My coworker recently shared with me Mashable's article, “The iPhone 7 Sounds like It Will Be Totally Boring,” an opinion piece by Raymond Wong. In summation, the article states that the iPhone 7 will be boring, because we already know all the details far before the keynote. But has anyone stopped to think, “Yeah, it’s nothing revolutionary to me, but I have access to this technology and the money to own it — and that’s amazing.” Just so we can really get an idea of how fortunate we are to have any iPhone at all, let’s take a look at a map of how much of the population has access to smartphones globally. Then tell me how boring any iPhone is.
I don’t want this article to be an attack on Wong; he’s just doing his job. I want it to be a wake-up call for all of us, because I’m guilty of thinking along the same lines as the premise of the Mashable article. And that’s why I decided to respond to the article with my own opinion piece. When I start to think, “oh it’s going to be boring. I want something new, exciting,” I look at the map below and give myself a reality check.
The numbers represent what percentage of the population in that country has a smartphone. Apple is very clearly focused on taking iPhones to a truly global scale, but I don’t think most people appreciate that effort.
Here’s where you say, “people don’t need smartphones; they’re luxury items. Why should I care if not everyone has one?” And this is the part where I remind you it’s not about the device itself. It’s the access to information, education, and ability to see what’s going on in the vast world around you. To Apple, getting iPhones in the the hands of billions around the world is good business, but the repercussions of that are overwhelmingly positive.
The entire world is NOT on the internet. Yet not only would we go through severe withdrawal without it, plenty of jobs and systems would come to a standstill. The very wide gap between those who “can’t live without it” and those who have never known it at all is (slowly-but-surely) closing. The smartphone gap will too, eventually. Perhaps by the iPhone 12 the map above will be a darker shade of green, but until then, I’m going to be the mother scolding spoiled kids.
I’m not asking you to feel guilty; I’m asking you to appreciate what you have. So what you’re not going to get your metaphorical socks blown off at Apple’s Keynote event — seems like a blessed thing to be concerned about. So what the internet leaks the details and ruins any semblance of a surprise — you’re still going to buy a new smartphone when your old one has seen its last day. Because you can, and that, in and of itself, is worthy of our excitement.
