It’s just struck us as odd that during the keynote presentation yesterday Apple appeared to go Metric.
Being an American company Apple normally gives measurements in Imperial inches and pounds. We’re used to having to look up the metric equivalents – millimetres and grams. Well yesterday when watching the keynote from Apple’s London event we didn’t have to do any such calculations. The only time Apple mentioned inches was when talking about the length of the screen, and traditionally even we metric people talk inches when we discuss display sizes.
So why has Apple made the switch to metric?
One reason could be the need to appeal to countries other than the US, and I’m not talking about the UK and Europe, but places like China where there is a massive untapped market that Apple is looking to win over. Yes, like Europe, China, and Hong Kong, use Metric measurements along side an ancient standard of weights.
Another reason could be that when talking about such incremental differences in measurements, saying something is 2mm thinner, for example, is easier than saying it is 0.079 inches thinner. Perhaps switching to Metric is a good idea and others should follow Apple’s example.
Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty noted Apple’s interest in the country that has a population of more than 1.3 billion, saying that Apple's China-specific features are "significant investments" and clarifying that Apple’s focus on reaching the Chinese market is "key to long-term growth."
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Comments received
Mac20Q said on Thu, 13 Sep 2012
Of course it is about time inches were thrown in the dustbin of history. The imperial measurements make no sense at all. I know as I had to learn about ounces, pounds, feet inches when I was a schoolboy in England. It shows that the UK is a forward looking country willing to make changes that make sense even if not popular with the old folks.
Come USA get a grip and start using sensible measurements instead of being stuck in your imperial past.
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