I am not a big fan of Apple. I want that up front, right off the bat. I admire the company's success, but I dislike the fanatical support of some of their users. I tend to dislike fanatics on any level. I certainly have a rather strong dislike of religious fanatics, and Apple fanatics often take things into realms that border on religion. Until the death of Steve Jobs, they had their prophet, and they tend to take things on faith. Faith is the only explanation for the huge sales of the original iPad in the first few days after launch. Only a handful of people had gotten their hands on one before launch and yet millions bought it in the first few days. Why? Because their prophet said it was magical, so like sheep, they lined up and bought one.
I'll try not to use the sheep word too much, because the only people who really qualify are people who bought an iPad without really knowing what they were getting. Buying the new iPad, or the new iPhone isn't the same, because these are new versions of a well-known product. You mostly know what you are getting.
But, that isn't the Apple fallacy, and all the people who buy them aren't sheep. They may be victims of the Apple fallacy, but they did know what they were getting. So, let me tell you two more things.
I'm 6'4" and I weigh over 300lbs. Now, I bring those up for one reason, and that is that I find it hard to find clothes that fit. And one of my greatest annoyances is the phrase, "One size fits all." Anything that is given that description will not fit me, and in fact I alter it to, "One size fits none." It would actually be more appropriate to say, "One size fits few."
Now, you might be wondering how this ties into something that could possibly be called the Apple Fallacy. The problem is that in the smartphone and tablet markets, Apple are the "One size fits all." They produce only one model of each, as if one model can truly be the best thing for everyone.
The amazing thing is that people actually believe this. Some of them are actually somewhat smart people who hold jobs. One of them works for Gizmodo. Or maybe I should say writes for Gizmodo, though he is listed as an Editor.
He thinks that 5 million Samsung Note buyers are...confused.
He thinks that it is his job to stop people from buying big phones by showing how silly they look on a diminutive woman with pants that are tight enough to cut off her circulation. Link
I suppose that the author is one of those normal sized people for whom most things are designed, including Apple products, but that doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with those of who cannot wear generic gimme caps, and can barely pull on a single X large shirt, and can't, or don't want to be forced to read on the tiny 3.5" screen of the present iPhone.
The Apple fallacy is the very concept that you can make one product and please everyone. No matter how much time, brain power and money you spend on figuring out the perfect device, there will always be someone who is better off with something else. And, there will always be those who choose to buy something different from everyone else.
Now, someone will point to Apple's sales figures and say that proves that one size fits all is the way to go. Well, it probably is if you want to make money, at least if you can sell one item, or one in a few different categories, as well as Apple does, but that doesn't mean that products and manufacturers that don't espouse the one-size-fits-all philosophy are stupid....and it certainly doesn't mean that anyone is stupid for not choosing the on-size-fits-all product.
Also, it is my opinion that the victory of Android over the iPhone is BECAUSE of the choices, and especially, because of the bigger phones. Why else would their be so many rumors about a larger iPhone?
Apple's one-size-fits-all policy has been a huge success as judged by millions of users and $100 billion in the bank, but some of the followers of the Church of Apple, which includes a majority of the Gizmodo writers, have fallen for the Fallacy that what is best for Apple the company, and best for Apple's users (which is debatable), is best for everyone. And here, they truly push Apple over into that religious analogy. They preach the one true faith.
They see the one true path, but there are many of us who find that path too restrictive, and we walk a path of our own, and since this really isn't religion, we are right, and all those who tell us our phones are too big are wrong. You don't wear clothes the same size as everyone else, you buy the size that fits you and while the size of your phone isn't always proportional to the size of your body, you should buy the phone that fits your needs and desires, even if others try to tell you that you're confused. It is they that are confused. Yes, the iPhone and iPad are great products, and you don't know how much it hurts for me to say that, but they are not the right fit for everyone.
And tech writers, especially those at Gizmodo, need to see that, and not try to sell the rest of us on the Apple Fallacy.
