When I first saw the original iPhone, it seemed great - but I never got it. I knew it was an important device, but, at the time, they were hard to come by in my country and I wasn't an Apple user. In fact, my first smartphone was a Nokia N900 - if anyone remembers those interesting Maemo phones. After that, I went Android - it was an HTC Desire (ironically, it had an OLED screen). Didn't know much about Apple, wasn't into it.
But then iPhone 4 came out. I was struck. With three axes of symmetry, a unique glass-steel-glass sandwich, minimalist design - its form was dictated by its function and it looked like a piece of art I studied at architecure school. And that Retina display - it was the nicest screen I've ever seen. I just got my master's degree and started working with a few friends in our game development studio, we were kinda broke and that thing was really, really expensive for me. Still, I started saving for it. I was obsessed with it, to be honest. And, finally, when I got it - it was pure joy. I was hooked.
Years passed, business was good, I changed several iPhones. Another 4 (white!), a 5, a 6+, a regular 6 and a 6S. I went from Windows to Hackintosh to iMacs and MacBook Pros. I loved all my Apple devices, but that 4 was always special. It had that unique design, symmetry, a simple form dictated by it's function. Glass, antenna band, screen. A powerful simplicity. I loved my fives and sixes, but I always claimed that while Apple made a lot of amazing iPhones, only two were "big" ones - timeless ones, ones for design history books. The first one - and the fourth one.
Until now. iPhone X is one of those big ones. It brings back all those memories I had with the 4. Again it is a very simple thing - glass, steel, glass. And its screen is again the nicest I've ever seen (and yes, I've seen and held the Notes and the Galaxies - I stand by what I said).
Just like the bezels of old, just like antenna lines on that iPhone steel band, the "notch" is a reminder of physical limitations of technology that Apple made into an iconic design. I would argue - and feel free to disagree - that iPhone 4 looks as good as it does not despite, but because of it's lines. And yes, that iPhone X looks as good as it does not despite, but because of the notch. It makes it recognizable, and tells a story. A story of Apple - a company that does not back away from a flawless idea because of physical or technological limitations - it embraces them and pushes on, for better or worse. In his Theory of forms, Plato spoke of "Ideas" as perfect, mental concepts that were not possible in the physical realm. In a way, the greatest devices are representations of these perfect ideas, imperfect in execution. This is why I prefer the "notch" to small bezels of competing phones - it is an imperfect realization of a perfect concept, while the other devices are perfect realizations of flawed ideas.
While a day will come when the notch goes away, I hope Apple will continue to push design forward, again going beyond the limits of technology, making imperfect versions of perfect ideas. I hope they always have some "antenna lines" or some "notch" that they embrace with pride, because that will mean their design is still one step beyond what's currently possible.
For now, we have the X. And - just like the 4 - it's pure joy.
But then iPhone 4 came out. I was struck. With three axes of symmetry, a unique glass-steel-glass sandwich, minimalist design - its form was dictated by its function and it looked like a piece of art I studied at architecure school. And that Retina display - it was the nicest screen I've ever seen. I just got my master's degree and started working with a few friends in our game development studio, we were kinda broke and that thing was really, really expensive for me. Still, I started saving for it. I was obsessed with it, to be honest. And, finally, when I got it - it was pure joy. I was hooked.
Years passed, business was good, I changed several iPhones. Another 4 (white!), a 5, a 6+, a regular 6 and a 6S. I went from Windows to Hackintosh to iMacs and MacBook Pros. I loved all my Apple devices, but that 4 was always special. It had that unique design, symmetry, a simple form dictated by it's function. Glass, antenna band, screen. A powerful simplicity. I loved my fives and sixes, but I always claimed that while Apple made a lot of amazing iPhones, only two were "big" ones - timeless ones, ones for design history books. The first one - and the fourth one.
Until now. iPhone X is one of those big ones. It brings back all those memories I had with the 4. Again it is a very simple thing - glass, steel, glass. And its screen is again the nicest I've ever seen (and yes, I've seen and held the Notes and the Galaxies - I stand by what I said).
Just like the bezels of old, just like antenna lines on that iPhone steel band, the "notch" is a reminder of physical limitations of technology that Apple made into an iconic design. I would argue - and feel free to disagree - that iPhone 4 looks as good as it does not despite, but because of it's lines. And yes, that iPhone X looks as good as it does not despite, but because of the notch. It makes it recognizable, and tells a story. A story of Apple - a company that does not back away from a flawless idea because of physical or technological limitations - it embraces them and pushes on, for better or worse. In his Theory of forms, Plato spoke of "Ideas" as perfect, mental concepts that were not possible in the physical realm. In a way, the greatest devices are representations of these perfect ideas, imperfect in execution. This is why I prefer the "notch" to small bezels of competing phones - it is an imperfect realization of a perfect concept, while the other devices are perfect realizations of flawed ideas.
While a day will come when the notch goes away, I hope Apple will continue to push design forward, again going beyond the limits of technology, making imperfect versions of perfect ideas. I hope they always have some "antenna lines" or some "notch" that they embrace with pride, because that will mean their design is still one step beyond what's currently possible.
For now, we have the X. And - just like the 4 - it's pure joy.
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