The blue iPhone 12. A peculiar object of affection.
They call it improvement, it is not?
When you are flying, the word automatically fills you with joy because you are getting something better for free.
When buying a phone, on the other hand, the price of an upgrade can be high and the graph of concurrent joy may not enjoy such a steep upward gradient.
Still, Apple’s CFO, Luca Maestri, told an analyst last week that demand for the 12 “exceeded our internal expectations at the beginning of the quarter.”
It may be, but when I upgraded from iPhone XR to iPhone 12 six weeks ago, I didn’t have high expectations inside.
Apple phones have not aroused admiration in recent years. When the XR and XS came along, I saw no reason to pay exalted dollars for the simply pleasing iPhone XS.
A relationship of convenience has to end.
I chose an iPhone XR to replace my iPhone 6, which should tell you that I don’t need the supposedly instant gratification of each new iPhone.
At the time I bought the XR, it was the first time that I succumbed to Facial ID. Leaving the iPhone 6 meant accepting bigger size and weight. Somehow, I still believed in the XR felt like an iPhone. I still wondered if I would keep it for as long as I had the iPhone 6.
I told myself that I loved the XR’s battery life. I told myself that I loved how robust and reliable he was.
I often tell lies to myself, especially in relationships.
Within a year, I realized that it was a relationship of convenience.
The XR started to weigh on me. Apple helpfully told me that I use my phone on average two and a half hours a day. Holding it with one hand has become tiring (first world). Occasionally, I would stretch my thumb to click on an app and the rest of my hand would start kvetching. This was an irritating imbalance.
Yes, battery life was a huge improvement over previous iPhones. But as the XR started to age, I started looking at him with a twinge of pity. Nor was it such an affectionate penalty.
It never became adorable. It has become like the portable vacuum cleaner you keep next to the sofa to quickly vacuum carelessly falling crumbs. Useful, but never remotely adorable.
Separating yourself from that, then, was not a sweet sadness. It was more like a Hollywood actor divorcing a famous star at the end of his carefully written marriage contract.
We shake hands. We said thanks, it’s time and goodbye.
Six weeks with the iPhone 12. This is getting scary.
I was not at all convinced that the iPhone 12 would make a big difference.
In fact, I went to an Apple store to examine it in person before I succumbed to a totally surprising sales experience.
The saleswoman didn’t overdo the 12. Instead, she said to me, “It’s probably the most similar to what you have. The difference between the 12 and the 12 Pro is the telephoto lens. So, if you’re some type of cameraman, get the Pro. “
I’m not (yet) a spy, so I chose 12.
I admit that I found the color blue a little attractive. When I bought the phone, I muttered, “The 12 looked lighter and slightly thinner than my XR, strangely, but not unpleasantly retro, and, hey, I now have two cameras, something I never consciously wanted.”
You see? No absurd enthusiasm there. Just the feeling that at least this thing can be a little more personal to the hand.
The past six weeks, however, have tended to be scary. I find myself liking the square edges of the phone. I find myself thinking about the rounded edges of the iPhone XR and concluding that they looked cheap.
I also find myself believing that the screen has a noticeably sharper resolution and a much better microphone. Obviously, it also takes much better photos. I actually like to hold this phone. Someone seems to have spent a little more time making their ergonomics fit my hand.
What worries me most is that I begin to feel a slight affection for this object. A phone, no less.
I catch it with a touch of reverence, rather than a claw of impatience. I even look at him occasionally and think, “Oh, you really look good.” (Thank you, Sauvignon Blanc.)
Yes, I may have Delusional Block Syndrome. This could be a sad and bizarre return to the iPhone 5 – where the 12 got much of its inspiration from – and how much more exciting life was at that time.
No, I’m not in love. It may just be a silly phase that I’m going through. I still wonder, however, if this particular iPhone, however retro, could have a lasting impact on the distorted annals of design.
This phone cost me less than the XR, but it looks much more sophisticated.
Perhaps that’s why Apple claims to have seen the most people update in a single quarter.
Most only did this for the infinitely enhanced cameras, right?