Snobbery today: 'The difference between Apple and Samsung industrial design'

[touchstone]

Here is a great article for your eyeballs. This guy goes into great detail explaining why the iphone 6 is still somehow better than the galaxy s6... because... the dots on the bottom don't line up as straight? Yes. They do not.



http://www.imore.com/difference-apple-samsung-industrial-design

The difference between Apple and Samsung industrial design
BY RENE RITCHIE

"Paint the back of the fence", has been referenced time and again, "because you'll know."

It's a quote from the late Steve Jobs' father intended to help instill pride in craft. Jony Ive, Apple's senior vice president of design, has spoken numerous times about the importance and inevitability of great design as well, about the care and consideration it takes, and how people notice it even when they don't notice themselves noticing it.

Recently there was a brouhaha about a Qualcomm sticker junking up the Samsung Galaxy S6 on Verizon. You don't see a sticker like that on the iPhone 6 or any other iPhone, of course, because Apple cares more about the look of their product than the licensing fees or other considerations refusing it entails. Same with Intel Inside stickers on the Mac.

But when I looked at the picture of Samsung's product, it wasn't the sticker that bothered me so much. That, I assume, can be peeled off. It was something else I saw that bothered me, and something I can now never un-see.

It's the lack of basic alignment.

Here's the top image again, this time with lines drawn through the center points. The sticker isn't even put on straight, which seems unimaginable given modern production equipment.

I thought maybe it had something to do with the "edge" design, so I checked out the non-edge version as well.

Same thing. Since the iPhone 6 is in the same photo, the lack of basic alignment is even more noticeable. In case it was just the bottom, I took a look at the top as well.

And the side.

Almost nothing is aligned.

Some people might not care. Like painting the back of the fence or finishing the underside of the cabinet, it's a detail that only people who take tremendous pride in craft really care about. And, of course, people who look for just exactly that kind of quality.

That's because it takes an incredible amount of time and resources to achieve it. It takes an incredible amount of planning and coordination as well. It also takes the willingness to not do something if you feel doing it right is important enough.

To align everything along the edge of a device takes designing and mounting the boards in a certain way, and the ports and speakers, and the buttons and jacks, and the grills and every other detail so they all line up at exactly the right place at the end. Painstaking is likely an understatement.

Is it worth the effort? For me, as a customer, knowing that Apple had the consideration and took the time and effort to align their hardware speaks to the overall quality of their work. It reassures me that the same consideration and effort were likely spent making sure not a millimeter nor milliamp of battery space was wasted, not a nanometer of die, not a gap left around the screen, or a dead zone in the capacitive sensor.

Sure, problems crop up with every product, but like James Cameron says, when you aim unbelievably high, even your failures surpass other people's successes.

Again, I realize this won't matter to some people, and will serve as fodder for jokes for others. Software stability, some will no doubt cry. Yet bits can and are fixed. Software gets updated and services invisibly improved. Atoms, not so much. There's no magic patch that will ever bend those elements back into alignment. They, and owners, are stuck like that forever.

That's why it matters to me, and along with other things like privacy and security, better apps, Apple Stores and Apple Care, and a great Google experience and the best Microsoft experience, means it's absolutely something anyone who cares about design and quality should factor into their decision to switch to iPhone.

I had the chance to spend several evenings with the Galaxies S6 recently and while Samsung ditched a ton of differentiation to offer a more iPhone-like product. Android stalwarts will bemoan the lack of removable battery, the lack of SD card support, and the lack of waterproofing. My reaction was to bemoan the lack of deep, detail oriented design culture and pride in craft.

Because once you know the back of the fence wasn't painted, not only can you never un-know it, you can never stop wondering what else wasn't given that same care and consideration.

Does anybody even really see this crap? I mean this is really grasping at straws, now that the iphone 6 is shown to be inferior to the S6, they focus on the alignment of the holes on the bottom of the phone. Really pathetic.

 

[poofyhairguy]

It was always going to be SOMETHING. iFans weren't just going to roll over and admit defeat.

I can't wait for later this summer when the sales numbers hit and the S6 is an amazing success. Then the excuses will get ridiculous. The first iPhone user that complains about Touchwiz to make a point is going to make my day.

 

[ultimatebob]

Apple has a habit of attracting the artsy people who actually give a damn about things like button and port alignment. Most people just don't give a damn.

I am still a bit pissed that the new S6 isn't waterproof, though. That seems like a big step back to me.

 

[master_shake_]

i see it as a real design failure imho.

imagine pulling out your phone and hitting the power button only to realize it is not perfectly centered on your finger.

i would just die of embarrassment.

you know whats funny?

i bet apple has a patent on side of device symmetry.

