This Hardware Company May Be the Next Apple!
Summary
TLDRThe video explores Swedish hardware company Teenage Engineering, known for their unique, emotional product designs that build a loyal fanbase willing to pay premium prices. It contrasts them with generic tech startups obsessed with fast growth and replication. Teenage Engineering takes a slow, thoughtful approach to design, aiming to create one-of-a-kind products that tap into nostalgia and human connection. Their tape recorder and other niche gadgets showcase how beautiful, differentiated design - not affordable utility - is key for healthy margins and longevity. The video advocates learning across disciplines to see patterns and try creative experiments with an open mindset.
Takeaways
- 😀 Teenage Engineering is a hardware company known for beautifully designed, niche products like the OP-1 synth
- 👂 They collaborated with Nothing to design the Ear (1) earphones
- 🎨 Their design philosophy values slowing down, thinking long-term, and making unique products
- 📐 They focus on the user experience and emotions evoked by their products
- 💡 Differentiated, beautiful design builds loyalty and allows charging premium prices
- 🚀 Fast growth and VC push for speed hurts design quality and uniqueness
- 🌈 They take inspiration across disciplines like fashion, filmmaking and banking
- 🎹 Their tape recorder product shows how storytelling and emotions can sell niche utility
- 😎 They have high margins as they don't compete on price and features
- 🤝 Partnering with them adds value as users will pay more for the design aesthetic
Q & A
What company designed the hardware and engineering for the Nothing phone?
-The hardware design and engineering for the Nothing phone R1 was created by a company called Teenage Engineering.
Why does the author say Teenage Engineering is like the next Apple?
-The author says Teenage Engineering could be like the next Apple because they focus on beautiful and innovative product design, which was key to Apple's early success. Their design aesthetic stands out from the norm.
What was Teenage Engineering's first product?
-Teenage Engineering's first product was the OP-1 portable synth, introduced at the NAMM show in 2010.
Who did Teenage Engineering collaborate with other than tech companies?
-Teenage Engineering collaborated with the Swedish clothing company Cheap Monday to produce work clothes and field apparel.
What gaming device did Teenage Engineering help design?
-Teenage Engineering helped design the Playdate handheld gaming device, which features a mechanical crank.
What company did Teenage Engineering partner with in 2021?
-In 2021, Teenage Engineering partnered with the tech company Nothing to produce the design aesthetic for their products.
How does unique design bring loyalty according to the author?
-The author argues that unique, next level design brings die-hard fans and loyalty, as evidenced by Teenage Engineering's devoted following.
What product did Teenage Engineering make that costs over ₹100,000?
-Teenage Engineering released the TP7, a digital tape recorder priced at over ₹100,000.
Why does the author criticize designers for only knowing UI/UX?
-The author criticizes UI/UX designers who only know how to make websites and can't design across platforms like video production.
What does the Teenage Engineering founder say about the focus on fast growth and IPOs?
-He says the cultural focus on fast growth, IPOs, etc. results in lower quality products, and he would rather go slow and think long-term.
Outlines
😊 Teenage Engineering - The Apple of Niche Hardware Design
Paragraph 1 introduces teenage engineering, the company behind the hardware design of the Nothing phone. It discusses how teenage engineering follows strict design principles across hardware, software and even apparel. The company doesn't care about the platform but focuses on great design that taps into human emotions.
😃 Teenage Engineering Taps into Nostalgia and Emotions with Thoughtful Design
Paragraph 2 analyzes how teenage engineering markets niche products like a $1000 tape recorder by tapping into nostalgia and evoking emotions. Their beautiful, nostalgic products have a dedicated fan following willing to pay a premium.
😉 Differentiation is Key - Avoid Commoditization with Unique Design
Paragraph 3 discusses the importance of differentiation and avoiding commoditization. It contrasts teenage engineering's unique design aesthetic with engineers competing on fronts like front-end development leading to commoditization. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of good margins to enable research and development.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡differentiated design
💡emotions
💡gross margins
💡long term thinking
💡multi-disciplinary design
💡niche consumer electronics
💡packaging
💡premium pricing
💡research and development (R&D)
💡venture capital
Highlights
Teenage Engineering is a Swedish company known for its unique and innovative product designs.
Teenage Engineering doesn't just design hardware, they also collaborate on clothing, software, and more - design is a skill meant to surpass platforms.
Beautiful, next-level design brings you die-hard fans - that's the value of companies like Apple and Teenage Engineering.
Differentiated design brings loyalty - Teenage Engineering has built a loyal fanbase willing to pay premium prices.
Teenage Engineering taps into people with disposable income who want dedicated, specialty devices - even for outdated tech like tape recorders.
