Why are people still buying iPods?
Why are people still buying iPods in 2024/5?. An iPod doesn’t try to be a camera, a web browser, or a social network. It plays music, and it does so without distractions. This focused experience is a rare gem in a world where multitasking products dilute their value. It’s a lesson modern tech companies—and especially the gaming industry—seem to have forgotten.
When Google was growing rapidly and experimenting with multiple projects. From search to maps to email, Google was expanding into nearly every corner of the internet. While its ambitions were clear, Jobs saw a potential pitfall.
Jobs met with Page and Brin and gave them a hard truth: focus. He told them to simplify their product lineup. According to Walter Isaacson’s biography of Jobs, the Apple CEO advised Google to “make a clean, simple product line and focus on the essentials.” Jobs understood that a company’s success doesn’t come from doing everything, but from doing a few things exceptionally well.
From Plug-and-Play to Overcomplication
Older consoles like the Nintendo GameCube embodied simplicity. You inserted a disc, turned on the power, and played. The experience was immediate and intuitive. There were no updates to install, no subscriptions to manage, and no ads cluttering the interface.
Modern consoles like the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5:
Insert the game disc (if there even is a disc) wait for a day-one patch to download (sometimes tens of gigabytes).
Navigate through a menu cluttered with ads for games, services, and apps.
Sign into an online account and manage subscriptions like Game Pass or PlayStation Plus.
Spend more time updating firmware or downloading DLC before you can even start playing.
This shift has turned gaming into a software management exercise. What used to take seconds now takes 15–30 minutes—or longer. The immediacy and joy of gaming have been replaced with friction and delay.
The Myth of Multitasking
Multitasking has long been debunked as a productivity myth. The human brain excels at focus, not juggling. Yet many modern products are designed as though multitasking is the goal. This thinking results in cluttered user experiences that overwhelm rather than engage.
Take Twitter as an example. Originally, it thrived as a platform for concise, real-time communication. But under its transformation into "X," the app has attempted to add payments, shopping, video, and long-form blogging. Each new feature dilutes the original purpose: a simple, effective platform for communication. Users are left frustrated and disengaged because the product is no longer clear in its intent.
The same principle applies to gaming consoles, which have shifted from focused plug-and-play devices to bloated entertainment hubs.
Project Kickoff: Defining the Core Purpose
Start by narrowing the focus of the product to its essential purpose.
What is the primary goal of this product? Can we summarize it in one sentence?
If we removed every feature except one, which feature would the user still need?
What problem are we solving for the user, and does every proposed feature solve that problem?
Are we adding features because users need them or because they’re trendy or expected?
How does this design make the user’s life simpler, not more complex?
The Problem: Cognitive Overload
The Netflix’s biggest problem is choice paradox (which I have spoken about before on here) highlights a broader issue in digital life: cognitive overload. When users are faced with too many options or poorly structured systems, they:
Struggle to decide: The fear of making the “wrong” choice leads to hesitation.
Feel dissatisfied: Even when they do make a choice, they second-guess it, wondering if something better was available.
Burn out: The mental effort of constant decision-making leaves users disengaged and exhausted.
For UX designers, this is a call to action. Simplicity and clarity are no longer luxuries—they’re necessities. If we don’t help users manage the overwhelming complexity of their digital lives, they’ll disengage altogether.