The Apple Bias Is Real: Let’s Deconstruct It

Back in the early 90s, we were told to “Think different.” Why buy a boring old PC when you could get something that stood out? Something that might even make you feel like a rebel? That “something” was the Macintosh.

That media strategy seemed to work well at the time. Jump to today, and you will find that Apple has quite a few fans. Apple fans are notorious for waiting in long lines, sometimes for days, just to get the next iPhone. These consumers will often come to the defense of their favorite company no matter what.

It is common for one to claim there is a so-called Apple Bias. Is it real? Do Apple customers live in a “bubble” if you will? Or is it something made up by competitors to dissuade people from buying Apple products?

Vlad Savov of The Verge makes a case for the existence of “The Apple Bias” and claims it is a positive thing. Apple provides a lot of opportunity for other business, for example: app makers, iPhone case designers, advertisers, and social media companies. He sees the bias as a way to create jobs and advance technology while also acknowledging that not everyone loves Apple.

 Photo: Karlis Dambrans

Brad Reed from BGR suggests that Apple tends to defend itself from bad PR. He mentions a situation where Reuters had “failed to write about a Tim Cook speech in full context” and made sure that loyal Apple bloggers knew of it. Said bloggers allegedly flooded the internet to complain. That may sound bad, but if you had a loyal fan base like that, you would probably be tempted to use them to your advantage.

No company is perfect, yet I think some people just want to attack Apple because of some strange emotional need. I think the Samsung vs. Apple competition is so telling. Internet folks love to claim one side is conforming, but really, they all are!

Just look at the celebrities that use Apple products, they influence us and set the trend. Recently Apple was named as coolest brand in Britain for the fourth year in a row. Apple products are popular, there is no question about it, so why feel threatened by it if you don’t own Apple products? I could understand if you ran a tech company that competes with Apple, but as a consumer, we should all just get along.

When the Mac first came out, it was the revolutionary computer, it did appeal to the rebel nature within us. Now Apple seems to be the mainstream and saying you are buying an iPhone to be a rebel doesn’t work anymore.

Apple’s advertising message has become: “Hey look at all these normal, diverse people using Apple products. See, they are just like you.” It’s a positive message, much better than Samsung’s advertising message, “Apple is bad, Samsung is better,” which goes against the old saying “you never look good trying to make someone else look bad”.

 Photo: Karlis Dambrans

The sad part of all this is how people criticize others for liking a different piece of technology than they have. I’ve had Samsung products in the past and found them to be of good quality. I have nothing against anyone who buys a Samsung product. I would hope that Samsung customers can respect me for owning an iPhone.

Apple is popular in part because we are told it is. News media, celebrities, and advertising convince us of this, but in contrast, the products are actually well designed. Not everyone is going to want an iPhone, and that’s okay. However, the popularity of Apple is not unwarranted.

The company has done a lot of good for the world, especially the tech industry. If you ask me, the Apple Bias is real, heck we all have biases and we are likely to defend our choices even with what we buy.

Apple has created many job opportunities in the United States, provided much needed innovation in the tech industry, made diversity mainstream through introduction of new races and LGBT family emojis, all while being extremely eco-friendly. Is Apple cool? I think so. Does that make me a bad person? No. Does it make you a bad person if you don’t think Apple is cool? Absolutely not.

What do you think of the Apple bias? Do you think it’s warranted?
Let us know in the comments below!