One of the most frustrating things about Apple is its secrecy, which can sometimes be way over the top.
Apple is one of the most secretive organizations on the planet, with security protocols that’d put the CIA to shame.
Everything is need-to-know. No one is allowed to talk to anyone about anything unless they are very close colleagues.
I once interviewed a married couple who’d both worked at Apple for decades, but in different departments. They both claimed they never, ever discussed with each other what they did.
I found this profoundly depressing, and I hope they were lying to me, but I suspect not. They expressed a weird pride in it!
There are good reasons for the company to be secretive about lots of things — upcoming products (the Osborne effect), proprietary manufacturing processes, early research projects and a lot more — but a lot of it is pure knee-jerk stuff.
Just this week, two Apple staffers deleted posts that pulled the curtain back just a peep. One was a former retail executive who’d been posting some insider stories on X.
The other was a current art director who published a few tantalizing tidbits about Lil’ Finder Guy, the MacBook Neo’s mascot.
Luckily, much of the art director’s post was captured before it fully disappeared — and we have the details here.
Also in today’s newsletter:
I know a lot of people are obsessed with Geekbench, the respected benchmarking tool — but I’m not one of them! The latest version has been totally revamped, with an important caveat regarding previous versions.
I hope Apple isn’t turning into a version of Walmart that’s constantly squeezing its suppliers to protect its own profits. What am I saying? Of course it is.
🔥 DEAL OF THE DAY: This teeny tiny Bluetooth speaker from Altec Lansing really is small, so it’s not gonna wake up the neighbors, but it’s definitely louder than your iPhone’s built-in speakers, and it’s just $15. #affiliate
Live Photos are basically mini videos, and you can easily stitch them together to make a longer version. Here’s how to do it.
The comments on yesterday’s poll about the upcoming folding iPhone show that lots of people are interested, but the sky-high price is going to be a big stumbling block. No wonder Apple’s working on lease plans. See the poll results below.
— Leander Kahney, EIC.
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One more thing ...
To me, marketing is about values. This is a very complicated world; it’s a very noisy world. And we’re not going to get a chance to get people to remember much about us. No company is. And so we have to be really clear on what we want them to know about us.
Today’s poll
Should the Apple art director be OK to publicize a few details of their work?
Results from yesterday’s poll
Best reader comments
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