Over the past few years, I’ve written about the iPad, the iPad mini, iOS7, iRadio and the iPhone5, and so it should come as no surprise that here I am once again, eager to share a few thoughts about this week’s product news from Cupertino.
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
According to Tim Cook, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are “the biggest advancements in iPhone history.” Why? Because these devices combine hardware, software and services at an “unprecedented level,” he said.
Unprecedented advancements in smartphone technology? That’s music to the ears of anyone involved with digital marketing.
After all, even though smartphones play an increasingly large role in buying decisions, consumers have been mostly underwhelmed with the mobile customer experience. Earlier this summer comScore found that mobile users want larger and clearer images to help them comparison shop. In fact, 41% of those polled said they prefer a retailer’s full website vs. a mobile website (34%) or mobile app (25%).
Enter the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, complete with upgrades like larger screens, better video quality, double-touch navigation and 11-hour video battery life. They’ll make shopping easier.
And that’s even before adding in…
Apple Pay
Think of Apple Pay as contactless mobile payment technology. As the Apple website describes it, the Near Field Communication antenna in the iPhone 6 (and iPhone 6 Plus) will enable a user to make a payment simply by holding his/her iPhone near the payment kiosk of a participating retailer while pressing a finger to Touch ID. You won’t even have to look at the screen to know your payment information was successfully sent because a vibration and beep will let you know.
Will Apple Pay replace the wallet and “forever change the way we buy,” as Tim Cook thinks it will?
I suppose we’ll have to wait and see. But one thing is certain, already: Apple Pay is yet another way that the distinction between online and offline shopping is being blurred.
Apple Watch
I’ve had my eye on wearable technology for some time. As a marketer, I find it fascinating because not only does wearable technology represent another screen in consumers’ lives; it represents a screen that people will connect with themselves. That means wearable technology can help marketers improve the customer experience in new and exciting ways –ways far beyond the health and fitness apps that are quickly becoming commonplace.
Apple says the Apple Watch is the most personal device it has ever made. Will consumers agree? Reviewers run the gamut from “appears to be awesome” to “too much ‘tech’ and not enough ‘wearable,’” but they haven’t been able to try a fully-functional one yet.
Bottom-line: All the new products from Apple (including iOS 8, available September 17) give consumers more power in their hands –more power to surf, to shop, to buy, to share, to communicate… Marketing campaigns are going to have to evolve in-kind. Today’s (newly) empowered consumers will expect no less.
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