 

[Oyeve]

Apple has a habit of attracting the moron people who actually give a damn about things like button and port alignment. Most people just don't give a damn.

I am still a bit pissed that the new S6 isn't waterproof, though. That seems like a big step back to me.

FTFY, I know many artsy people, and they hate apple more than I do. Or maybe the artsy people I know arent stupid.

 

[Commodus]

There's a small point to be made about getting the finer details right, but yeesh, this is a bit much. Even as an iPhone 6 owner, I'm content to concede that the Galaxy S6 has nicer hardware in key areas. You'd expect as much for a smartphone that shipped seven months later.

 

[BoberFett]

Ah yes, the rules of design. As we all know, the best photos are those where the subject is perfectly centered. The Rule of Centeredness, I believe it's called.

 

[ChronoReverse]

Is it worth the effort? For me, as a customer, knowing that Apple had the consideration and took the time and effort to align their hardware speaks to the overall quality of their work. It reassures me that the same consideration and effort were likely spent making sure not a millimeter nor milliamp of battery space was wasted, not a nanometer of die, not a gap left around the screen, or a dead zone in the capacitive sensor.

This is an interesting conclusion to me because it indicates to me the very opposite. Getting things symmetrical requires that you _don't_ give absolute precedence to things like thinness and battery size. This is borne out by the _fact_ that the GS6 is thinner than the IP6 and has a larger capacity battery (even accounting for the 10% greater area the GS6 has).

 

[Skurge]

This is an interesting conclusion to me because it indicates to me the very opposite. Getting things symmetrical requires that you _don't_ give absolute precedence to things like thinness and battery size. This is borne out by the _fact_ that the GS6 is thinner than the IP6 and has a larger capacity battery (even accounting for the 10% greater area the GS6 has).

To get buttons and ports aligned will likely mean there is some space wasted internally to do that.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I love both iPhones and Android. But I think it's nice that Apple pays attention to the small details that most other companies ignore.

 

[ChronoReverse]

To get buttons and ports aligned will likely mean there is some space wasted internally to do that.

Exactly. That's why I came to the opposite conclusion of the article from the same premises

 

[openwheel]

FTFY, I know many artsy people, and they hate apple more than I do. Or maybe the artsy people I know arent stupid.

There are artsy people, and then there are people who think they are artsy. :whiste:

 

[ultimatebob]

To get buttons and ports aligned will likely mean there is some space wasted internally to do that.

Yeah, whoever designed that shitty looking case obviously failed Apple's "straight line iPhone design" school

Hey... if I was a snobby blogger who just spent $750 on a phone that was no longer the coolest phone around, I might be pissed off as well.

Personally, I still hold a grudge from the crappy firmware updates and bloatware that Verizon put on my old Galaxy S3. That's why I switched networks and went back an iPhone. I don't care if it's no longer cool... I just want my phone to be stable!

 

[openwheel]

Why would anyone want the holes to align on a straight line?

My wife loves that my left nut is slightly lower than the right one.

 

[Zaap]

Heh. If Samsung lined everything up then it'd be a constant chorus of "they copied Apple!!!"

Picked up an S6 Edge and messed with it for about 20 minuted while waiting to get my Note4 last week. I wasn't that impressed when I first saw photos of if... but in real its a hell of a nice design.

And gee, one of many varied designs from Samsung. Sure if they only put out ONE freaking device every blue moon, they could kick back and worry about stupid insignificant details. I'm kind of sick of the whole Apple/Samsung comparison for the fact that Apple comes out with diddly-shit compared to Samsung.

Show me Apple's edge screen phones. Show me their wacom pen phone or tablet. Their one watch is a "me-too me-too" device to what others have been doing for years.

The *only* interesting and step outside the usual box Apple's really done lately was the 6 plus... and even that was just a me-too to phablets that Samsung and others have already set the stage for.

Wake me up when Apple really does come out with something radical, different, chance-taking again... until then... gee. Aligned holes!

 

[Oyeve]

Heh. If Samsung lined everything up then it'd be a constant chorus of "they copied Apple!!!"

Picked up an S6 Edge and messed with it for about 20 minuted while waiting to get my Note4 last week. I wasn't that impressed when I first saw photos of if... but in real its a hell of a nice design.

And gee, one of many varied designs from Samsung. Sure if they only put out ONE freaking device every blue moon, they could kick back and worry about stupid insignificant details. I'm kind of sick of the whole Apple/Samsung comparison for the fact that Apple comes out with diddly-shit compared to Samsung.

