Western Digital’s hard drives have an all-new look and can we be okay with that?

Western Digital’s "My Passport" line of portable external hard drives have never been mistaken for fashionable. They cry out, "Forget me in a desk drawer somewhere!" They’re utilitarian, and do frequently store computer files adequately. But where’s the zest? I mean, just look at this sad object:

Aren’t you sad now? I’m sad.

Now Western Digital is doing a total about face and releasing an all-new design for its My Passport and My Book hard drive lines. Here’s an ad about how colors define people:

Are you excited? I’m excited. I’m not sure why I’m excited, because right now you can get a 1TB boring My Passport drive at Best Buy for $59.99, while these new drives start at $79.99 for 1TB. But I guess I just hate seeing ugly hard drives in the world, and now there will be fewer of them.

My colleague Sean O’Kane, however, hates beauty. He had this to say:

I’m all for refreshing design choices, but these new drives almost look too consumer-y. Western Digital’s hard drives might have been bland, but to me, the design reinforced the idea that they were reliable. I look at these new hard drives and have a hard time immediately buying into the idea that they’re going to last me a long time, which is a big part of the purpose of an external hard drive. (Then again, we’re talking about HDDs and not SSDs.)

Interesting thoughts, Sean. Too bad you’re wrong. Here’s my rebuttal: