Apple is the largest importer of deodorants in the world. And this is all linked to the Apple Store… but also to the packaging boxes. They all have a particular smell. And they open in a specific way. They are part of a grand strategy which it took years of refinement. In fact, there was a team within Apple dedicated exclusively to opening boxes. It may seem eccentric, but Steve Jobs had his motivations and his reasons for dedicate the hours and salaries of these people to opening packages.
The key lies in the type of boxes they opened: those of Apple products, of course. When you buy an iPhone 16 Pro, there is a specific way to open it, to remove the seal, from the elements you find little by little. He unpacking
Apple only has one chance to make a good impression
The experience of receiving a new Apple product, open ing its box, touching it, noticing its weight and making it your own is a ritual. An experience that, even if we neglect it, is the first impression of a device. AND first impressions are last
That’s why Steve Jobs, the man who drove his Mercedes without a license plate and wanted to become an astronaut, created a team to study the best way to present the company’s products. A team whose status we do not yet know, because it could easily have been absorbed by the marketing department, but whose main objective is still very present in the company.
Why boxes at Apple are so important
All Apple products come in a box, usually white, which has changed and evolved a lot over time. There are some notable examples of what Apple offers and achieves with your attention to how you package your different devices. That of the iMac with the M3 chip, which is the same as its predecessor, is a masterpiece, just like other devices like the Mac Pro, or even iPhone cases.
On this occasion, Apple has opted for a box which, once opened, requires us to hold the iMac with both hands to remove it. This first contact makes us notice how thin and light the design is. A gesture as “human” as holding a baby in your arms. And that’s just one example of how product packaging communicates a very specific story and serves as a letter of introduction.
The few color options of the first iPhone made them present with the screen facing up in the box. Now, with a front indistinguishable from many models and bright colors on the back, iPhones have turned around to show off their most distinctive side first.
And all these decisions have their origins in the team that Steve Jobs created and charged with devoting themselves to opening the boxes. A team, as INC.com reminds us, responsible for prototyping packaging, testing options, and gauging feedback to determine the best way to introduce a new device to a customer. A team that ensured we received our new Apple product a whole ritual.
An older version of this article was originally published on 10/11/2023.
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