(soft music)
- Well, lookey here.
I have in my hand a folding phone,
the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3,
which obviously means that it is time to talk about,
metaphors.
Yeah, you know, metaphors.
It's been a minute since he made a video
in the Processor Series.
So let's do it.
Which means that it's time for me to say,
here's a question,
are phones really fashion?
Okay, actually two questions,
because, spoiler alert,
the answer to the first question is, yes.
So a better question actually might be,
what does it mean that phones are fashion?
(upbeat music)
- All right, talking about metaphors is super, ah
dangerous, let's go with dangerous, yeah.
So let's set some ground rules.
First, even if you think you don't care about fashion,
that doesn't mean that fashion isn't a useful thing
to think about in relation to technology.
Second, if you're not familiar,
just know that fashion is very serious business.
it's not frivolous,
it's not unimportant.
It is a huge industry,
we're gonna get to that.
Third, even though the thing
that's got me thinking about fashion
and technology is this Galaxy Z Flip3,
I am not here to tell you whether or not
this particular design is especially stylish or on trend.
I mean, I personally think
this two-tone cream colorway is sick
and I really love the bold blue and neon orange case
that Samsung is selling.
But that's me.
You see part of Samsung's goal with this phone
is to have it appeal to people as a stylish object.
They want it to be something
that participates in the culture of fashion.
But what it's done for me
is crystallized something
that I've been thinking about for a while now.
All phones do that
and they have for a long time.
Now, lots of people have pointed out
how phones are fashioned.
That's really nothing new.
But I think that comparison is a lot more relevant
than most people realized.
It's more than just picking a trending color palette
or shaping a jewel-like chamfered edge on a phone.
It's not about making the phone fashionable.
it's actually that I think the phone industry
and the fashion industry
work in very similar ways.
But to make my point,
I just wanna go through a few similarities between say,
buying a pair of pants and buying a phone.
So there are new and slightly different versions
of each kind of line of thing you wanna buy every fall,
and sometimes there's even a spring collection.
The most expensive version of the thing
has basically the same functionality as the cheap version.
I mean, there is a difference,
but really when it comes to functionality,
pants is pants.
So, part of what you're paying for on the expensive stuff
is the quality of the materials
and the quality of the build.
And you're also paying for a brand label.
I mean, honestly, part of the reason people like phones
is that there's this allure of something new,
not just increased functionality,
and clothes are like that too,
they're about participating in the now,
where phones are often about participating in the future.
And with both there are people
who are obsessed with keeping up and paying attention,
and there's also people who don't really care at all.
And even when we donate our used stuff,
with both clothes and phones,
maybe buying too much of them
and not thinking through their impact
on the environment or workers,
is not such a great thing.
Oh, and also there are magazines, and influencers,
and websites, and entire industries
dedicated to covering the phone industry
and also the fashion industry.
I could go on and on,
but you get the point,
there are a lot of parallels between these two industries.
But you're also probably thinking about the differences
and yes, of course, there's a bunch.
Here's one example,
buying one brand of pants
doesn't lock you out of buying another brand's shoes,
in case you looking for a ecosystem, lock-in metaphor
to go along with this fashion metaphor.
But no, we're not gonna get into walled gardens,
that's not the metaphor we're here for today.
Instead, I think, you know what,
the most important difference between phones and fashions
is the one that's actually
starting to dissipate a little bit.
Technology and especially phone technology,
it tends to get better every year,
but that's slowing down a little bit with.
With fashion things change,
and yes, sometimes there are technical advancements,
but the year over year differences are more about culture,
not about improved function.
With phones, every year you tend to get something
that does more or works better than last year's thing.
But with phones,
I think that dynamic is starting to change
to be just a little bit more like fashion.
Now I'm not saying that innovative is dead,
or all phones are the same,
or specs don't matter anymore.
But I do think we are at the point
where even cheap phones are really good
and can do the vast majority of stuff
that people want out of a phone.
