Apple, gold and the Middle Kingdom
12.9.2016
Translation: machine translated
The iPhone is available in just a few colours. Apple's flagship product doesn't need extravagant design, gimmicks or lots of colour to be successful. But one question has been nagging at Apple watchers for years: why the gold colour?
By now, users are used to an iPhone being available in black, white or gold. Black and white, okay: if the buyer prefers dark devices, they'll take the black, and, if not, the white. But we don't really understand why gold. Wouldn't red or blue make more sense? Who knows anyone whose favourite colour is gold?
But observers of the device and the Apple cult are certain there's a reason.
We've investigated and found that that reason is actually one word: 中国. China.
Colour as a symbol
China is a country with a different culture and values to ours, especially when it comes to symbolism. One example: like the West with the number 13, you rarely find a fourth floor in Chinese hotels and hospitals.
In Chinese, 4 is pronounced "si" and is phonetically very close to the word "death". It is therefore considered the ultimate jinx. Conversely, 8 is the number that everyone in China wants. As its pronunciation is similar to that of the word "fortune", 8 is supposed to bring fortune and happiness. Numbers containing an 8 are particularly sought-after by the Chinese: flats on the 8th floor are snapped up at a premium, as are car registration numbers, which are sometimes sold at auction for staggering sums. It's a superstition that has repercussions right down to official events: the choice of 8/8/2008, at 8.08am, as the opening date of the Beijing Olympics was clearly no coincidence.
The same goes for the Chinese.
The same applies to the colours. Each colour has a particular meaning. In China, black tea is called 红茶 - hóngchá - so red tea, because black is the colour associated with death. Gold is the flagship colour of Chinese culture: "Gold is associated with fortune, power and the sun," says Lu Yao Wen, a Chinese teacher at the Migros Club School.
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In short: it's impossible to beat gold.
Apple wants China
When Apple decided to conquer the Chinese market, one thing was clear: it had to use this symbolism. With the release of the iPhone 5s in 2013, Apple's iOS operating system was the first to allow the use of a third-party keyboard in place of the original keyboard. Since then, users have therefore been able to program their own keyboard and install it on Apple devices.
What seems strange to us is actually a great necessity in China. Because more and more engineers are trying to develop an input method that supports an alphabet that consists of more than 2,600 signs. With the update to iOS 10, the Cupertino giant is going one step further. The standard keyboard is equipped with a method for handwriting.
Apple's plan is working, although it is often very difficult for Western companies to establish themselves in the Chinese market. The iPhone maker is currently fifth in the Chinese sales charts. The other four manufacturers are all Chinese.
- Huawei
- Vivo
- Oppo
- Xiaomi
When gold isn't gold enough
In China, the obsession with gold causes some people to do some very strange things. If there's one thing the rich and powerful Chinese and their children - known as 富二代 or Fùèrdài, French for "wealthy second generation" - know how to do, it's well and truly show that they're rich. Case in point: when the Apple Watch was released, the son of property tycoon Wang Jianlin posted a photo of his dog with two Apple Watches on social media. The reactions were numerous.
Iphones and other mobile phones are personalised. Because the financial means of these people are practically inexhaustible, there are no limits any more. Already now, Chinese people who can afford it can buy themselves a gold iPhone 7 for around 3,300 francs, with the lucky symbol 發 engraved on it. Delivery is free worldwide.
Among the exclusive iPhone makers is also a Swiss company - Golden Dreams from Geneva. Its exclusive iPhones are hand-decorated and can cost up to 20,000 francs.
Because sometimes, and only sometimes, the gold iPhone just isn't enough.
Header image: Why is gold important for the iPhone?
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.