December 7, 2025 1956 Ford Thunderbird convertible
I am 100% sure that in thirty years, beyond the era of the phone and well into something else, people will look at pics of old iPhones and say, “Why don’t they make ‘em like that anymore?”—just the way they say it about classic cars today.
There are, of course, Reasons they don’t: chief among them, that the pretty picture doesn’t capture the whole experience. At the same time, we can acknowledge, these were lovely machines.
A big difference between the classic car and the classic ph…
December 7, 2025 1956 Ford Thunderbird convertible
I am 100% sure that in thirty years, beyond the era of the phone and well into something else, people will look at pics of old iPhones and say, “Why don’t they make ‘em like that anymore?”—just the way they say it about classic cars today.
There are, of course, Reasons they don’t: chief among them, that the pretty picture doesn’t capture the whole experience. At the same time, we can acknowledge, these were lovely machines.
A big difference between the classic car and the classic phone, though, and a damning one: 70 years later, I can still fire up the Thunderbird and drive it around town. No phone will useful — usable — in twenty years, to say nothing of 70.
This thought occurs as I muse about Apple’s role in the next great eras of computing. Here is a company clearly outmatched by events (which, to be fair, have been swift and surprising) yet also a company without manufacturing peer — an interesting mix. Naturally, I’d prefer for the outcome to be that more companies become Apple-great at making things, but I suspect it will be the opposite: the peak of quality will erode somewhat, and the very best example of the next device, whatever it is, will simply be cruddier.