I’m not sure when it happened, but it seems pretty clear that tech is now fashionable. If you want proof, look at the people around you and the type of tech that they are using. I think you’ll find most are using an Apple device, others Microsoft and maybe a few are still clinging on to a Samsung or LG. But you will hardly ever find someone using a device that does not have a big brand name. Now you could argue this is because bigger brands offer the best products. But do they? I’ll come back to that question in a minute. For now, I want to consider what this change has meant for us, the consumer. But before that, it’s important to ask…Has Anything Actually Changed?

On the one side, no, tech has always been fashionable. Think about when you buy a new suit. You don’t stop at getting it properly fitted, do you? You almost always accessorize it and yes that includes a small piece of tech, usually a watch. I don’t think Chronograph watches are ever going out of style, nor have they ever been. Like it or not, a watch is a piece of tech, and this little gizmo has always been a part of how to dress fashionably.

But I’m not talking about things you wear. I mean tech that you carry around in your bag, or even your pocket. I think it’s pretty clear, that carrying the right technology around with you makes you seem more fashionable. Look at the reaction you get when you flash the new iPad pro around in public later this month. If your friends don’t have one yet, they’ll act like you’ve found the holy grail! So yes, things have changed, but to what extent?

It’s Become More Expensive – I know what you’re going to say, watches can often range in the thousands. Clothes can be just as expensive, so what’s the difference between that and a five-hundred-dollar tablet. Well, let’s get one thing straight. The expensive watches and clothes are not purchased by everyone. They’re bought up by a niche market that cares more about fashion and style and trends than the average consumer.

That’s not true for the latest tech purchases. If you look at the queue outside the Apple shop when a new product comes out, the diversity of the people in it is astonishing. These aren’t just tech geeks or nerds. This is a group of the typical consumer anxious to get their hands on a product with updates they don’t really understand. The perfect example is talking to an average consumer about a camera. They get so excited about what number of megapixels it has and miss the fact that this number often has no effect on the quality of photos the camera can take.

It’s Made Producers Lazy – But I think the biggest problem with the increased fashion of tech is that it’s diminished how quickly technology is advancing. If I can refer back to watches, you can get a lot of different styles and variations of a good watch. Now look at the best selling mobile phones on the market. They are all nearly identical, and even the updates resemble the old models. It’s time for producers to push the limits once more releasing new tech. But sadly, while consumers are willing to buy based purely on brand name alone, I don’t think it’s going to happen.