Leaked memo reveals Apple’s obsession with packaging

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Apple store istanbul
Apple Stores are about to look like this inside and out.
Photo: Apple

We already knew that Apple has taken an interest in how its third-party partners present their wares in the Apple Store, but a leaked memo is describing just how seriously the company is taking this new initiative.

Other than the clean white background that it’s so fond of, Apple is also asking vendors to pay attention to the typefaces they use and even the angles from which they photograph their products.

So it turns out Apple is controlling and particular. Who knew?

The memo, which a source released to Business Insider, affects makers of iPhone cases like Incase, Tech21, LifeProof, Sena, Logitech, and Mophie. It requests that these companies use a “uniform white background, consistent placement of logo and icons, consistent product shot photo angles, simplified typography, and better quality packaging material,” Business Insider reports.

While the company’s initiative to take control of everything on Apple Store shelves is a huge win for Apple, its ego, and its obsession with making everything look pretty much the same, it might end up being a little confusing for customers who are used to identifying products by their individual and unique packaging.

We’ve seen a bit of the new packaging, and while you do notice a huge difference between it and the older boxes, at least it looks different enough that you can still tell brands apart. Shoppers will just have to do a bit more reading instead of instinctively grabbing the brightest and most colorful box they can reach.

But on the bright side, everything inside the store will match, and that has clearly been driving Apple crazy. What happens to the un-Applefied stock currently ugging up the shelves of Apple Stores? That’s going back to the warehouses, Business Insider says.

And then it’ll probably go to Target or Walmart because they don’t care how heterogeneous their shelves look.

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