The Product Appeal of Density

Don't people instinctively feel the scarcity of an object based on the density of what they hold in their hands?

To put it more specifically, this is about the idea that when people pick something up, they might expect it to be a "valuable object" if it is heavier than they anticipated.

For example, don't you imagine that a large but light cardboard box contains something "cheap," while a box that is small enough to hold in one hand but heavy contains something "expensive"?

When I held an iPhone for the first time, what I felt was, "It's heavier than I thought." (Of course, the biggest features of the iPhone were the keyless touchscreen, which could rotate and had various unprecedented functions.)

The popular smartphone at the time was the BlackBerry, which I was also using, so when I held the iPhone, I felt that "something was different."

If you compare the specific gravity of representative smartphones from that time, it looks like this. Note that the volume used for the specific gravity calculation was simply calculated as length × width × thickness, without considering rounded corners or protrusions, so the volume is on the larger side and the specific gravity is on the smaller side.

The mainstream smartphone at the time, the BlackBerry, was about the same as water, the first iPhone I held was 1.5g/cm3, and the iPhone five years later was 2.0g/cm3.

Just to be clear, I don't mean to say that the BlackBerry was unappealing. It was compact, light, and the Qwerty keyboard was easy to use, so I still wish for the return of the BlackBerry.

Since the purpose of this article is not to compare smartphones, I would like to give examples of other products.

Things that feel heavier than they look

Mechanical watch

As a result of a rough calculation, the specific gravity is about 5.7g/cm3 (weight 125g, volume 22cm3). Since the specific gravity of iron is 7.85g/cm3, I don't think that is too far off.

Diamond

The specific gravity is 3.52g/cm3.

Compact digital camera

As a result of a rough calculation, the specific gravity was about 1.2g/cm3 (weight 300g, volume 250cm3).

What do you think?

Aren't things that feel heavier than they look the kind of things you would want to buy if you had the money?

Of course, things like camping gear, where lightness is sought as a functional value, are an exception, but I feel that humans unconsciously perceive value—or "product appeal"—based on "specific gravity."

What do you think?

Thank you for reading until the end.