I’ve been a fan of Apple products from way back. As I left for college, my dad bought an Apple IIGS for the home. All I remember was a ton of boxes and a computer that came with big, fat manuals.
When I got my first Mac, it was a Performa 638CD. It was a beige box contained in (I think) white boxes. It wasn’t very exciting.
Then, back in 2008, I bought the very first model iPhone, the one with a silver back and a black plastic area on the bottom to let the signal in. The box was delightful.
Everything was sensual, from the solid rigidity of the glossy cardboard box to the way each piece nestled gently, safely, inside its own separate section. The iPhone was the first thing I saw when I opened the box.
This first iPhone iteration was a brand new object of desire. I’d never seen such a device, let alone the kind of phone that would all but become ubiquitous over the next five years. If the choirs of angels didn’t sing when I lifted the rectangle of glass and plastic from its carefully molded resting place inside the packaging, but they should have.
Underneath the iPhone were three separate sections: one for the headphones, one for the iPhone dock and a final one for the charging brick. Under those glorious white accessories was the 30-pin connecting USB cable.
What an achievement of design, this box. The packaging alone proved that Apple was making this iPhone for people like me. This wasn’t just messing around; this device was worth some seriously put together casing.
When I was the tech guy for a small non-profit in Alaska a few years back, we used to order new Macbooks every few years to replace the ones that were obsolete or end of life. We’d purchase a dozen or more, depending on the budget.
Opening the boxes to set the MacBooks up became a ritual: I knew exactly what I would find in each box. Every piece had its special place inside the package, which itself had a foam piece glued to the inner top of the flip-up lid to help cushion the MacBook from any inadvertent harm when being transported in the retail carton. There was a handle built in to each container, and everything just, well, fit.
That’s the thing about every product Apple designs these days: the stuff each device comes in is as much an object of attention as the actual iPhone or Mac that it comes in.
It says to purchasers: “Yes, your device is special. It is made just for you (in California).”
It’s yet one more thing that Apple gets right: the box that brings your new miracle of technology into your life makes you feel good even before you use the device itself.
So as you open that shiny new iOS or Mac that came from under the tree in brightly wrapped paper, pause a moment to notice the attention to detail heaped upon the lowly packaging.
You’ll feel good, and be glad you did. Happy Holidays!
Rob LeFebvre is Cult of Mac’s Games Editor.
