Apple Gets the Importance of Packaging; Why Doesn't Google? 639
Hugh Pickens writes "Rebecca Greenfield writes that Google's Nexus tablet with its taped sides and fussy plastic takes effort to open, eliciting what some would call 'wrap rage,' the linguist-approved word for the anger associated with opening a factory sealed product, and as a montage of frustrated Google Nexus 7 owners struggling to open their new tablets' packaging proves there is at least one thing Apple gets that Google does not: boxes. In comparison to the minutes-long process that it takes to get to Google's well-reviewed tablet, opening an iPad takes a simple slide of a cover — a lid that 'comes off easily, but not too easily,' as Random Tech's Anthony Kay puts it. Apple boxes aren't beloved by accident. The company thinks about the way a box informs a product and takes boxing seriously for a reason. 'Not only does the box give people warm and fuzzy associations with the product from the get-go, but also, people form emotional attachments to the actual pieces of cardboard. Instead of tossing them like the trash that they are, people have been known to keep their iBoxes,' writes Greenfield. 'Instead of forgotten in a dump or recycling facility, the boxes sit on shelves serving as a constant reminder of the beauty within.'"
Ouch (Score:4, Insightful)
I mean I know people worship Apple and all. But...come on guys.
Re:Because (Score:5, Insightful)
yes, because my iCrap is going to be worth something in a few years and selling my used iCrap with the original box in good condition will increase its value
Superficiality carried to its extreme (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously? There was nothing more important or interesting going on than some nebbish mumbling about the importance of packaging? Even for Apple fanboyism, this reaches new depths. "The boxes sit on shelves serving as a constant reminder of the beauty within." I wish there was a more appropriate and genteel response to that than, "Get a life!", but there you are.
Re:Wrap rage...? (Score:5, Insightful)
People keep the packaging for returns and because selling your mint condition iDevice with mint condition packaging means you get higher resell value on eBay.
Re:Wrap rage...? (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, of all the things that qualify as first world problems...
And really? People keep i* packaging? That's kinda weird and squirrelly.
Exactly... The story about "packaging fetishists" is just as much about doing something wrong as it is about doing it right. Why not just make packaging that is easy to open and recycle, and let the consumer enjoy just the product instead of worrying about the box? Or, at least, make the box in a form factor that is easy to actually reuse instead of inspiring Apple fans to collect shelves and shelves of meaningless cardboard. I mean, at least pewter figurines or tea sets or pictures of old people has some prolonged sentimental value. With an iPad, are you really going to give two shits about it after you get the next generation version?
Thanks, Apple, for putting time into thinking about how to get me to hang on to MORE shit I don't need.
Alternative hypotheses? (Score:4, Insightful)
Given that Google has been treading the path of relative minimalism in the packaging for their assorted flagships, I see three basic possibilities:
1. Cargo-cult: Google's cardboard box guru is smart enough to know that Apple makes good cardboard boxes, and has successfully emulated certain elements of them(lack of tacky carrier branding, minimalist design, though usually on a black field rather than a white one, and so forth); but has failed to understand the entire set of variables that go into making a good package, resulting in a close visual reproduction without the functional qualities.
2. Somebody fucked up in production. The design that, indeed, worked perfectly in CAD and in low-volume mockups turned out to have somewhat sloppy tolerances that erred on the side of 'too tight' when X thousand of them showed up in the containers from the pacific rim, at which point it was a bit late to do anything about it. This happens regardless of 'understanding' of the importance of packaging. The acrylic crazing/cracking problems of the old G4 cube, for example, were not caused by the fact that somebody half-assed the aesthetics of the unit; but by inadequate production techniques.
3.(Related to 2) At $200, Google isn't exactly making gigantic margins here, which curtails their ability to do costly things in order to achieve superior results. Preventing #2 type problems can, to a degree, be achieved by throwing more money, scrutiny, and willingness to send it back and have them do it right this time. If one lacks the luxury of money and time, though, one has to accept more limited control and the necessity of sometimes shipping 'good enough' in order to meet deadline. Since irksome packaging isn't a major issue by the standards of what can go wrong with complex electronics, it isn't an unlikely thing to suffer if corners need cutting...
Boxes can be complicated (Score:4, Insightful)
Packaging can be weird to understand. Some of the simplest-looking boxes are often hard to manufacture and use to package a product on a assembly line.
Remember that customer experience while unpacking is perhaps the most transient, short-lived event in the life of a product. Other factors such as safety while transport, shelf-appearance and the quality of the product itself is far far more important. And lets not get started about environmental costs of packaging.
It is easy to get all of it if you have a profit margin like Apple does - about 50% [techspot.com]. The Nexus has a profit margin of barely 5-7% [cnet.com]. So yes, they may cut corners on the box.
But something tells me people who want a Nexus get that the packaging is irrelevant enough as to be worthless within 2 minutes of the customer having finished it. Unboxing is where the function of packaging finishes.
Re:Huh? (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah this story confuses me.
Step 1: Push box out of sleeve
Step 2: Cut two pieces of tape
Step 3: Open box
Step 4: Profit
There's not even a ??? step. Is cutting tape really that difficult?
On The Other Hand... (Score:4, Insightful)
...my Google Android phone gets the importance of standard connectors [ninemsn.com.au].
Re:Superficiality carried to its extreme (Score:5, Insightful)
I agree that the gushing is... weird. But the Apple packaging is nice, and people do notice it when they purchase Apple products. It's all part of their branding, which is very well managed. Other companies with crappy or hard-to-open packaging risk their branding just a tiny bit.
