

The Gold iPhone isn't just for mindless sheep that want to show off - jkhowland
http://jkhowland.me/post/62098121292

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flyosity
Just wanted to chime in that I pre-ordered the gold 5s and am still waiting
for it, however, I did go into the Apple Store over the weekend and take a
look at a gold one and, boy, it's not really that gold. It's not bling or
shiny, it's really subdued and muted, more like a light champagne than
anything really eye-catching. In fact, when I picked it up I actually thought
it was the silver one and started looking around for the true gold iPhone.
That's how subdued it really is.

~~~
veemjeem
Everyone I know has also ordered gold. My guess is that it's the new color so
everyone wants the new stuff. Gold may become the most popular color yet.

~~~
omegant
Gold is the new silver.

------
stackcollision
Is this guy really chiding me for not wearing "rolled up skinny jeans" and
glasses that don't have lenses in them?

~~~
Strang
I thought the exact same thing. This article seems to be reinforcing the idea
of a gold phone as a shallow spectacle.

~~~
frogpelt
The point I inferred was that some people want the gold iPhone simply because
they like the way it looks and not because they want to signal the world that
they own the latest iPhone.

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JohnTHaller
Gold iPhone is best. best. best.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7-RetY7fGo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7-RetY7fGo)

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gcb0
It is all about display of money/power.

You can buy the new iphone? you will show it off.

buy the black/white one and you may have to actually engage in conversation.
Buy the golden one, everyone knows.

It is like buying a $30k audi A1 with a custom made $500k engine and
drivetrain. If you just buy the $300k R8, everyone will know you have the
disposable income. the custom A1 or a spiffed up TT though will be much more
fun if you actually race it though. which is not relevant here as we are only
talking about style since the phones are the same.

So, everyone only wants the golden one for the smug feeling when they take it
out of their pockets. And that sells, as the article proves.

Also, any fashion study will tell you that a brand can't launch a 'thing'.
Gold phones are NOT in fashion. they may be if enough influential people wants
to partake in the smug feeling mentioned above. But until that happens, it is
just a very temporal thing that will only last until samsung launches a golden
one.

------
jkhowland
My twitter stream was filled with gold iPhone bashers on Friday and Saturday.

This one really got to me:
[https://twitter.com/eEditor/status/381084430611144704](https://twitter.com/eEditor/status/381084430611144704)

The iPhone is a fashion item, and is going to follow fashion trends. This
includes going gold.

------
talmand
Hmm, let's see.

Chromatic: Red, Blue, Green, White, Black Metallic: Gold, Silver

Bummer, Takhisis is winning.

~~~
r00fus
Did Apple acquire WoTC at some point recently? These are like all the MtG card
colors (including foils and legends!).

tap Green iPhone, Regenerate.

------
calebhicks
>Apple didn’t release something out of style to which mindless sheep are
flocking because it’s new. Apple released something in-style to which millions
are flocking because it’s attractive.

I'm sure there are plenty in each camp. There are people flocking towards it
because it's now. And there are people buying it because it's attractive.

Sometimes _new_ is attractive. I know at least 3 people on my own Family Plan
are getting silver or gold because they are 'tired of black'. No big deal.

I think a lot of people get too worked up over other people's personal
opinions. And in the end, I'm not sure that anyone will really care about the
color (gold, black, or whatever) in 2 weeks.

~~~
jkhowland
I think that there is a 'self definition' (whether right or wrong) that takes
place with a device decision. When people choose an iPhone or Android phone,
they start to identify with that brand. The same can be said of color.

Back in 2007 I remember listening to a student and his father shopping for a
Mac. He refused to buy the lower cost white one because it was girly. He had
to get the top of the MacBooks black model.

I think the self definition aspect of the purchase lasts much longer than a
couple weeks.

~~~
calebhicks
That's a fair point. I remember buying 'up' on a road bike for the color I
preferred. So you're right there.

Maybe I think it lasts a shorter time because I was almost entirely apathetic
towards which color I got this time around. I ended up with black (space grey)
because that's what the store had when I got there.

------
eric_cc
This is one of the worst things I've ever seen on the front page of Hacker
News.

~~~
prodigal_erik
I find "selling technology to shallow people who don't give a crap about
technology" to be quite topical and useful to understand, if depressing.

------
koudi
So, he's not 'mindless flocking sheep' because he wants new device from apple.
He wants it because it's fashionable. I can't help it, but it sounds like
'mindless flocking sheep' to me, too.

------
badman_ting
This thing is _really_ bothering people, and I totally do not understand why.

~~~
Shivetya
techies don't want the bling crowd to encroach on their territory?

If anything, its a gift to the snatch and run crowd.

Sadly there is a clique out there that sees status in what type of phone or
laptop you have. Its this generations 3 series. Personal expression of wealth,
or pseudo wealth. Jersey Shore, Kardassians, and the ilk.

The techies reject this use of their domain, hence the disdain expressed by
many. My opinion, gaudy.

