Form over function for Apple at new headquarters

The new Apple headquarters has been in the news of late with the huge glass panes at its new spaceship-like headquarters leading to employee injuries.

It has been reported that employees were walking into glass windows and doors and walls at the new headquarters resulting in minor injuries such as cuts.

Ironically, this may be a result of people being too busy with their phones and not looking up compared to anything else.

However, employees did look to find a quick solution to problem by putting sticky notes up. This didn’t last long though as they were quickly taken down because the sticky notes were detracting from the design of the building.

Whilst this recent run of events may seem silly, it does highlight the strong links to Apple’s design philosophy that it does make compromise for anywhere – the value of form over function.

iPhone X

Despite the tech giant’s long-lasting success, they have had some major design flaw along the way as they seek to provide a beautiful piece of technology with a lesser regard for its function.

The most recent example of this is the camera and speaker at the top of the new iPhone X screen in which apple insisted on being edge to edge. The problem is, the notch for the camera sticks out into the screen, ultimately limiting the screen size when it comes to videos and websites.

Not so magical mouse

The most obvious design failure in a quest for beauty over usability in recent times from Apple comes in the form of the Magic Mouse 2.

The wireless mouse fits well on the palm of your hand and moves smoothly across the desk making it perfect for laptops and desktops. However, as all things do, it requires charging from time to time.

Unlike other tech companies, Apple is set on hiding the ‘ugly’ features of technology and instead of having the charging port visible so that you are able to charge it and use it at the same time, it is hidden in the belly of the mouse.

Are they for the pros?

Apple is a highly profitable company, in fact they are the most profitable in the world and that doesn’t come from constant flops and misses.

Apple’s vision is strong and runs throughout the whole company as they won’t give up the beauty of design for anything.

This was evident in their release of the Mac Pro, designed to provide professionals seeking high editing power and video, squeezed into a small cylindrical pod. This was meant to be a big breakthrough that highlighted Apple’s innovative skills.

It was incredible that they could fit so much into something so small. However, it fell short with the pros who didn’t care about the size of the unit but merely the easy with which they could upgrade its components.

Apple is now completely rethinking the design of the Mac Pro outlining the firm’s ability to adapt when it fails.

Maybe a frosted glass might be more suitable?

Zac Fyffe
Zac Fyffe
Passionate about writing and sharing my experiences with others. Zac has a keen interest in sport and politics in particular. Contact: [email protected]
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