MiPhone is a series of smartphones made and designed by the company Mapple Etc. It runs on Mapple’s proprietary software, MiOs. The first generation MiPhone was released on June 29, 2007 and has been updated forty times in the last seven years. The reasoning for this decision is based off of Mapple’s design philosophy’s, stating, “We feel as though this truly is the greatest piece of technology we’ve ever built. Until we can make it better.”
Beginning with even turning the device on, Mapple wanted the MiPhone to feel as though it was not a piece of technology, but rather an extension of a person’s identity. In order to activate the MiPhone for the first time, the user must raise their device in the air and yell as loud as possible, “MiPhone, MiPhone, it’s the only phone for me.” Once the user has recited the activation chant, the device will then turn on.
One of Mapple’s key strategies has been opening up several thousand Mapple Stores just in the Bay Area alone. During the September 2013 keynote, Mapple’s CEO famously said, “We feel as though everyone needs a MiPhone; because MiPhone, is YourPhone!” The forty-first generation of the MiPhone comes out tomorrow at a price point of $1,000,000 on contract, and it’s projected to be the best selling MiPhone yet. In addition, although nothing has been announced by the company, rumors say Mapple will release the “MiPad” sometime in the future.