The Irish rock band U2 is scheduled to perform at the big Apple iPhone, iWatch, whatever-else-Tim-Cook-cooks-up announcement today in Cupertino. An article about the connection between Apple and U2 in the New York Times features a photo of Steve Jobs with U2 guys Bono and The Edge, all three holding some special “U2” iPods. That was back in 2004, so long ago that Twitter didn’t even exist. And U2 was already a little creaky if you’re counting in rock and roll years, which are the only years that go as fast as tech years.
Speculation is that U2 is launching a new album. Yawn. Millions of people will be excited about this, but the iPhone 6 generates far more enthusiasm on its own than a new U2 album does. The band was founded in, wait for it, 1976. (Same year as Apple–Jimmy Carter was president.) Bono and The Edge are in their mid-50s, just like Tim Cook. But are their contemporaries the people Apple needs to reach to push forward? Word in the Valley and on Madison Avenue is that you need to indoctrinate the Instagram population, not to mention the Snapchat kids. Do they know or care about U2’s new album? Is Apple starting to get isolated at the top, only seeing itself and its success? If Steve Jobs were around he’d be happy to screw over any loyalty he felt to U2 and his own tastes and look coldly at the situation. Jobs would have Drake or Ariana Grande rocking the Apple event. The iPhone 6 must be for old people.
