"we are on the 17th iteration (give or take) of the product that single-handedly ruins our lives every day with incessant vibrations alerting us to some horrifying calamity, plus every song in the Bruce Springsteen back catalog. Coming up with new features for the never-ending information machines we all keep in our pockets isn't easy, but this time, Apple managed to develop a big (or should I say small) one. There's now a thinner iPhone Air, which is being marketed as the thinnest iPhone ever."
"These gadgets have never exactly been gargantuan, so it's kind of like identifying the tiniest grain of sand in the desert. Still, people around the world are fascinated by the sheer lack of phone here. Technology, design, and art are all trending toward a certain scarcity model, prepping us for a lack of bells and whistles, as though both your parents are unemployed and they want you to expect fewer trips to Disneyland."
"Life on Earth feels more and more like the experience of entering a Sweetgreen beige, spartan and unobtrusive. Sure, iPhones haven't gotten cheaper, but they have certainly gotten lesser. The iPhone Air is so small, I feel like I'll sit on it and it will slide seamlessly up my rectum, never to be seen again. For some, I'm sure losing your device inside your bowels might be a feature, but I think it's a rather uncomfortable bug."
Apple released an iPhone Air marketed as the thinnest iPhone ever, emphasizing extreme slenderness and pared-down design. The device reflects a broader cultural shift toward minimalism and scarcity in technology, design, and art. Reduced physical presence is framed as refinement but also signals loss of features and tactile robustness. Modern phones remain expensive despite feeling lesser compared to earlier, chunkier machines. Early personal computers were bulky, private, and utilitarian, serving as hidden spaces for solitary digital activity. Current design prioritizes unobtrusive aesthetics over functional heft, producing devices that can feel diminished, less satisfying, and even impractical.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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