“The overall point is that new technology will not necessarily replace old technology, but it will date it. By definition. Eventually, it will replace it. But it’s like people who had black-and-white TVs when color came out. They eventually decided whether or not the new technology was worth the investment.”
- February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011
- American
- Entrepreneur, businessman, industrial designer
- He brought to the world revolutionary products that combined technology and design at a high level, such as the personal computer Macintosh, iPhone, and iPad, and also revolutionized the music industry with the iPod, iTunes, and iTunes Store.
Quote
“The overall point is that new technology will not necessarily replace old technology, but it will date it. By definition. Eventually, it will replace it. But it’s like people who had black-and-white TVs when color came out. They eventually decided whether or not the new technology was worth the investment.”
Explanation
In this quote, Steve Jobs explains how new technology often doesn’t immediately replace older technology but instead dates it, making the old technology seem less relevant over time. Jobs compares this to the shift from black-and-white TVs to color TVs. Initially, people didn’t immediately throw away their old black-and-white sets; instead, they gradually evaluated whether the new technology—in this case, color TV—was worth the investment. Eventually, the older technology became obsolete, but it took time for widespread adoption. Similarly, Jobs suggests that new innovations may not immediately displace older ones but will eventually make them obsolete as they offer better value or enhanced experiences.
This idea is central to Apple’s strategy of pushing the boundaries of innovation while recognizing that new technologies must prove themselves over time. Just as color TVs gradually replaced black-and-white models, smartphones and tablets gradually replaced desktop computers and other older devices as users found them to be more functional, portable, and user-friendly. Jobs understood that new technology often creates its own market, even if it initially coexists with older technologies.
Today, this quote is still highly relevant as we continue to see new technologies emerge and evolve, such as streaming services replacing physical media like DVDs, or cloud computing making traditional storage solutions increasingly outdated. Jobs’ words remind us that while technology may not immediately replace old systems, its advancement inevitably shapes the future, and over time, it becomes the new standard that users must adopt.
