Elegant Technology

Q. How much does Apple Inc. care about design?
A. A great deal if you look at their products.

To show how far Apple Inc. care about design I have put together two pictures of laptop computers from Apple and from HP. These pictures are of the underside of the laptop. Let me stress that again, ‘the underside‘.

This is an area that the user very rarely sees but often touches when carrying it.

Although I try, I find it hard to imagine the discussions and thought processes that improve the design from that of the HP to that of the Apple.

Lets focus on a few obvious areas;

• Labels - The HP is awash with labels [there are plenty more when you open it to use as well]. These range from licence codes, safety warnings, serial numbers, stock labels etc. The Apple has discreet labeling between the two screws at the top of the picture.
• Fan Vents - The HP has a large fan whereas the Apple has none. Apple have designed their laptop so that the fan exhausts around the hinge area.
• Docking - In fairness the HP does have a docking port that can be used to expand its connectivity but this mainly duplicates the ports on the laptop.
• Rubber feet - The Apple has four feet whereas the HP has eight
• Surface Form - The Apple has a smooth flat plane with flush fitting screws [3 off]. The HP has lots of grooves, peaks, and valleys with a multitude of screw heads and additional venting.
• Battery Release - Apple have managed to design a single lock and release mechanism whereas HP have two catches; one to unlock the release and another to release the battery.

I think you will agree that after reading the above comparison you will see the tremendous attention to detail that Apple puts into its products. It puts a great deal of effort into reducing it’s product design to it’s simplest most elegant form.

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