Yes, I wrote an email to Apple. Yes, in this video I show you that email.
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0:00
Five little monkeys jumping on the bed
0:03
One fell down and bumped his head. Mama called the doctor, then the doctor said
0:11
No more monkeys jumping on the bed. I have been thinking. You know, a couple days ago I made a video about the upcoming iPhone SE
0:24
the iPhone SE second generation or two, whatever you choose to call it
0:28
Well, a lot of people were interested in that video and it appears many people
0:32
I wanted to hear some thoughts about that upcoming device Of course people on either side as would be the case with any popular device release
0:40
But prior to making that video, you know I was browsing the press release just like anyone else would be that's the place that the news broke
0:49
There was no event so we're looking at it iphone se a powerful new smartphone in a popular design april 15th and i'm scrolling this press
0:59
release and i get to the bottom here as you would and i see this spot press contacts
1:06
press contacts okay these are people you get in touch with if you are in the press or media or on
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youtube and i realized i haven't really talked to you guys all that much about my relationship or
1:21
lack thereof with Apple specifically, even though Apple has begun to embrace the YouTube
1:28
community in certain facets, the relationship between myself, this community, Unbox Therapy
1:34
and them, sort of non-existent. Well, completely non-existent, to be honest. If a product from Apple shows up on the show, it's because I went out of my way to get it
1:45
and I don't mind, for the record, because it's obviously content you guys want to see
1:49
and it's what you click on and so it's part of the business the way I look at it
1:54
But I'm sitting there scrolling the thing and thinking to myself, why does it have to be that way
2:01
Is there no potential path forward in which Unbox Therapy becomes a place
2:08
where Apple does send those review units and you guys can actually get this content on their upcoming devices
2:15
as soon as those other places on YouTube or elsewhere on the internet
2:20
Now, for a very long time, Apple didn't embrace the YouTube community at all
2:25
And so for that transition to this new model, I applaud them to embrace anyone on this new media platform
2:33
the one that you guys participate in, the one that you guys are so enthusiastic about
2:38
But it just got me thinking about how we got to this place
2:42
because obviously the Unbox Therapy community, It's a huge community now. And it's actually, it's kind of unfortunate, to be honest, that that dialogue doesn't exist so that you guys get the most timely Apple content
2:56
But instead, often, if you want to watch something here and from me, you have to wait until the product is publicly available
3:03
And if I can get it on the first day and then rush to make a video and other people have had the opportunity to spend time with the device and publish a video right on the embargo date
3:13
which is often actually a little bit before you can even buy the device in the first place
3:18
So it got me thinking about the history, the origin with Apple
3:22
and it actually even motivated me to finally send an email to Apple directly
3:29
Yes, on my personal behalf, but also just on behalf of the community in general
3:34
the whole many millions of us here that participate in this thing that are enthusiastic and so on
3:41
So I went backwards to figure out how we got here, and it made me realize just how big of a role Apple and Apple's products have played in the success and progression of Unbox Therapy, and how much they've contributed to the development of the tech scene as a whole
4:00
We all owe them something. Here's a video of mine from March 11th, 2011
4:06
And I consider this video, it seems crazy, it has 139,000 views today
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691 thumbs up. I consider this video to be the jump off point for this entire channel
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It's a crazy story behind this video. It's an iPad 2 unboxing video
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I was in Buffalo, New York, even though I'm based in Toronto because this was available in the US first
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So I drove down there. I actually did the unboxing video inside of a Starbucks
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With everybody watching, I set up a tripod. They were looking at me all strange because it was the hottest product at the moment And believe it or not when I made that video I still had notifications turned on for new subscribers on the channel that right and my
4:51
phone began to pop off like crazy and it was a it was mass confusion for me but it was also a sense
4:58
of giddiness that this thing that I was passionate about technology was going to become something that
5:04
I could do professionally. That was the first kind of inkling for me that that was going to be
5:09
possible. And of course, it was on the back of the popularity and hype surrounding an iPad and iPad
5:15
2 that I unboxed in a minute and 53 seconds inside of a Starbucks in Buffalo, New York
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It's kind of incredible. So of course, I turned off notifications at that point and I got down to
5:27
business. Now, the next video I want to highlight, it was called the MacBook Air Affair, and it is
5:32
something completely off the wall that I did in August of that same year in 2011 when I got the
5:38
new MacBook Air and it kind of made the MacBook Pro jealous. Well, you'll have to watch it to
5:44
believe it. I still don't believe it to this day, to be honest. I'm doing some acting. It was fun to
5:49
make. Some people still reference it of the 47,000 people that even know it exists. But again
5:56
showcasing sort of the history with Apple before the next big event
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which seems to be, this seems to be the most important event
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leading to where we're at today in terms of the lack of a relationship
6:10
between Apple and Unbox Therapy. That video right here, iPhone 6 Plus Bend Test
