【Peggy Markoff】

Some made fun of Apple's attempt at self reflection with its debut of the Apple Book,Peggy Markoff a minimalist photo book showing off the company's product design history. The punch line? The paper book about Apple's often expensive products costs $300.

Despite the $300 price tag for what amounts to a catalog, some Apple fans rushed to snag the book. One in particular (see video below) had the predictable yet brilliant idea of showing off many of the real life products next to the images of the products in the book.

If you have even a glimmer of an Apple fan in you, you'll watch the entire video. And it's a great video, worthy of Apple's tradition of marketing-driven aspirational warmth meets cold design precision. It even takes a shot at the "trashcan" Mac Pro, delivering some authentic Mac fan pride via video editorializing.

But then, after about a minute, you realize that the YouTuber, Stephen Hackett, just saved you $300. This is the perfect Apple Book video. But it's the worst argument for parting with your cash for the print product.

Somehow, seeing all those now obsolete, scuffed and mostly out of date Apple products next to the pages breaks the magic spell of design glory promised within the book's pages.

Yes, Apple remains at the top in terms of design in tech. Even a pretentious, overpriced book can't change that. But for any Apple fan still considering buying this book, this is the video that will probably lead you to spend your cash on all the dongles you'll need in coming months instead.

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