The products tap into nostalgia and emotions through their marketing and modeling, making people feel connected.
The company takes a slow, thoughtful approach to design instead of chasing fast growth and profits.
The founder believes the current startup culture and push for fast growth compromises design quality.
High gross margins allow for more research, development and innovation - key for companies like Apple and Teenage Engineering.
If products become indistinguishable and compete on price instead of quality, profit margins fall.
The more average and generic the product looks, the lower the margins.
The learning process and understanding how the world works allows the founder to make connections across disciplines.
Willingness to experiment and try new things leads to surprise successes.
Fun and uniqueness in the design process translates to innovative products.
Principles are similar across design disciplines even if the final shape and form differs.
Transcripts
so by now everyone's seen the rabbit R1
like it or hate it most people think the
design is amazing but what people don't
know is that the hardware design and
Engineering for the R1 was created by a
company called teenage engineering and
if you dig into the company you'll find
some golden insights about hardware and
design even the nothing one earphones
this is the company behind it ladies and
gentlemen today we're going to talk
about teenage engineering see everyone
wants to build the next apple a hardware
company that makes beautiful physical
stuff but people think that the next
apple will look like apple see when the
first view Apple Max got popular they
look like this but at that time IBM
computers looked like this so Apple was
the different design most people didn't
really like it because most people using
computers were professionals people
didn't fully like it because it was
different from the standard so when we
ask ourselves what's the next apple we
have to look look at design that looks
very different to the norm right now
ladies and gentlemen here are the
Teenage engineering
[Music]
products I couldn't get my hands on any
of this because most of their current
products are out of stock but the story
of the company and their insights are
very interesting teenage engineering is
a Swedish company founded in 2005 by
jper Jens and David the three of whom
had previously led the computer games
company Net Baby World from 1999 to 2003
their first product the op1 was
introduced at the Nam show in 2010
shortly after the release teenage
engineering started doing something
weird for a hardware company they
started producing several accessories
the company follows a very strict design
AOS they collaborated for example with
the Swedish company cheap Munday to make
work cloths and field apparel for them
this company breeds design in all forms
they don't actually seem to care whether
it's Hardware or software or clothes
this is in stark contrast to some uiux
designers who make the same five purple
websites for the same kind of companies
design is a skill that is supposed to
surpass platforms there's a reason that
even the videos Apple produces are
kickass but if you ask a generic uiux
designer to make a video they'll say oh
I'm not a video guy I don't know
anything about this but there are some
more insights about design from teenage
engineering towards the end of this
video let's get back in 2018 teenage
engineering announced a new line of
audio equipment products frequence in
collaboration with Ikea eventually these
sort of Niche consumer electronics
companies start doing business to
business so they started doing B2B
building cool products for businesses on
22nd May 2019 a company called Panic
announced play date which is a new
handheld video game console designed in
collaboration with teenage engineering
the device featured a mechanical crank
it's like a crank which is a signature
teenage engineering Edition at $199
which is about 16,000 rupees the play
date is actually the cheapest way to
experience teenage engineering's work on
February 25th 2021 teenage engineering
announced that it will partner with the
british-based tech company nothing to
produce the design aesthetic of their
products teenage engineering later
worked on the device the Year One which
was nothing's first product now what's
the value of such beautiful design it
makes the product more expensive but as
apple and teenage engineering have found
out beautiful Next Level design brings
you die hard fans that's the value of
beautiful Hardware Die Hard fans look at
this guy who tattooed a teenage
engineering product on his hand if you
go through their Reddit if you go
through there ask me any I'm telling you
the fan base is extremely loyal to them
because differentiated design brings
loyalty teenage engineering has now
become a brand where the minute a
company says we're partnering with
teenage engineering people don't mind
paying the extra premium for beautiful
stuff people now have disposable income
they have little extra cash they can
spend and they don't mind spending a
little more for beauty in their lives
and houses more importantly take a look
at this packaging they have some
Japanese in there because really good
design has to borrow and spin off from
multiple places and multiple cultures
the market that teenage engineering is
really tapping is people who are
deciding that they need dedicated
devices for some stuff like Teenage
engineering put out the tp7 which is a
digital tape recorder see I record a lot
I use recording as a replacement to
writing sometimes and teenage
engineering built this product that just
feels like it'll feel good at a price
the grand price of 1 lakh more than one
lakh for a tape recorder add on top of
that the field bag a small bag for 4,000
rupe with AI getting better A lot of the
errors that you're going to need to
press backspace for are gone so a key
feature of the tp7 is AI based
transcription which automatically
converts what you've said using audio to
text like whisper to transcribe and chat
gbt to summarize and rewrite but the
lesson to learn from this is how the
hell are they marketing a tape recorder
bloody tape recorder at OnePlus lacks
and this is a master class it's all
about touch and feel read this from
their website off the Record picture