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I don't know if it's the most watched tech video ever that isn't a commercial
6:21
but it was an out of body experience this particular event. I've talked about it in the past
6:29
but it's just hard to really encompass what you're going through when something like that happens
6:35
It has 72 million views to this day. I think it was the third or fourth
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most watched video that year according to some data that YouTube sent me
6:45
In this video, if you're unfamiliar, it's an iPhone 6 Plus. I talk about the rumors that it was bending
6:52
I bend it on camera and then everything explodes in the universe
6:57
and all of a sudden I'm on Bloomberg and I'm doing interviews and it's a whole crazy whirlwind
7:03
now I'm not trying to claim innocence here I knew it was going to be a hit
7:08
but the channel was so much smaller at the time that you don't truly understand
7:12
the scale of a properly viral video which that one was I was getting stopped in the street, maybe more than ever
7:21
You're the guy that bent the iPhone. It started to become an entire identity, not one that I perceived to that extent
7:30
I'd be lying if I said I knew this was going to get 72 million views
7:35
I just didn't know that. People were sending me texts. My grandma doesn't want to buy the new phone because it bends
7:43
It just got blown up. Now, I need to be clear. I feel like since a lot of people here are probably new, I didn't know if it was going to bend or not
7:52
I figured maybe I could, but it was not something anyone had ever talked about in smartphones previously
7:58
And you could choose to believe me or not, but the initial motivation, and this is another crazy story
8:05
the initial motivation to even attempt it didn't come from a blog post that I read
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It came from a family member of mine who was snowboarding with the phone two days after it came out or whatever this was
8:17
Fell on his butt, took it out of his back pocket and it was bent and sent me a photo of it bent
8:23
Knowing what I do for a living, he asked me what he should do. He said, should I take this back to Apple? Will they even do anything
8:29
I said, there's no way it bent. I couldn't believe him. I just didn't believe it was possible
8:35
And of course, the rest is history since then. There's so much that transpired. I had fun with it. I played it up. I made follow-up videos. I bent other phones
8:43
And if I'm Apple at that point, I'm thinking to myself, who is this guy? This guy's just taking the stuff we worked for years on and bending it in half
8:51
Of course, in the meantime, you get to build up this tremendous audience
8:54
That's you guys who sit there and think, well, I got to watch this channel because who knows what's going to happen
9:00
And entertainment and surprising things have kind of been part of the DNA of the channel
9:07
at least compared to the rest of the tech scene for a while now
9:10
I'm not trying to brag. You know that I tend to treat things just a little bit differently than everyone else
9:16
Now, in the meantime, I didn't really enjoy bending these things. I kind of did it progressively after that video only because honestly people were kind of demanding it it became a meme and now there even somebody on youtube who essentially took the whole role completely
9:32
and turned it into a viable profitable business and of course i'm talking about jerry rig i didn't
9:38
want to do that i kind of put it down after that particular video but i it's totally understandable
9:43
obviously people are interested the view count doesn't lie but a lot has changed since then i
9:49
went on to make another video where I got kind of artistic. Because of the fact that I didn't have
9:56
access to these devices early, I would always try and think of some other angle to play up on the
10:02
new iPhone when I did finally get my hands on it, because it felt like so many impressions were
10:08
already out there from the event or from the early access where people could publish the video before
10:14
I've even seen it. So I made a video like this one. Don't buy the iPhone 8. Buy the iPhone 8
10:21
And this, honestly, this might be the most fun I ever had making a video. I got to play two roles
10:26
actually acting. The dilemma between being on either side of the fence, the debate between
10:36
whether you need something or don't need something, need to upgrade your phone, want a new phone
10:42
Is your new phone, your old phone over again? Is it enough of an improvement
10:47
It was this internal debate and dilemma that I go through as a person with this job
10:52
but also that you probably go through as a user, as a consumer
10:57
trying to figure out what's right for you, how much you should spend, when you should upgrade, all these questions that come up frequently
11:04
That video aimed to kind of encompass that entire feeling, that entire narrative
11:11
Did it do a good job? I don't know. Like I said, it was fun to make. If you haven't seen it, you can go decide for yourself
11:17
Some people got it. Plenty of people didn't get it. But that's kind of, I mean, that's the risk you take
11:22
if you're going to try to do something that's a bit different from what you normally or typically do
11:28
Alright, so here we are now. That was 2017. And I've been making tech videos for over 10 years
11:34
It's a crazy thought. It's hard to comprehend. There's over 1,500 uploads
11:40
Thousands of uploads. So many tech products covered. And Apple has been a constant in there
11:47
In that time, the channel has grown tremendously. There are now over 16 million people in the subscriber community of Unbox Therapy
11:56
And I feel that the time is right to kind of put this narrative aside
12:03
And to move forward. To give you guys essentially what you deserve
12:09
and maybe even what I deserve. To have the privilege of covering Apple products
12:15
of getting hands on the Apple products, in line at the same time as the other people
12:21
who have that advantage, who put things out onto the web in advance
12:26
To create a dialogue between Unbox Therapy and Apple that allows for timely coverage
12:33
that allows for me to bring to you Apple content when you want it
12:38