I mean, compare this $1,000 flip phone here
to this $450 Pixel 5a 5G,
and think about how your life
would be substantially impacted if you had one or the other,
the difference might not be that big
or, you know, if you're an iPhone person,
how big would the difference be between having an iPhone SE
or the latest iPhone 12 or upcoming 13?
When it comes to the basic functionality of clothing,
pants is pants.
And at least when it comes to
the basic capability of phones,
phones is phones.
And that is partly why the Z Flip3 is so interesting.
Like Dan Seaford said in our review on TheVerge.com,
this is a totally normal phone
that just happens to fold up.
And there will be a lot of people who buy it
for some practical reason,
about the functionality,
like, you know, it fits in a pocket.
But I think even more are gonna buy one
because it makes some kind of fashion statement.
The functionality is almost exactly the same
as any other phone,
but the expression of that functionality is different.
Okay, so all this is fine as an academic exercise,
but what should we actually do with this metaphor?
Well, I think there's one more parallel
between these two industries
that we haven't really talked about,
that I do think can help us
have a better relationship with our gadgets.
See both fashion and phones
can be an expression of personal identity,
externally to other people,
but I think more importantly internally to ourselves.
It's a lot easier to explain this idea with clothes
than it is with phones.
So maybe you've been looking at it,
let's talk about this vest.
I bought it because it is very good for riding my bike,
this fabric here blocks the wind,
but the back is open,
so it doesn't overheat me too much.
It's got nice pockets,
it compacts down to a really small package.
It's super functional,
but I also kind of like the way it looks in a certain way.
But I also know that vests,
especially in Silicon Valley where I live
are a venture capital bro kind of thing,
a Patagonia business casual kind of,
ah, you know what I mean.
Of course it is just a vest
and for a lot of people who don't care that much
about the cultural resonance of their clothing,
it really is just a vest.
But for a lot of us,
it's more than that.
So we can go through this exact same exercise
with the phone.
I bought it because it folds up
and therefore fits in my pocket,
and that is very nice.
I also think it's very cool with its folding glass screen
and it's a little exterior screen here,
and I like that I can close it
and then I'll only see my notifications
and not be tempted to dip into Instagram
because it's sitting right there or whatever.
But there are external cultural connotations to this phone.
Fortunately, I don't think they're as strong
as the tech bro vibes
that people might get off of those vest,
but they're there.
It's a Samsung,
it's a green bubble,
and I don't know, maybe you don't care about that
and instead you think it's just like a little bit flashy,
when instead you should just get like a basic Pixel
or a standard, you know, Galaxy A phone or whatever.
But with both the clothing and the phones,
I'm really trying to pay less attention
to the external cultural connotations,
although they do matter,
and pay a little bit more attention
to how these things make me feel,
or for you, how your stuff makes you feel.
I think this phone looks cool
and it's okay to buy stuff because it looks cool.
High-end phones are usually interesting
because they're techie,
but the Flip3 isn't techie,
that's not part of what this expresses anymore.
The tech here is starting to get actually kind of boring.
Instead, I like that I have to physically do more
to open this phone up and use it.
I have to be more intentional about choosing to use it
than I would on a regular phone, right,
just like tap a fingerprint sensor
or have it literally point at my face and it unlocks,
and then I'm off to the races.
Now to be very clear,
I am not trying to convince you to buy the Galaxy Z Flip3.
It is a good phone,
but I know it's not for everyone.
Instead I'm trying to convince you
that phones are about more
than just their function or their specs.
I think that tech operates in our culture
a lot like fashion does,
and when you get right down to it,
clothing is also technology,
just very, very old technology.
And the way that we see ourselves is mediated
and has always been mediated by technology.
Phones are fashion and fashion is culture,
and all of that is a lot more complicated than it looks.
Hey, everybody.
Thanks so much for watching.
Just so it's out there,
this video is not sponsored
by the company that made this vest or by, ah!
Ah! (Dieter laughing)
Like and subscribe.
The vest is by Chrome.
That'll work.