Apple.com Review

Apple.com

Apple is a technological and business tycoon in today's market of devices and experiences. Apple is not special compared to other vendors like Toshiba, HP, Dell, or even Microsoft. They all sell devices, and they all can write documents and make movies and play games. But there is something unique about Apple that is impossible to identify from a purely business perspective. The point is that they view their product as an experience rather than a device or a service. From the perspective of Apple, Inc., buying an iPhone is buying Apple, and buying Mac is buying Apple: a uniform, relatable, and end-to-end experience.

To that end, the question becomes what is Apple's presence for the curious or the naysayers? Apple's success with selling devices back in 2008 with iPod is no accident--specifically which it wasn't the internet or their webpage selling those devices. It was the retail stores, word of mouth, and news hype that ultimately carried Apple into a truly golden age of commerce. It's entirely possible that Apple never needed a website back then and doesn't even need one now to keep the space grey, silver, and rose gold unibody train going.

For the purchasing category

    1. Is everything I need to get to or want to consume available without scrolling?

        Yes--with a twist. From a PC or newcomer’s perspective, it is not clear what Apple actually has to offer these days except for the one thing that they are particularly interested in driving sales or recently announced. Without knowing Mac is a computer, or Music is a subscription service, it's actually not immediately apparent what everything is.

    2. Is it visually appealing?

        Yes. The visual design is a universally recognizable Apple style. Sleek with silver, smooth scrolling, and vivid, bright colors against a white canvas.

    3. Am I left with the experience of wanting to come back?

        Yes. Oddly so, even though I have one of their products, I cannot help but waste a few minutes biweekly on their website to get lost in all of the silver.

       

Is it a good website?

On the ternary scale (0 being unreadable, 1 being unmemorable, and 2 being memorable), I give Apple.com a big fat 2. In a similar way to Amazon.com, their website is memorable for reasons that have nothing to do with the website itself, but rather the experience. Apple may have simply stumbled onto the design of their company language, the color scheme, and even the capabilities of their recent devices, but they captured something that cannot be forcibly replicated. This magic appears on the web too.