yourself in an interview situation the
real on the team pp7 is spinning slowly
the bright red record lamp is lit both
the Reel and the lamp indicates that a
recording is taking place the interview
is going quite well the situation gets
heated you suddenly asked some personal
questions in that moment you gently
place a finger on the Reel and pause the
recording allowing you to continue the
interview off the Record it's like a n
time story that you tell your kids set
with the Vibes and moods see that's the
thing beautiful design high quality
writing and high quality video they tap
human emotions when you see the rabbit
R1 it reminds you of a Pokédex it
reminds many Nerds like me of our past
when you see these products you feel
some emotion because one it's not an
ordinary looking product it's not
average and two because they are
marketed beautifully and modeled around
Nostalgia feelings of the past the
reason you don't feel that today towards
any phone is because you've seen too
many phones they all look the same
you've seen too many cars they all look
the same they're normal they're boring
and that's the takeaway for today
everybody wants to be a designer
designing the same type of website but
design is far more it's about opening up
human emotions when you see a video it's
about can you package the video better
so people are more connected to you it's
not about copying the same current style
website again and again here's a quote
from the founder of teenage engineering
who actually went out and said that the
designers and the design we're producing
as a function of fast growth Venture
Capital this push to IPOs it's not
healthy I'm going to read out the quote
for you we only want to make great
products and when you don't Focus only
on making money and have reached a
certain level everything becomes about
quality right now there's a certain
cultural fascination with fast growth
IPOs and so on but I want to go slow
really slow and think longterm it takes
time to do good things you see this
cultural phenomenon of speed and growth
at all costs is displayed in every
startup they all look the same it's like
fast food it looks good its taste is
consistent but then you feel horrible
afterwards that's the reason I'm not
raising venture capital for my new
company I want to take my time I want to
do it slowly and like a dish that's
being simmered for the flavor I don't
mind the company taking forever to get
the flavor of who I am inside of it one
more insight while doing research for
this video I looked up and ask me
anything that they did on Reddit they
were asked how they come up with these
designs this is what they said we tried
to to create things that's not out there
when we decide to create something new
everyone really needs to believe in it
and to make it great and the best way to
do so is to do as unique things as
possible to keep the inspiration going
we always work until the deadline and
try to add as much fun stuff as possible
it's hard to stop when you have fun at
work so it's a reflection of the fun
they have and the fact that they're
trying to be unique at all times they
don't fit into a mold the Stark opposite
side of this is all the young kids who
have gone to the same types of
engineering colleges for four years are
all going for the same front-end
engineering roles and have no unique
differentiation this is the alternate
parallel teenage engineering has
incredible gross margins the gross
margins of the future are going to be
built on the emotions of people with
disposable income so you're going after
a very specific profile of person who
will buy from you and teenage
engineering is a master class in making
that happen because mostly the utility
of what they build is commoditized the
term commoditize refers to the process
by which products or Services become
indistinguishable from each other in the
same category like Engineers all going
for the front- end role leading to
competition primarily on price which is
all their salaries come down rather than
on features or quality this typically
happens when the market is flooded with
similar products or Services making it
difficult for consumers to discern a
significant difference between them a
tape recorder is cheap even if people on
Twitter point out that they're a status
and luxury item manufacturer people will
still buy the more average your product
looks the less your gross margin so
you're functioning making no profit no
margin you're not able to research and
development your product doesn't look
good and as much as people come out and
say I want to build really affordable
companies I want to give these things
for free over time you realize that when
your gross margin is low you can't
actually do research and development you
can't actually build great products so
you're stuck competing with price with
everybody else and we've seen some of
these stories take place in India
Micromax carbon lava at some point
Micromax is making billions of dollars
in India now they are sub hundred
million in Revenue right so the minute
you build a generic product and say I'm
going to be extremely affordable it's a
very Noble thought and a very Noble
philosophy until you die 5 years later
whereas like apple and teenage
engineering when you have margins but
also build really high quality product
take the time take the process to do it
well then you end up with better gross
margins to make more beautiful products
and actually build a good company while
at it I want to end with a quote from
the CEO in an interview and I took away
a lot from this particular quote I
really like to learn new things the
learning process fascinates me I want to
understand how the world works so I go
from area to area and then I try to make
connections what I have learned is that
many things are basically the same in
different disciplines so if you work
with fashion or design of film making or
even banking you know it's basically the
same principles that have a different
shape but if you've moved from one to
another then you start to see a pattern
everything I do is some kind of
experiment and I've been surprised many
times that if you have the will to try
things chances are that it works thank
you and make sure you subscribe
bye
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