If you’ve spent any time on the internet in the last week, you’ve probably seen some commentary, memes, or general public exasperation at the $999 monitor stand that Apple announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference. And if you haven’t, I’ve included one below for a good chuckle.

Here’s the short of it: Apple, at a conference announced a new computer monitor geared towards people whose careers or hobbies, such as professional video editors, depend on hardware that excels in the realm of high-definition display. The monitor itself doesn’t come with a stand, and so alongside the monitor, Apple announced the “Pro Stand,” a $999 uni-tasker to hold up your monitor. Sound ridiculous? It is, but perhaps not for the reasons you think.

Consider this perspective put out by tech blogger Marques Brownlee: the monitor itself -- the “Pro Display XDR” -- rings in at $5,000. (Side note: this may seem outrageously costly to you and me, but compared to the monitors it’s attempting to compete with that cost upwards of $30k, $5k isn’t so bad). Apple chose not to include the stand with the monitor, a justifiable choice given that many pro video editors already have a multi-screen mounting platform that they would place their monitor on, and thus have no need for the stand. The problem is how Apple framed the whole thing. Rather than advertising a $6,000 monitor that is discounted by $1,000 if you opt not to buy the stand, they chose to announce, to a crowd full of people and the world wide web, a $1,000 monitor stand, which just sounds silly when you say it out loud.

The same offer goes from a rip-off to a deal when framed differently. One is a high-end monitor with an overpriced add-on. The other is a high-end monitor with an opportunity for a large discount if you already have your own display stand.

I’m not too worried about how Apple, a trillion dollar company, is going to suffer from people on the internet making fun of their poor choice in framing a new product, but the same errors may be affecting how you view your own world.

What can you reframe that will change your worldview for the better?

- PS

6/7/19

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