A Case For Quality

Got an iPhone, Mac, or iPad?

Let’s talk about quality vs quantity:

When the Mac/Apple ecosystem was a smaller place with fewer developers (early 00s), the community collectively celebrated quality while dismissed lazy development.

Conversely, Google’s Gmail app (one of the top-downloaded free App Store apps) has recently released split-screen view in their iPadOS. Five whole years after the feature was released. Quality ruled.

Back in the day, this was the sort of thing we shunned. Today, platform popularity has changed what level of quality is deemed acceptable. “Who cares”, they may ponder, while enjoying “Top 10” status worldwide. Quantity trumped quality.

Here’s the takeaway:

If you run a multibillion-dollar organization with a regressive attitude toward a platform millions of your customers use, by all means, choose quantity without quality.

If you’re trying to build an important body of work while nurturing relationships with those you wish to serve, don’t forget about quality.

A wider audience who need a tool (without needing to love the tool) may not care, but the community around your work who chooses you (those you’d like to develop a deeper relationship) care a whole lot.