People pay for a luxury brand, more so than the product.

The iPhone 4, iPad 2, MacBook Pro 2008, and OG AirPods were status symbols. Do you remember?

Is an iPhone still a luxury item if everyone has one? Anything short of the latest, highest-spec model (14 Pro) won't catch anyone's eye. Having a smartphone of any kind is a privilege, but it hardly signals that you're worthy of great respect and admiration, in a Western country at least.

By contrast, imagine seeing someone in an Armani suit with a Louis Vuitton bag getting into a Lamborghini. A smartphone could never garner such social currency. Though you can guarantee they won't be pulling a Nokia out of that £10,000 bag...

What Apple does have, in a greater capacity than before, is control over people's lives. Not only are users addicted to their Apple devices, they are trapped in the ecosystem, where all their tech connects via Apple Pay, App Store, Apple TV, Apple Home, Apple AI and so on.

One does not simply cut ties with their Apple.

Open "Focus Mode" on your iPhone to switch between work, personal, social and sleep modes. Notice how the Apple has subtly infiltrated every manner; every hour of our lives. 

Each morning, you pass the same people at bus stops and on street corners - all of them, absorbed in their iPhones, totally oblivious to their surroundings - like drug addicts, with cleaner clothes. How many of them would beg for their fix of Apple if they had to?

Luxury is no longer reserved for the upper-class. The mid-range tech market serves to gather those who are not enticed by or cannot afford luxury tech. Entry-level devices include the iPhone SE, which sells at half the price of the flagship model, and lacks just a few modern bells and whistles. A concession ticket into the ecosystem - no stragglers. Every person must know how it feels to ride in first class, so they'll never want to ride in economy ever again.

What was once a luxury has slowly morphed into a necessity. Or has it all happened rather quickly? I'm not sure.

Apple: perhaps the world's first Essential Luxury Brand.

Question for you to ponder: When you're buying a new phone, do you see it as a luxury or a necessity purchase?

After a magical evening exploring Hogwarts Legacy, delving into the gaming market seemed only right this morning.

Did You Know: The video game sector is larger than the movie and music industry combined.

The market grew by 26% from 2019 to 2021 as millions of new players got involved during COVID-19 lockdowns.

The industry is set to maintain its rapid growth and could be worth $321 billion by 2026, according to a PwC report.

Men aged 15-24 in the US spend 1.82 hours per day gaming in 2022, compared to 1.08 hours in 2019 (See Graph). That's a 70% increase in three years.

3.36 million consoles were sold in the UK in 2021. Sales slumped in 2022, reaching just over 2 million. This would have been primarily due to stock shortages from supply chain issues. The shortages are long gone: PS5 sales were up 81% in the first 5 months of 2023 compared to 2022.

The Nintendo Switch - like the one we are testing here - is the best-selling console in the UK and worldwide - over 20 million units are shipped per year!

China and the US dominate the gaming market - currently accounting for about half of gaming and eSports revenues. However, developing countries such as Turkey, Pakistan and India are rapidly expanding their network of gamers, so expect to see a more even distribution by the end of the decade.

Why is gaming thriving?

Talent: The games are better; more fun; more addictive. Developers clearly understand human psychology better than just about anyone else.

Technological advancements: Graphics and performance just keep getting better. VR and AR create more immersive experiences.

Incentive: A $300 billion + growing market is a pretty attractive proposition.

Accessibility: Anyone with a smartphone can play a decent game. Consoles and devices are becoming universal, especially in poorer countries, where most people can now afford them.

Social and streaming: Gaming has transformed into quite a social activity. Gamers and influencers alike can connect and build communities within games and on platforms such as Twitch, YouTube, Reddit, Discord etc.

Variety: There's something for everyone: casuals, young and old, boys and girls, and all personality types.

Time to level up

There are currently 3 big players in the market that you know about: Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Then there are a few giant game developers (See Table).

The other big tech companies are really eyeing up their slice of the pie at the moment. Apple, Meta and Google are investing millions of dollars and man-hours into gaming products. Games have officially been promoted from side quest to main quest. It will be really interesting to see what they come up with. These three, along with Microsoft, are front-runners in AI - a technology which could accelerate progress in numerous directions.

