Is There Still a Cult of Mac?

More than 20 years since Steve Jobs’s return to Apple, the company is now very

different. A culture of dominance has replaced the culture of defensiveness. No

longer the tiny underdog, Apple has become the often misunderstood and some-

times much maligned supplier of technology. It’s become the leader of the pack,

and after Jobs’s death in 2011, it is officially the global leader in tech and one of the

top 10 largest companies of any kind by revenue.

Apple fans are found everywhere. There are large numbers of Apple users in

China, Japan, Europe, and the Middle East. Worldwide, consumers see Apple as a

luxury brand, a purveyor of aspirational goods. Apple products are status symbols,

synonymous with class, taste, and disposable income. But they’re also easy to use

and maintain, making them preferred devices for older folks and younger ones too,

who are flummoxed by less forgiving gadgets running Android or Windows.

Apple no longer makes just Macs. Twenty years ago, Apple fans were pas-

sionate about the Macintosh and the Newton, Apple’s early precursor to the iPad

and iPhone. Nowadays, the product line has expanded to include mobile phones,

tablets, streaming TVs, and music devices, including trendy Beats headphones and

smart home speakers. There are a lot more reasons to be a fan of Apple.

The Apple community has also changed. It’s no longer motivated by the

fear that Apple will go out of business, which was a powerful uniting force. Old

Apple users had a very strong us-versus-them mentality —

them

being anyone who

used a Windows PC. But a brand wasn’t all these fans had in common. Attendees

at Macworld used to be able to recognize “their people,” other Apple users who

looked, thought, and behaved like them.

Some old-time Apple users now complain about going to Apple Stores

around the world and not recognizing their tribe. Instead, they see stores overrun

by kids, teenagers, tourists, hipsters, and old people. In other words, Apple has

significantly wider appeal now more than ever — it’s for everyone.

Even though the Apple brand has become universal, a distinct Apple subcul-

ture endures: it has evolved to embrace all the diverse and creative ways in which

devotees express their love, as you’ll see in this book.