By Ruma Dubey

It was a bizarre sight while touring USA last week. One of the most developed countries of the world, a super power to say, while the rest of the world was busy with the FOMC meet and repercussions of USA increasing air strikes, a step away from declaring another war, what do most Americans talk about? The launch of the Apple iPhone 6.

Yes, that’s all that seemed to matter to anyone that we spoke to. FOMC meet? Interest rate hike? ISIS? Well, most shrugged their shoulders and were nonchalant, continuing to queue up. For most, all that mattered was the launch of the new Apple phone. It was made available in stores across since last Friday and Thursday evening and night saw long serpentine queues, people standing vigil, waiting for the stores to open so that they could lay their hands on the latest model.

At that moment, looking at the queues, one could not help but wonder what was it exactly about Apple that made monkeys out of people? One could not simply fathom, why were people standing in queues through the night, ready with money, to buy a product? It was not even something free or an offer on discount. It was an exorbitantly priced phone and people were going ballistic.

The phones drew more than 4 million preorder requests in the first 24 hours on Sept. 12, more than double the 2 million for iPhone 5s in the same period two years ago.  The phone will be launched in India sometime in November and let me be assured, even in India people will behave the exact same way – queuing up to buy this phone. And that brings a very relevant question to mind - what is this fascination that we have for all things American? Remember the long queue to get into the first Starbucks in Mumbai and the lines at McDonald’s continue till date. Dominos and Pizza Hut are doing roaring business. 

It is the brand building which USA does so wisely. The build-up before a launch – news leaks, rumours and similar news after the launch is so high that people who have not eaten a McDonald or had the coffee at Starbucks feel that they are not “cool” and are missing out on something very big in life.  Apple iPhone 5s was launched in USA and China ahead of India and there was news splashed all over about it being sold out within a few hours. That was essentially a buildup for those in India – it soon became an obsession where, price tag did not matter, one just HAD to possess the iPhone; it became a matter of prestige or status. The same will happen this time too.

That is the kind of obsession which Apple generates. This kind of frenzy is never seen with Samsung or Nokia but only Apple. It is clearly it is an indication of the strangehold which Apple has over the people and the entire smart phone industry.

There are other similar, identical products like the iPhone in the market, so why this obsession with Apple? Its more media created – where even the most trivial of news on Apple becomes big news. Blog posts about Apple get more hits than any other article – so it starts with the media initiating these write-ups and then people take over and drive it to a frenzy. Just before the launch on the new iPhone, search interest in Apple had almost reached the same level it did when Steve Jobs died. And to his credit, Steve Jobs created a brand which has become a lifestyle statement. The iPod revolutionized the way we listen to music and the iPhone and iPad have been equally life changing. Others have merely imitated Apple. Also Steve Jobs, had managed to stoke an incredible, worldwide fascination with every Apple product announcement and the same legacy continues.

Last time, the iPhone5 was gold in color and people HAD TO HAVE IT. And this time around, it’s a massive phone, which is inconvenient to hold and will most certainly not go into your shirt pocket. Yet, it’s a must have. Bu that’s the message which Apple has sent – big phones are difficult to take calls and make calls yet it has been made….. because calls themselves are on the decline in this age of Whats App and texting, more importantly taking selfies and listening to music. That probably explains why Apple is an obsession.