Skip to Content

Admiring the beauty of an iPhone 'Aged to Perfection'

by Mike Schramm May 5th 2011 at 11:00PM

I like this a lot -- a blogger over at the design mind blog is admiring the look of gadgets, like the iPhone, that have been "Aged to Perfection." In other words, gadgets that are well-used and that carry the mark of being carried around. Maybe it's just because I'm an iPhone user that frets over every little mark and scratch my iPhone gets, but I'm surprised by just how good the beaten-up iPhone in the picture above looks. No, it's not as sleek or fresh as the beautiful pictures of new products Apple posts on its website, but it's beautiful in another way. As blogger Remy Labesque says about these gadgets, "their battle scars reveal the stuff they're actually made of."

An iPhone isn't exactly designed to age well -- it's not cheap or flimsy by any means, of course, but Apple's steady release and technology improvement schedule means that most iPhones sold back on day one probably aren't still in use today. Apple doesn't have a lot of reasons to change that, either -- those record profits don't keep rolling unless people keep buying new iPhones.

But I like Labesque's idea of a gadget designed not just to be new and shiny, but to be worn and well-used. Like a pair of old jeans or a solid leather wallet, there's value in having a powerful computer both when you wait in line on release day, and a few years later when it's been put through the paces.



View Tags

Related Stories

Categories

iPhone iOS

I like this a lot -- a blogger over at the design mind blog is admiring the look of gadgets, like the iPhone, that have been "Aged to...
 

Add a Comment

Sign in »
*0 / 3000 Character Maximum Comment Moderation Enabled. Your comment will appear after it is cleared by an editor.

19 Comments

Filter by:
Props7

WTF, why is he still using iPhone 2g???LOL

May 07 2011 at 9:19 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
majic1kid

When I saw the picture. Reminds me of Levis Straus Signature in SF, CA the worn-"in" comfortable look.

May 06 2011 at 3:34 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
SMacsteve

It's like a well worn blued 1911 Auto .45! Thing of beauty!

May 06 2011 at 2:06 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ric

Original iPhone user here. Have used continuously since purchased on first week of debut.

Still in brand new condition due to screen protector and case, but really slow.

I have restored it to factory settings but nothing seems to get it back to it's original speed.

Anyone have any ideas?

iPhone 2G, 16GB

May 06 2011 at 1:25 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
reson8er

Very cool.

May 06 2011 at 12:25 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
brian

This is very cool, but since I'm the primary person on a family plan I'm eligible to upgrade every year, so I do. It keeps me in perpetual warranty and each old iPhone sells for enough to pay for its replacement.

May 06 2011 at 10:33 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Eric

Reminds me of a vintage Telecaster. Nice paradigm shift. Tech gadgets built to age (or degrade) gracefully.

May 06 2011 at 8:51 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
iphone

Will Apple start to make 'relic' devices like Fender does for guitars and basses ? :)

May 06 2011 at 5:55 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Matt Bland

The 2G iPhone will age well as shown because of the materials used. The Plastic 3G & 3GS they'll just scuff and crack (or yellow as mine did, for the white model). As for the iPhone 4 which is glass, not a chance.

I'd love to see a machined brass iPhone. It's heavier but it would last for decades and acquire a lovely patina.

May 06 2011 at 5:11 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
alansky

My original first-generation iPhone still looks great and works great. My guess is that there are probably a fairly large number of these still in service.

May 06 2011 at 3:56 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Buy an ad here

Tweets

© 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.