Re:Wrap rage...? (Score:5, Insightful)
The story about "packaging fetishists" is just as much about doing something wrong as it is about doing it right. Why not just make packaging that is easy to open and recycle, and let the consumer enjoy just the product instead of worrying about the box? Or, at least, make the box in a form factor that is easy to actually reuse instead of inspiring Apple fans to collect shelves and shelves of meaningless cardboard.
Many people don't understand packaging is very important and your post, unfortunately, is no exception.
In the case of tablets and phones, packaging is the first personal encounter with what is intended to be a personal device. Getting this step right is crucial to shaping how a consumer perceives the product and too many companies neglect this simple but ineluctable point.
It's not fetishism to want a consumer's experience of "getting at the device" to be quick, obvious, and easy. Furthermore, packaging that is easily opened and which is not damaged upon opening makes that packaging reusable.
Apple's packaging of phones and tables is exemplary in this regard. The only thing that must be permanently damaged in the unboxing process is the shrink wrap, and even that can be preserved so that it can be reused. This means that when I upgrade my tablet I can sell the old device on eBay in its original packaging and allow my buyers to have a very-close-to-new out-of-box experience. I've sold quite a few phones, tablets, and laptops on eBay and people really appreciate the out-of-box experience, so much so that I mention that the item has all the original packaging intact.
Style, simplicity, and reusability are not shallow but deep. It's the failure to appreciate the work that goes into making something simple that is shallow.
Invasion (Score:5, Insightful)
Did Slashdot get invaded by Engadget? Are we already living in the era of idiocracy?
I find it hard to understand how a difficult to open packaging could lead to comparisons between two major technology companies. Oh, by the way, Motorola sold their phones in smoothly sliding boxes way before the iPhone was launched, so it is not like it is yet another of Apple's 'innovations'.
To tell you the truth, I find these huge number of insipid 'unboxing videos' and 'reviews' to be an insult to the intelligence of discerning viewers and readers who might be actually looking for useful information about a product.
Re:Huh? (Score:4, Insightful)
without requiring the customer to locate sharp objects.
I have never met tape that requires anything sharper than a housekey to remove. If you can't locate your keys, you've got bigger issues than failure to open a toy.
Ars Tech talked about this ages ago (Score:5, Insightful)
John Siracusa wrote a full page [arstechnica.com] on the literal "out of box" experience with the G4 Cube, it seems it's still relevant today:
Love or hate Apple, but they think everything through.
Re:Wrap rage...? (Score:3, Insightful)
I save the packaging for any products I might eventually return/sell. This has nothing to do with Apple. (I also have enough space in the basement that a few extra boxes won't get in the way of anything else.)
Re:Apple has it down to an art and a science (Score:2, Insightful)
Every time I get a new Apple product, it's a cool experience ... It really makes you feel like you're getting a luxury item.
I think this sums up pretty well why people buy Apple products -- the *feeling* that you're buying something "cool."
Whether that should be why people buy computer products is another issue. This whole fiasco highlights the problems with that mentality--and by "fiasco" I am referring to the preciousness of those complaining about the packaging, not the packaging itself.
Re:Wrap rage...? (Score:5, Insightful)
And why in the world would you think that Apple's packaging is not recyclable?
You should be applauding Apple's approach because you and MisterSquid get what they want out of it.
Re:Wrap rage...? (Score:4, Insightful)
http://fadeyev.net/2012/06/19/moral-design/ [fadeyev.net]
By that standard, Apple suddenly doesn't look sexy at all. Nor do other corps.
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Bullshit. That's as shallow as you can get.
It's the failure to appreciate the work that goes into making something simple that is shallow.
Something can be a lot of work and still be shallow, nobody is claiming the don't waste a lot of time and money and resources on their packaging, so that's both a strawman and a false dichotomy.
Apple cares (Score:5, Insightful)
Google and others think the user experience of a product is confined only to the actual use of it. But that's only one part pf a user experience, and forgets walking into the store (or using the online store), buying, unboxing, first start and setup, support, and eventual recycling.
Apple does everything in its power to make all aspects of the user experience perfect. Apple does unboxing tests for products, even did store mock-ups instead of just slapping up the usual crowded aisles. That's their brand strategy, and it's popular with consumers and profitable.
Re:Wrap rage...? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Wrap rage...? (Score:5, Insightful)
"Ah, the joys of owning an iDevice. You have to constantly plan ahead financially for when the next version comes out."
So in all of technology, only Apple users ever upgrade?
Re:Wrap rage...? (Score:3, Insightful)
People care about the product. If you're so far gone that you fetishize the packaging...well dude you're way out there. Honestly, I envy you and wish that I had more money than brains. Unfortunately, I'm on the short side of that ratio.
Re:Wrap rage...? (Score:5, Insightful)
Moving once every 3 years is not normal, and nothing you do to facilitate that will be considered normal.
Never heard of the Armed Forces, have you?
Re:Because (Score:3, Insightful)
I wouldn't have put it that way, but using your terminology, it's more like iCrap version 1.00003 is coming out in six months and I NEEDS it, YES my PRECIOUS, so I'll need to get rid of this piece of crap that is iCrap version 1.00002, and that's easier with the orginal box.
And if nobody wants it, I can always throw it away.
Re:Wrap rage...? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Wrap rage...? (Score:4, Insightful)