IT Professionals

Is Apple Really A Cult?

Posted by on May 4, 2010 | 7 Comments

I think there was a time when people clung to their Apple products for the simple fact that they provided choice — an alternative to the PC lifestyle and feature set. Would I go so far as to point out that this article is right on there being potential for cult-like behavior? Yes, with select narrow minded souls who haven’t bothered to look around much lately. But most Apple fans are generally fairly grounded, in my experience.

The fact of the matter is that today’s Apple is NOT the same kind of company that it was during the Super Bowl showing of its 1984-based commercial. Today, Apple is interested in control because it seems it has discovered that when you lock in the users to an experience, be it a value-added one, the market share takes care of itself pretty easily.

Apple is a strong brand, based on a quality experience. Note that I did not say quality product. The fact is that the products vary greatly depending what you end up with. Apple TV is crap while the iPhone is pretty rock solid. But in both cases, Apple maintains a strong experience if you remember to use its Apple Care service.

But are Apple products better than the competition? Anyone claiming to have this answer is full of it. Simple as that. Apple “package sells” a unique experience that is all its own. Many people love it, some others, like myself, have mixed feelings, while others loathe it.

I have found Apple’s products to generally be pretty good. I may not like a specific UI layout or the way it does business in the 21st century, but overall, it honors its commitments made with its customers.

Do these things, bundled together, translate into the breeding ground for a Mac cult? Well, perhaps for a select group of old time users. But I believe that today most “newer” converts are just fans of the product experience and/or the knowledge that Apple Care provides to them. Apple controls the show. These fans know this and are totally fine with it. So long as the transparency remains, I don’t see Apple losing face any time soon.

[awsbullet:Return to the Little Kingdom]

  • http://hollywooddigital.wordpress.com/ _mark

    cult, yes.

    anytime users complain 24/7 about issues while claiming to be above them blaming everyone and everything else but the company / machine they use have been drinking some kind of cult-like kool-aid IMO.

    Fact is, they are full of it.

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  • Levi

    Is Apple a cult? No but as you pointed out people can form a cult.

    However there is a problem trying to define the customers of Apple products as being one way or the other. Fact is we don’t know, and we only have experience with those we’ve met.

    Maybe many of the newer customers you know of have no cultish beliefs regarding Apple but they do around here. According to many if you don’t buy Apple you don’t care about quality or getting the best systems that will ever be made. And most of them are the hip new young crowd. The older people are a bit more reasonable in my experience.

    So I think it doesn’t matter how old or familiar people are with Apple. You’ll run the gambit on them all.

  • http://www.driscal.com dAvE

    I don’t think Apple is a cult… But I do believe Apple users can have cult mentality, or just be too close-minded or snobbish…

    I am a life-long, 30-year user of Apple products… I’ve been using them since I was 12, starting with the Apple II Plus… I love Apple and their products… Though, maybe more in their earlier days… They do seem a bit different now… More controlling…

    I did grow up with PCs as well… However, as an Artist and 2D Animator, I’ve just never felt comfortable with PCs… They’ve always felt clunky to me, and not as intuitive (for my brain, anyway O.o)… So, Apples/Macs have been, and are, my choice…

    I just wish they didn’t cost so much!… >.< …

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  • T MacPherson

    To this day, I simply cannot understand the hold that Apple has on some people. I can say this with some expertise. My first computer was an Apple II+ I have owned Macintosh’, I own an iPod Touch (my 5th iPod), and I do have a MacBook for the family computer.

    However, the complete lack of real options as a computing platform where discovery, tinkering, customization, and etc are truly baffling to me.

    After many years away from computers (I had a stint with Commodore in between), I fell back in love with my first 486, which allowed me to do whatever I wanted in terms of customization. I could control how much memory was being used, how it got loaded (High Memory), and most importantly a much stronger set of software to handle it.

    This love of tinkering, and the ability to do it ended up providing me with a very good career in the computer business. I fear that the avenue that I had to get into it is now going away in this over controlled environment that Apple is successfully driving. From a business model, it is very good, but from a pure innovation point of view, I see very little of that coming from users of the Apple product set.