Apple sneaks up on the competition
Now I don’t own a smartphone. I’ll admit I’m thinking about it with some of the features that Apple is including these days.
There are two things I do want to talk about today. One is the “Apple tax,” the perception that Apple charges more for comparable products. Assuming that you can find similar products from other companies, the cost isn’t as high as you might think. Remember, Apple doesn’t use low end components. Apple parts tend to be mid to high range in most areas. No one talks about a BMW tax, yet because of the materials used and the construction methods we know that a BMW is going to be a better car than most.
Apple also pushes standards. Gorilla Glass was a experiment gathering dust on a shelf before Steve Jobs told Corning he wanted to use it in the original iPhone. USB was just another underused connection standard before the original iMac. And lest we forget, before the Apple ][ no one seriously thought a personal computer was practical.
I think Apple has jumped the competition and the competition doesn’t know it yet. As far as I can tell, all Apple’s rivals use vibrate as the default “silent” alarm and notification. The Apple Watch uses a haptic engine, it “taps” your wrist. A vibration is mechanical, intrusive, and demanding.
A tap is gentle, organic, and polite.
I’ve no evidence but a gut feeling, but I think people will prefer a tap. It’s going to be THE killer feature.
Without talking much about it, Apple has laid the groundwork for the next few things.
Although smartphones are designed for pockets, pockets aren’t designed for smartphones. The larger smartphones like the iPhone 6+ barely fit into pockets at all. But if you can answer calls and do texts on your wrist, then why do you need a smartphone in your pocket? Apple solved the smartphone-pocket problem by moving the smartphone to your bag. Maybe in a nice case like this. If the phone doesn’t demand your immediate attention, then why not make it one step removed?
And with that, there comes the inevitable blurring between iPhone and iPad. I’m not saying it will happen in the next year, but it is coming.
The fun part is that all the companies are bending over backwards to make better products that people want to buy. All without government control.
Oh, just so you know, the Apple Watch Edition is the distraction. Watch the other two lines.