Hello,
Last week, Google launched a roster of new products. The Pixel 7 and 7 Pro. Pixel Watch. And an introduction to the Pixel Tablet slated to launch 2023. As a Pixel 6 owner, I was more than excited. A new Tensor chip. Thinner body. Cinematic blur. Built-in VPN. Shit.
A month prior, Apple launched the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro. With the latter model introducing the world to the Dynamic Island which I think might just be a novelty. Objectively speaking since I own an Android. I did once own an iPhone 4 back in 2010. We also got a new A16 Bionic chip and an Apple Watch that will survive a tsunami. This month, rumours abound that Apple will launch new MacBook Pros with an M2 chip. As the owner of a 2018 MacBook Pro, I couldn’t be more elated.
Both companies are promising ground breaking technology. Better. Faster. New.
Sign me up!
I consider myself a gadget nerd and become excited when companies launch their latest tech. Websites like TechRadar, MacRumours and Android Authority publish the latest ins and out of what’s happening. Then there’s the YouTuber’s like Marques Brownlee and Dave Lee offering their personality and critique on the industry.
While I am very much enamoured by product launches, I can’t help but feel like it’s getting stale. The products themselves have plateaued. How many ways can you really physically change a phone? Phones went from a lot of bezels to non-existent that it’s no longer a selling feature. A laptop is a laptop. You open and close it. Apple got rid of all its ports and then re-introduced the ports and marketed it as revolutionary when really they succumbed to consumer demands.
The jig is up.
The launches are very much planned to meet the financial demands of the corporation and their stakeholders. You technically don’t need an iPhone 14 or Pixel 7 if you already have a phone within the last couple of years. It’s fine. You’ll live. I would much prefer a new model every few years to really wow consumers.
If tech companies can’t force you to purchase new products, then why not introduce ways to make them eventually useless also known as planned obsolescence. Apple phones only get 5 years of OS updates. Google is even worse with only 3. That MacBook Pro of mine, well, Apple considers products vintage only after 7 years. I have 3 years left until I am forced to purchase another when I know I could stretch it longer. As consumers, we should demand more from these highly profitable multi-billion dollar companies. Government regulations, really. (Sorry libertarians)
Through strategic and hype marketing, everything boring is exciting. It’s worrying to corporations because consumer awareness is pretty acute. People are actually purchasing new products less often. I love tech. But for now, I’ll continue to use my products until the irreplaceable battery dies. Just as they planned.
Homosexual Agenda
Casted my vote NOT for John Tory during advance polls. Honestly, get rid of his conservative ass. Useless. I voted for Gil Peñalosa. Sure. I also voted for Alejandro Bravo, but through a voting quiz I actually leaned harder left to Shaker. However Bravo is more likely to win.
On the hunt for a Middle East grocery store so I could purchase za’atar after watching so many Ottolenghi Test Kitchen videos. I could purchase it at Parallel, but it would be more exciting to peruse the aisles.
Had a craving for injera after watching Eden Egziabher create a recipe at Vice Munchies.
Hang-xiety? How a Night of Drinking Can Tank Your Mood at the NYT. Honestly would burrow in a hold if a hangover is 7/10 the next day.
Sound advice about aging by Marlowe Granados at The Baffler. // Aging is terrifying for most people because it comes with the realization that you are shifting from the center of attention.
The Elusive Power of Cate Blanchett at the NYT. She seems very put together & intellectual in non-egotistical way. The accompanying visuals are also very conceptual. Who is watching Tár?
This iconic coalescence of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Japanese Breakfast and The Linda Lindas performing Kids In America last week at The Hollywood Bowl. Perfume Genius also made a cameo :| — Not to shit on The Linda Lindas, but an opportunity like that is really hard. 2 of the bandmates dad is a music producer so: nepo babies.
I watched the official trailer of Falling For Christmas starring Lindsay Lohan so you don’t have to. I will say it’s no The Princess Switch!
A good introduction to Chloë Sevigny’s work, if you didn’t already know. With a sprinkle of fashion. Role Playing With Chloë Sevigny at SSENSE.
I learned that Pingu speaks Penguinese (the fuck) and that it's German made. This whole time I thought it was those freaky French Canadians while watching on TVO. This Kids’ Show Proves the Wisdom of Gibberish at the NYT.
If you didn’t know, it was Canadian Thanksgiving, not that anyone actually celebrates it, but:
Bye!
Perry
Bonus:
Loving all the articles about Amazon Prime deals because Amazon wins. The media wins through affiliated links. The consumer loses by buying something they didn’t actually need. Like what is this bullshit headline: Last Chance: These 100+ Jaw-Dropping Kitchen Deals from Amazon's October Prime Day End Tonight from Food & Wine. 100+ links in hopes you click on something and they make a cut. LOL. The poor person who had to write that piece.
Carlos’ house of spice in Kensington should have za’atar! They have everything