Apple’s ‘What’s a Computer?’ Commercial Rubs People the Wrong Way

Apple’s new commercial meant to show off a world where a computer is extinct because of the multitasking capabilities of the iPad Pro and iOS 11 is infuriating social media.

The commercial, which originally aired in November, shows a girl walking through the streets of her city, presumably Brooklyn, with her iPad in hand. But when she retreats to her backyard with said iPad and a neighbor asks her what she’s doing on her computer, things start to rub viewers the wrong way.

“What’s a computer?” the girl asks, igniting fury on social media.

The ad, meant to show people the versatility of the iPad, is set in a fantasy Apple world where computers are so outdated that children don’t even know what they are, but social media users couldn’t help but point out how integral computers still are to everyday life.

“It’s annoyingly out of touch. Like Apply smugly believes that they’re on the cusp of changing the world’s lexicon for computer to their product,” one user wrote. “I feel bad for the girl though, people hate her now and she’s just trying to get an acting career going.”

“Figured I wasn’t the only one. Really hate that last line. Get the point, but it’s bad writing. A tablet IS a computer. I’m always waiting for the neighbor to say, “Really? That thing you’re holding. C’mon man!” another user wrote.

One person noted that even her son, who is close in age to the girl in the commercial, was angry about the commercial.

“I have an irrational hate for the kid in that “what’s a computer?” Mac commercial,” Nolan Mann commented.

Some find the ad so annoying that it leaves them wanting to “throw a brick at the tv whenever the hipster apple ‘what’s a computer’ commercial comes on.”

It’s unlikely that computers will be forgotten anytime soon, but Apple can dream.