Instead of after the fact. Instead of after you're making a decision on whether or not you want to pre-order something
12:45
See, that's where things get difficult. If you know you want to pre-order something, and you've got limited content to go on
12:52
and one of those pieces of content isn't here, and you do value my impression
12:58
then that's a blind spot. That's a piece that you just don't have
13:02
simply because Apple and myself can't exchange a few emails and arrange it
13:07
And that's unfortunate. Now, I feel the need to say this, not to apply any kind of pressure to Apple
13:13
Honestly, Apple, if you're watching, you should know things continue either way
13:19
I'm obviously going to cover this stuff. It's too important a component in the tech realm for me to ignore
13:26
I'll just have to continue doing it the way that I have been. But I do feel the need to say that every other brand on the planet does have a dialogue with Unbox Therapy
13:36
well, maybe not every brand, but all the big brands, find a way to get their products here in line with the various other outlets
13:44
And I realize that's a privilege. I realize there's many of you watching who may be an upstart YouTuber
13:50
or you may have even been at it for a while and you still don't have that privilege
13:54
So I don't take it for granted. I do truthfully appreciate it
14:00
Behind the scenes, maybe when the video cameras aren't rolling, it a tough thing to discuss and talk about But if you talking about Samsung obviously you guys saw the OnePlus coverage which hit the the internet it hit the YouTube page like nothing we ever seen before across
14:16
the long list of various influencers or YouTubers which is I guess a term that I prefer if I'm
14:22
forced to choose one of them is it a perfect system absolutely not I can see your skepticism
14:28
you sit there and say well we we like it the way it is you would sit there and say
14:32
Lou, this frees you up. This lets you speak your mind. Well, I don't want to change that
14:38
For the record, I want to write an email to Apple today and I want to make it clear that I can't really change that
14:44
And if you're wondering why you're involved, it's because you're the reason that they may comply
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Because of this audience. You're a part of it. It's collective. It's progressive
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This thing doesn't exist without you. So this is sent to the generic media email at Apple
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I don't want to single out any particular press contact. I have spoke to Apple in a very limited fashion in the past
15:09
but it never really evolved into anything meaningful. So I want to start fresh with the generic media help at apple.com
15:19
The subject, Apple and Unbox Therapy. Here's the message. Hello. It's been a while since we last spoke
15:28
And I appreciate that you've been busy. Since our last conversation, Unbox Therapy has grown into one of the largest tech communities in the world
15:38
full of passionate technology fans. That's you guys. It appears that Apple is now actively engaging with the YouTube community
15:47
through the seeding of review units. Unfortunately, reliable dialogue between Apple and Unbox Therapy hasn't yet materialized
15:56
I'm hoping this email can change that. I'd like to formally apply for the privilege of receiving Apple product review units
16:05
This would allow me to better serve the growing Unbox Therapy community and their appetite for timely Apple content
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Of course, when covering Apple products, or any brand for that matter
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I'll need the freedom to express my thoughts accordingly. However, I will commit to covering Apple products with respect and appreciation
16:27
The new iPhone SE is around the corner, and I'd love to get started
16:32
Thanks for your consideration. Sincerely, Lou, and a link to the Unbox Therapy channel
16:38
What will happen from here? Of course, I don't know. The ball is in their court
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And honestly, to you guys, if no response takes place, nothing changes here
16:48
You just have to continue to wait a couple of extra days for me to get my hands on new Apple products, or in some cases, maybe a week
16:58
Is it ideal? No. But it hasn't been to this point, and we've still found a way to cope
17:04
If this goes through, it will simply create equal footing between this community on Unbox Therapy and the other channels and outlets that have this particular privilege
17:16
All right, so what do you guys say? Should we send it? There's the button right there. Three, two, one, bang. That's real. That just happened. That's going to Apple now
17:32
Now, one thing I don't want you guys to do is to harass Apple, to make them respond. Honestly, it's up to them. They're a company. They're a business. They get to make these decisions. It's within their right
17:43
This is by no means a demand, which is why the email was written the way that it was
17:49
I want you to know nothing changes on this channel. I'm still me. I still speak
17:53
I can't help it. It's just what happens. And I need to let you guys know before I take off, because I've involved you in something
18:00
kind of intimate, kind of behind the scenes right now, that none of this happens without you
18:06
I've told you before, and I know it can sound old because you've heard it on a platform
18:11
so many times. but I have this position in life where I get to engage with the things that I like most, technology
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And sometimes it's easy to forget. You have these things lying around, you're deep in the job
18:24
and you can forget what that privilege is like. And ultimately, it's you guys who enable it
18:31
So this right here, if this is a win, it's a win for us collectively
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And I will work my best to keep bringing you value and to continue to try to be as useful as possible
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as I can in your world when it comes to you making decisions
18:46
about how to spend your money
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