Will this disruption result in massive innovation & growth? Very likely. There's never been a better time to be a gamer, or better yet, a game developer.

I'm excited.

Console Repairs

In China, all mobile phone users are required to submit facial recognition scans when registering a new SIM card.

The ministry justifies this policy as a safety measure in accordance with cybersecurity and antiterrorism campaigns. Critics on the other hand describe it as another step towards a dystopian surveillance state. 

You can use an eSIM in your mobile phone anywhere in the world, except China, where the technology is banned.

Logically, eSIM makes it easier for the network provider to track the user because the SIM is embedded in a chip inside the phone which cannot be easily removed like a physical SIM. I would suggest that eSIM technology simply does not fit with the Chinese government's current means and infrastructure that is in place for tracking its citizens, thus it remains outlawed. Exactly why it doesn't would require a deep dive and some speculation.

This is just one example of mass surveillance in China. The government have long been using digital technologies to monitor its citizens. Though many extreme examples presented by loopy conspiracists are often false or overblown, there are plenty of astonishing cases of covert surveillance that are grounded in evidence:

2005: The Chinese government created a mass surveillance system called Skynet. The government revealed Skynet's existence in 2013, by which time the network included over 20 million cameras. In addition to monitoring the general public, cameras were installed outside mosques in the Xinjiang region, temples in Tibet, and the homes of dissidents.

2017: The Chinese government encouraged the use of various mobile phone apps as part of a broader surveillance push. Local regulators launched mobile apps for national security purposes which allow citizens to report violations.

2018: Surveillance mechanisms include mass camera surveillance on the streets, internet surveillance, and newly invented surveillance methods based on social credit and identity. The government also adopted facial recognition technology, surveillance drones, robot police, and big data collection targeting online social media platforms to monitor its citizens.

2019: It was estimated the Skynet system had over 200 million monitoring CCTV cameras, making it the largest video surveillance system in the world. One industry researcher estimated that there were approximately 416 million surveillance cameras in China.

See how your facial scans determine your allocation of toilet paper in this fascinating and harrowing piece by Vice: https://youtu.be/CLo3e1Pak-Y

The Health Code smartphone app has been used to digitize medical records and track people's health status. Unfortunately, it has also been used to control the movement of protestors - enabling the police force to track down and arrest those that publicly oppose government establishments.

See this Financial Times article, "Digital Handcuffs", to learn how the COVID-tracing app has been misused: https://www.ft.com/content/dee6bcc6-3fc5-4edc-814d-46dc73e67c7e

It's difficult to determine whether and to what extent the government should take such measures to protect its citizens. It's also a question of how effective it is - I think that most people would be willing to sacrifice some degree of privacy if it was a necessary component in making them genuinely safer. But how can one be certain of a government's intentions? I struggle to recall or imagine a scenario where a government encroaching on its citizens' privacy or autonomy increases their safety and well-being. Whilst the extent of surveillance in the UK does not come close to that of China, people are becoming increasingly willing to forego their privacy in exchange for the technology and platforms that support our work, personal and social lives.

We choose to share our data with private organisations who can utilise it themselves and/or sell it on to other organisations with an aim to generate revenue. A necessary cost of doing business? Perhaps. Creepy - but only if you stop and think about it (which we don't). Still, seems like a far better deal than having all of our data in the hands of a central government with no option to opt-out. Sorry, China.

So often, people introduce themselves to me as a "Technophobe",  "Luddite" or "Dinosaur", typically accompanied by a shameful smile. I suspect in many cases that leading with mild self-deprecation is a defence mechanism. The customer expresses their own ignorance and incompetence up front to save on judgement or embarrassment in our subsequent interaction. Either that or it is a subtle request to speak on their level, in the most basic terms - perhaps because they've been made to feel inadequate by other, more tech-savvy people before, who can come across as condescending.  

