The comments in this thread highlight the risks of using the word "minimalist" for marketing. Minimalism means so many things. Just looking at clocks as an exa

The comments in this thread highlight the risks of using the word "minimalist" for marketing. Minimalism means so many things. Just looking at clocks as an example, it could be: 1. A lack of lines: https://imgur.com/JLHhp8Y https://imgur.com/JLHhp8Y 2. A lack of material: https://imgur.com/kfF2lb9 https://imgur.com/kfF2lb9 3. A lack of branding: https://imgur.com/ZkuuICZ https://imgur.com/ZkuuICZ 4. A lack of size: https://imgur.com/TLgrf5v https://imgur.com/TLgrf5v 5. A lack of structure: https://imgur.com/LoGBK5x https://imgur.com/LoGBK5x 6. A lack of possessions: https://imgur.com/WSuR1Hg https://imgur.com/WSuR1Hg 7: A lack of technology: https://imgur.com/KDOmoTl https://imgur.com/KDOmoTl ...and many more. Each of these types of minimalism has a community built around it which disagree if you say something is minimalist that doesn't fit their ideology. Examples: 1. A lack of size: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21289101 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21289101 2. A lack of possessions: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21290867 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21290867 I'd argue this phone obviously fits some definition of minimalist, though it's a bit hard to describe what's been removed (a lack of noise or visual complexity, perhaps?). But because it doesn't fit some people's definition, they get alienated and defensive. Minimalism is obviously a highly-effective design strategy, but marketing yourself as minimalist explicitly opens you up to a lot of criticism. The criticism actually doesn't make much sense, but it's pretty hard to explain why. Imagine if this guy: https://imgur.com/BRCJlIB https://imgur.com/BRCJlIB had marketed the iPhone as being minimalist. The hypocrisy of a minimalist selling a consumerist object! But, the iPhone actually was minimalist in a lot of ways, just not that one.