Show me Apple's edge screen phones. Show me their wacom pen phone or tablet. Their one watch is a "me-too me-too" device to what others have been doing for years.

The *only* interesting and step outside the usual box Apple's really done lately was the 6 plus... and even that was just a me-too to phablets that Samsung and others have already set the stage for.

Wake me up when Apple really does come out with something radical, different, chance-taking again... until then... gee. Aligned holes!

Amen brother!

 

[openwheel]

Is it just me, or is the iPhone's camera lense terribly off center?

 

[poofyhairguy]

Wake me up when Apple really does come out with something radical, different, chance-taking again... until then... gee. Aligned holes!

You don't think Apple trying to sell a netbook for $1200 in 2015 counts as a risk?

 

[trmiv]

Heh. If Samsung lined everything up then it'd be a constant chorus of "they copied Apple!!!"

Picked up an S6 Edge and messed with it for about 20 minuted while waiting to get my Note4 last week. I wasn't that impressed when I first saw photos of if... but in real its a hell of a nice design.

And gee, one of many varied designs from Samsung. Sure if they only put out ONE freaking device every blue moon, they could kick back and worry about stupid insignificant details. I'm kind of sick of the whole Apple/Samsung comparison for the fact that Apple comes out with diddly-shit compared to Samsung.

Show me Apple's edge screen phones. Show me their wacom pen phone or tablet. Their one watch is a "me-too me-too" device to what others have been doing for years.

The *only* interesting and step outside the usual box Apple's really done lately was the 6 plus... and even that was just a me-too to phablets that Samsung and others have already set the stage for.

Wake me up when Apple really does come out with something radical, different, chance-taking again... until then... gee. Aligned holes!

I feel the same about the S6 edge. I saw the pictures initially and was thinking "meh" then I played one at Best Buy and thought it was really, really nice. It looked so slick, and was something different looking than just a slab. The edge design reminds me of those infinity pools where it looks like they don't end. Really cool to look at. If I wasn't so attached to the big screen and removable battery on my Note 4, I'd have an S6 edge right now.

 

[Subyman]

I may be in the minority, but I believe people "sense" quality without being able to pick out what draws them to that conclusion. Take for example if you walk into a room where the baseboard nails haven't been countersunk and puttied, the trim was not chaulked, and the dry wall is not perfectly smooth. You may not notice all those tiny details, but they culminate in an old and tired appearance. If you walked into that same room where every last detail was perfect, then you'd have an entirely different perception. Only a tradesman would likely be able to point out all the things that makes the person have that perception, but the layman perceives it none-the-less.

Apple certainly isn't perfect, but they do hold themselves to a higher standard than most companies. It seems to have done well for them and I appreciate that they spend the resources on small details.

There is a thin line between being a snob and appreciating the small details. The line is crossed when disdain is present. I didn't find the article to be too critical, but only drawing attention to what a lot of people may miss when casually shopping for a phone.

 

[dainthomas]

Is it just me, or is the iPhone's camera lense terribly off center?

win

 

[stlc8tr]

It was always going to be SOMETHING. iFans weren't just going to roll over and admit defeat.

I can't wait for later this summer when the sales numbers hit and the S6 is an amazing success. Then the excuses will get ridiculous. The first iPhone user that complains about Touchwiz to make a point is going to make my day.

What you would consider a success? The GS6/Edge outselling the iPhone 6/6+ for the quarter?

 

[Fardringle]

Is it just me, or does anyone else find it extremely funny that he's complaining about the buttons and holes on a phone not being in a perfect line (which is ridiculous because they simply do not need to be) while holding those phones with hands that look like they recently went through a meat grinder? I mean, those cuticles and nails are so out of alignment that I can't believe anything that he says anywhere else in the article.

 

[Artdeco]

By all measures, the GS6 is a great phone, and I'll bet the next version will be more symmetrical. USB C will be a nice addition IMHO.

I've never been big on design, more a a function person, I truly hate that Samsung went with the current design, never really had a problem with their design as long as it had a removable battery and expandable memory, phones like the Note 4 impress the hell out of me.

 

[darkswordsman17]

I'm curious how many of the people scoffing at this are ones that have been complaining about companies not having symmetry with the bezels on the face of the phone.

I definitely think this is getting ridiculous. Complaining about this but not complaining about other much more glaring design issues (like those awful plastic spacers that Samsung and HTC both aped from the iPhone 6) is just silly. I'm also not sure why the jutting camera lenses don't bother him as well. Or the lack of symmetrical speakers on the iPhone 6, or...well you get the point.