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Is the target audience for teenage engineering products people that like extremely sleekly designed products that also have nice features; or do people in their

Is the target audience for teenage engineering products people that like extremely sleekly designed products that also have nice features; or do people in their industry hold them as highly regarded products that have unique features and perform well beyond their sleek design? I'm asking without judgement and out of ignorance of the field of audio engineering. I absolutely believe that there is a market for sleekly designed products that also happen to function well; but I don't know if audio engineers (and other people this targets) also believe that teenage engineer products are worth the price beyond that.

andrewmcwatters 3y ago
I don't personally understand why you would use their hardware for anything considering each of their devices have industry leading competitors that people like more. I think you have to just want to buy their hardware. They're lifestyle devices.
- moron4hire 3y ago
  These devices are ostensibly toys for rich people, but really more like advertisements for their product design services. You're supposed to see the TP-7 as a CEO of a hardware startup and want to hire Teenage Engineering to design the shell to go around your prototype.
  - wmf 3y ago
    What have they designed besides the Playdate?
    - moron4hire 3y ago
      The Ikea Frekvens line: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/newsroom/range-news/get-the-party-started-with-frekvens-pubaaf1fd67 https://www.ikea.com/us/en/newsroom/range-news/get-the-party...
      - lobstrosity420 3y ago
        Also the Nothing Ear (1). I don’t know if they’ve designed their phone too, but it at least follows their design language.
    - stigi 3y ago
      There's a whole page dedicated to it: https://teenage.engineering/designs/ https://teenage.engineering/designs/ Some notables: The Playdate (as mentioned) The Ikea Frevens series Impossible I-1 instant camera Mayku 3D printer
      - andromeduck 3y ago
        Oh man I'd buy that camera roll if it were Fuji Instax Wide or Square. Polaroids fim sucks so much these days but there aren't many good camera bodies for Fuji Wide/Square
- brudgers 3y ago
  To me, prioritizing technical specifications of equipment is no lesa lifestyle choice than prioritizing aesthetics or kinesthetics. It is no less an expression of some cultural values and rejection of others.
- footlose_3815 3y ago
  The 128 Megaman brought me pure joy beyond the shelf price of $90. Those sounds are hard to just find in a patch bank. With that being said, just about everything else, you're right.
  - hammyhavoc 3y ago
    I have the PO-128 and it's mediocre versus running LSDj or Nanoloop on a Game Boy if chiptune and programmability for self-expression is what you want.
njharman 3y ago
The marketing and fan hype is exactly same as for other lifestyle companies. Hence you buy these products so you can show and be seen having bought them and receive validation from your perceived peers.
leviathant 3y ago
They found a niche in selling aesthetically striking, slightly unwieldy products to people who have more money than sense. The OP-1 at least had a unique set of features (arguably, you're better off with an iPad), but these widgets they're cranking out are really just a tap into the luxury money firehose, and in a way, it's hard to knock them for it. No one who's using Zoom field records (and that's mostly everybody who does field recordings) is going to buy this unless they've got nepo money - or tech & exec salaries, which is why I'm completely unsurprised by the appearance of this story here on HN. Teenage Engineering - it looks cool
- fassssst 3y ago
  > arguably, you're better off with an iPad Now that iPads have Logic Pro, you're almost certainly better off with an iPad.
ilyt 3y ago
Some people like being limited in features, and I guess small form factor is nice if you want to go make music in park or something ...that for OP-1/OP-Z which are synths/sequencers This thing just records audio. It has no place in anything professional based on features, it's just sleek toy that happens to record audio. I'm sure some people will enjoy engineering with it but that's it, a toy for people with some spare spending money.
riwsky 3y ago
The OP-1 (or the original, at least) has fans throughout the industry. You can find Thom Yorke performing with it, Tame Impala, can find Justin Vernon singing its praises. The rest of their lineup, not so much.

andrewmcwatters 3y ago

I don't personally understand why you would use their hardware for anything considering each of their devices have industry leading competitors that people like more. I think you have to just want to buy their hardware. They're lifestyle devices.

moron4hire 3y ago
These devices are ostensibly toys for rich people, but really more like advertisements for their product design services. You're supposed to see the TP-7 as a CEO of a hardware startup and want to hire Teenage Engineering to design the shell to go around your prototype.
- wmf 3y ago
  What have they designed besides the Playdate?
  - moron4hire 3y ago
    The Ikea Frekvens line: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/newsroom/range-news/get-the-party-started-with-frekvens-pubaaf1fd67 https://www.ikea.com/us/en/newsroom/range-news/get-the-party...
    - lobstrosity420 3y ago
      Also the Nothing Ear (1). I don’t know if they’ve designed their phone too, but it at least follows their design language.
  - stigi 3y ago
    There's a whole page dedicated to it: https://teenage.engineering/designs/ https://teenage.engineering/designs/ Some notables: The Playdate (as mentioned) The Ikea Frevens series Impossible I-1 instant camera Mayku 3D printer
    - andromeduck 3y ago
      Oh man I'd buy that camera roll if it were Fuji Instax Wide or Square. Polaroids fim sucks so much these days but there aren't many good camera bodies for Fuji Wide/Square
brudgers 3y ago
To me, prioritizing technical specifications of equipment is no lesa lifestyle choice than prioritizing aesthetics or kinesthetics. It is no less an expression of some cultural values and rejection of others.
footlose_3815 3y ago
The 128 Megaman brought me pure joy beyond the shelf price of $90. Those sounds are hard to just find in a patch bank. With that being said, just about everything else, you're right.
- hammyhavoc 3y ago
  I have the PO-128 and it's mediocre versus running LSDj or Nanoloop on a Game Boy if chiptune and programmability for self-expression is what you want.

njharman 3y ago

The marketing and fan hype is exactly same as for other lifestyle companies. Hence you buy these products so you can show and be seen having bought them and receive validation from your perceived peers.

leviathant 3y ago

They found a niche in selling aesthetically striking, slightly unwieldy products to people who have more money than sense. The OP-1 at least had a unique set of features (arguably, you're better off with an iPad), but these widgets they're cranking out are really just a tap into the luxury money firehose, and in a way, it's hard to knock them for it. No one who's using Zoom field records (and that's mostly everybody who does field recordings) is going to buy this unless they've got nepo money - or tech & exec salaries, which is why I'm completely unsurprised by the appearance of this story here on HN. Teenage Engineering - it looks cool

fassssst 3y ago
> arguably, you're better off with an iPad Now that iPads have Logic Pro, you're almost certainly better off with an iPad.

ilyt 3y ago

Some people like being limited in features, and I guess small form factor is nice if you want to go make music in park or something ...that for OP-1/OP-Z which are synths/sequencers This thing just records audio. It has no place in anything professional based on features, it's just sleek toy that happens to record audio. I'm sure some people will enjoy engineering with it but that's it, a toy for people with some spare spending money.

riwsky 3y ago

The OP-1 (or the original, at least) has fans throughout the industry. You can find Thom Yorke performing with it, Tame Impala, can find Justin Vernon singing its praises. The rest of their lineup, not so much.