Apple's design principles: what's the long-term strategy?

In just a few days, Apple is expected to announce a new iPhone and consign the current model to aesthetic obsolescence. Those still using a first-gen edition model will be doubly cursed! After all, there's nothing quite like last year's block of overpriced fashion technology to engender existential dread in consumers. For the rest of the weekend, however, the original is still hot stuff. Pete Mortensen of Cult of Mac takes another look at its distinctive appearance, just in time:

"There’s never been a better time to perform a quick post-mortem on the existing multi-touch devices from Apple. Though the iPhone has been talked nearly to death, one topic that has gone relatively unexplored over the 18 months since the unveiling of the iPhone is the strategy behind its design"

His basic thesis is that Apple is driven by the challenge of appealing to a general public that, over and over again, made clear that it isn't interested in Apple's products. Mortensens' explains what Apple is cultivating: "using the actual physical design of its products to educate and explain."

True enough, but that premise is also a great explanation for Apple's legendary indifference to its fanbase: it knows there's just no future in feeding a Leica-like cult of true believers.

A Retroactive Look at the Design Strategy of the iPhone and iPod touch [Cult of Mac]