

products in society as well. Social media also has a big part as we use mostly our phones

to access that in general. My topic should be narrowed down enough that I should have

plenty of sources to back my findings. In the event that I do have too much information, I

can focus on certain iterations of Apple products or possibly focus on just the past 5 years

of Apple’s products. I could also focus on the years that Steve Jobs worked at Apple so

see how much of an impact he had on Apple’s success. However, I feel that the problem

will not be finding too much information but rather not finding an abundant amount of

information to report on. I fear that there is simply not enough people going out and

asking the same questions I do. I might need to broaden my topic to include other players

in the industry such as Google, and Microsoft and see how they affect each other and

society itself responds and reacts to their products. But this is what my research is for; to

inform others of concepts that may have little context to back up.

My proposal is to research Apple and its causes and effects on society. Why does

the Apple question exist? Because no one has dared to take a bite out of it. And I intend

to find out why.