I suspect that they do not fear the technology itself - rather the opinions and judgement of others which ultimately makes them feel insecure, out-of-touch, old and incapable. Sometimes people will compensate by signalling their competence in other areas - subtly pointing out that they are in fact very good with home DIY, for example, or that they are simply too busy and stressed to deal with tech at the moment. We all feel the need to play this card sometimes.

Such irrational fear can make us reluctant to seek help from a doctor, mechanic, personal trainer, therapist, hairdresser, childcare, or phone shop, choosing to avoid or delay it to our detriment.

To a doctor, your intimate areas are just a bit of skin amongst the ten they saw before lunch, and the thousands they'll see throughout their career. The doctor uses their knowledge and experience to provide treatment and recommendations, not to pass judgement or gossip with their colleagues. I wonder if many patients lead with "I'm really bloated today" or "it's cold in here", before stripping off... 

Personally, I don't care if it takes me an hour to change my windscreen wipers, as long as no one else can see - that would feel awful. What if everyone else finds out?!

Same feelings; different circumstances. 

Our 50,000-year-old human brains cannot stand feeling judged or mischaracterised by our inability to do something, such as use an iPad, because being left behind has historically been a threat to our survival and ability to reproduce. You wouldn't want to be a burden on the tribe when there are limited food and partners, and more competent youngsters vying to take your place.

In 2023, these things are not a threat to your survival. Unfortunately, part of your brain still thinks it's 50,000 BCE.

This trait is observable in a phone shop where, in most cases, an entire relationship is formed by addressing a technical issue - an area in which the worker has greater knowledge and experience than the customer. That's how it should be. That's why it's their job. And if done correctly, it will close that gap ever so slightly, pulling the customer up by solving a problem together, without judgement.

Recognise that every single human brings a unique and valuable skill set to their community.

After all, it wouldn't be fair to judge someone's entire character by their ability to upload photos to the cloud.

And in reality, most self-proclaimed Technophobes are far too self-critical and are much more capable than they realise. It just takes a little bit of effort and patience.

Calling yourself a Luddite doesn't get you off the hook, but I understand where you're coming from.

Running a business or having a job comes with its own unique highs and lows.

Running a phone shop is no different. Here's a tiny little insight...

Highs:

> It is important and meaningful work. It's good to know that we provide genuine value and improve people's lives every day.

> Getting to work with real people face-to-face is valuable, and the vast majority of our customers are very pleasant to deal with. We greatly appreciate their loyalty and support. Also, the wide variety of people that we get to work with, of all ages and backgrounds, is nice.

> Fixing things and solving problems is inherently satisfying.

> Being able to work with technology - something we love - in any form is a blessing.

> Things change constantly. There's always something to learn, something to do, and an opportunity to improve.

> Our business isn't particularly susceptible to economic or seasonal changes.

> We have an excellent work environment - we get to wear what we want, listen to what we want, maintain our own workspace, and have good kitchen/bathroom facilities.

Lows:

> Sometimes it is overwhelmingly busy or frustratingly quiet from day to day. A steady and predictable flow would be nice, but that's just not how most businesses work.

> It can be stressful. Trying to recover valuable data from someone's device whilst being pulled in several other directions can really test your mental fortitude.

> It's impossible to stock everything that our customers need or want because there are so many products. Everything costs money, takes up time and space, and eventually goes out of date.

> Pushback from manufacturers who intentionally make it difficult to work on their devices in order to discourage third-party repair - they don't supply parts or schematics, serialise components and block upgrades.

> Replacement parts can sometimes be poor quality or very expensive. Any phone/computer shop that claims that all of their services are 100% affordable and reliable is lying. We can only do our best with what we have.

> Sometimes we will spend hours working on a problem that we cannot solve. That's time and money down the drain.

> As with most professions, a significant proportion of our time and focus is dedicated to repeating mundane tasks and interactions over and over again. Consistently executing in these areas is key to success.

Without a doubt, the highs far outweigh the lows. That's why we've been here every day for a decade.

I can certainly say that I've never once woken up and thought "Awh no, I've got to go to work today", and that's a blessing; in part, thanks to you.