~~~
potatolicious
> _" Jersey Shore, Kardassians, and the ilk."_

I don't think this is an accurate distinction at all. Conspicuous consumption
is everywhere, even within techies - you _really_ don't have to reach as far
as Jersey Shore and the Kardashians to find people who wear their electronics
like jewelry.

Hell, even Uber is conspicuous consumption in a lot of cases. Why roll up to
the club in a cab when you can do so in a sleek, black SUV? And we know how
popular _that_ is with the technology crowd.

The "techies" have not rejected this use of their domain, they're just a
little peeved that they no longer have monopoly of using technology as bling.

~~~
lukifer
Hell, the very first iPhone quickly became a status symbol, since it was both
expensive and had a very distinctive, trend-setting design. For a a brief
moment, it was a pocket computer to the digerati, and a fashion accessory for
everyone else. (Actually, I'm not sure that's changed much...)

------
jason_slack
Well, I waited outside the Los Gatos store for 36 hours, 1st in line and I got
the ONLY gold iphone. People behind me were mad and one lady offered $100 + a
16gb Space Grey to give up the gold iPhone. I declined.

Why did I want one? It is different. It is not the typical white and black
that we have come to expect. It really does look nice! A change of pace.

------
fsckin
Apple is selling the Gold iPhone and having a simultaneous launch in China.

This is not a coincidence, and as you can see[0], it is working.

[0] [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-24/china-
gold-9-millio...](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-24/china-
gold-9-million-iphones-sold.html)

------
Tichy
It saddens me a bit that the most exciting aspect of a new Apple product is
it's color.

~~~
ars
It's a sign that the product is mature.

Desktop PCs used to be beige, or rarely black. Now they come in colors with
LED lights, and all kinds of decoration.

Cars used to come in black, now they have colors.

It's like that for everything - at first you just want the thing for the
functionality. Later you also want it to look nice.

I've sometimes waited to buy a new gizmo till I see it offered in colors -
that's my sign that the product is "finished" and is as good as it's going to
get. (It's true for games too - do you know games where you can change the
color/outfit of the character?)

~~~
Tichy
Amusing how "we" can rationalize everything - love the "product is mature"
line of reasoning. So if a company stops innovating, we can now say it is an
indicator of maturity :-)

------
igorgue
I got the pink iPhone 5c 'cause I like that color and they don't have purple.
And it makes good conversation about how pink is "for girls" but that's just
society telling you that, I'm a rebel!

~~~
hfsktr
The images on apple.com make it seem closer to red. Maybe it's my monitor here
are work (though other colors seem fine). Nothing wrong with pink, but you're
braver than I.

Edit: I went back and some of the other pictures make it a bit clearer. Also
the selection says pink in the html so I guess it must just be my eyes.

~~~
igorgue
The phone is definitely pink.

------
trevmckendrick
It's really hard to separate one's thinking from current trends and fashions,
but I try my hardest to do it. I don't think most do, though, or even realize
how influenced they are by their environment.

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andrewljohnson
Even if no one wanted the gold color, the babble in the press is gold itself.
I wonder how much of this was foreseen, or even instigated by the PR flacks.

~~~
heyitsnick
I see it as common marketing strategy. It's all about shifting the
conversation from "do I really need an incremental smartphone upgrade?" to
"are you getting the gold or sticking with white?" I realise its significantly
more nuanced than that, but at the core, its subtly changing the decision
process of the consumer.

The comments in this thread, the blog post itself, and all the other media
coverage, is all playing the same game; it underpins most tech coverage - be
it android/ios, xbox/sony, mac/pac - its about setting up either/ors and
removing the decision of none.

------
kunai
Why is this even significant? The OP's logic makes no sense. He claims that
gold isn't for mindless fanboys who want the new thing because it's new, but
then claims that gold is for mindless fanboys who want the new thing because
it's shiny and gold instead.

What the hell?

~~~
moogleii
If you assume that fashion is mindless, then sure, he kinda said something
like that.

------
pm90
Gold Phone you say? [http://www.engadget.com/2005/10/19/nokias-lamour-
collection-...](http://www.engadget.com/2005/10/19/nokias-lamour-collection-
the-nokia-7380-7370-and-7360/)

------
piyush_soni
No. Even if you shout it in your defense on Hacker News, you're STILL a
mindless sheep :).

------
ianstallings
Everyone knows that caring about what other people are wearing or what device
they have is childish; and also, handle bar mustaches and unicycles are for
complete tools.

