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.
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.
.
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.
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
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.
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