Open Letter From Steve Jobs to All iPhone Customers

The nut: a $100 Apple store credit for everyone who already bought an iPhone, and a straightforward apology to anyone who was upset by the price cut. It’s also a wonderfully plain-spoken statement regarding “life in the technology lane”:

Second, being in technology for 30+ years I can attest to the fact that the technology road is bumpy. There is always change and improvement, and there is always someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. This is life in the technology lane. If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you’ll never buy any technology product because there is always something better and less expensive on the horizon.

I think it’s clear that Apple was taken by surprise by the magnitude of the backlash regarding the price cut. They’ve responded quickly, humbly, and well, to avoid letting this issue spoil the good news from their impressive product releases yesterday.

★ Thursday, 6 September 2007