The iCycle

No, no. It's not Apple's newest product. On the contrary, it's something that's been around for quite a while now. Since the early days of the iMac and only magnified by new products such as the iPhone and iPad. It's a ruthless cycle that harnesses our basic human instincts. Apple announced the iPad 2 this past Wednesday. Within just a few hours, before the keynote was even over, there were 6 iPads listed on CL in my city. By the end of the night, that number was up to 16. Then Thursday, barely two days later, there were 60 iPads listed for sale, most at or near retail.

This is the vicious cycle I'm talking about. The human instinct to have the best, to be better than the rest, to have something no one else has. Apple harnesses this instinct, refreshing their iPad and iPhone line once a year. Case in point; 60 Gen 1 iPads listed within two days of the iPad 2 announcement and the iPad 2 isn't even open to orders yet! Already people are clamoring for ways to upgrade to the latest and greatest.

The Oatmeal comic sums it up nicely.

Now, I'm not saying that Apple is the only one who does this, many other companies do, but it's much more magnified with Apple due to their "keynotes" and especially as they've grown over the years. It's just that you -really- notice it with Apple products. You notice the influx of the older generation products right before or on the days of new product announcements. You notice everyone talking about the new products (which in-and-of-itself isn't bad) and you notice the fuss as launch dates near.

Now, for Apple, it's a great thing. They make tons of money and most of the time said products are a commercial success. It's just embarrassing as a fellow human to see so many people try and sell the (barely) old to acquire the (hardly) new.