Fifteen years later, the Apple Cards origin story
3 hours ago
- Apple released the Cards app in 2011, letting users design and mail custom letterpress cards from iOS 5, a project reportedly dreamed up by Steve Jobs.
- The production was notoriously difficult: cards used 100% cotton paper with heavy debossing, requiring three-pass printing on industrial HP presses.
- Apple pushed for invisible UV barcodes and a custom Apple-designed heart stamp, forcing the USPS and Czech Post to accommodate unusual tracking needs.
- Despite massive preparation and high forecasts, launch-day demand was very low; the app quietly continued until being sunset in September 2013 after Steve Jobs' death.
- An anonymous former print partner ('Mike') described the project, codenamed 'Speed Racer,' as a pinnacle of mismanagement and intercontinental mayhem.
- Apple's rigid requirements included keeping envelopes free of visible barcodes, which made sorting extremely labor-intensive and prone to errors.