‘The Fizz Was Gone’

The Economist, last week:

Apple’s product launches are not what they used to be. A decade ago the unveiling of a new iPhone would inspire quasi-religious ecstasy; devotees would camp on pavements outside shops as the release date drew near. At the firm’s latest event, on September 10th, the format was the same: Apple’s boss stood on stage, clad in a regulation black jumper, and spoke of the world-changing power of the company’s latest wares. But the fizz was gone. The iPhone 11 looks like a merely incremental improvement on the models that have gone before it.

One reason folks would camp out in the early years of iPhone is that you couldn’t pre-order them — if you wanted to buy one on day one your only choice was to wait in line at a retailer. But even now, years into the pre-order era when you can get a new iPhone delivered to your home on day one, thousands of people around the country line up for hours at Apple retail stores. And, yes, even camp out the night before. I stopped by the Philadelphia Apple Store last night around 7:30p and there were still around 50 people queued up outside the store waiting to buy a new iPhone.

Fizz gone, indeed.

★ Saturday, 21 September 2019