Apple devices are by no means rare or mysterious in themselves. In fact, Apple products are some of the most ubiquitous out there. Back in 2012, reports indicated that just about half of households in the U.S. claimed at least one Apple product as an honorary member of the family. That number will likely only climb with the years as Apple continues to enjoy the kind of industrial dominance that most businesses can only dream of. With the abundance of Apple's success more than clear, the question remains: How can the company remain so mainstream and yet so alluringly mysterious at the same time?
"Wish we could say more"
Do you though, Apple? Do you really wish you could say more? In typical teasing fashion, Apple recently released a poster with those five mysterious words, accompanied by a large printed date: "9.9.2014." The announcement – or tease, or whatever it is – set off a characteristic firestorm of Internet news speculation, with various sources questioning whether that date will signal the release of the upcoming iPhone model or, perhaps more excitingly, the as-yet-unavailable and largely gossip-driven product called – informally – iWatch, which would (if it does come out soon) represent Apple's first serious foray into commercial wearable technology.
While the prospect of a major Apple announcement on Sept. 9 is somewhat interesting, what's decidedly more fascinating is all the press it's generated. By merely releasing a single poster – and a rather bare, unostentatious one at that – Apple has drummed up the kind of publicity that marketing teams funnel untold sums of money into stumbling upon. To understand Apple's coy approach to selling its product line, one must necessarily turn to Steve Jobs, who long ago set the precedent for the brand mystique the company projects today.
According to Jobs' longtime business partner Steve Wozniak, Jobs prized secrecy out of fear that if his ideas became too visible, they'd be claimed by other sources. Big as the company is now, there was a time when Apple was small and vulnerable. For somebody like Jobs – a creative force to be sure, but also a first-rate businessman – necessary secrecy was part of the plan all along.
Now, as the days inch forward to the much-anticipated ninth of September, the company is informally testing a quality in the general population that perhaps doesn't get tested much these days: delayed gratification.
