So much to talk about. Let’s get into it!
I don’t know how they did it, but once again, Apple’s keynote left me feeling emotional by the end. It wasn’t because of groundbreaking innovation. Everything about it just felt warm, cozy, and comfortable.
Tim Cook was as loose and happy as I have ever seen him. He spoke with pure passion and joy about these products. He was beaming.
That positive energy permeated throughout the entire presentation, which deviated from some of the trends of the past. Gone were the statistics showing how iPhone is performing in comparison to Samsung and other competitors in terms of sales, processor speeds, and battery life. Omitted were the clever ads and the occasional joke that poked fun at rival companies.
In fact, I don’t recall a single mentioning of any competitor whatsoever during the entire 2-hour keynote.
Why would they need to?
Apple doesn’t need to prove to you that iPhone is the most successful smart phone in the world. We already know that. They have already arrived.
And quite frankly, this doesn’t come as a surprise anymore. It is now expected of Apple to be on top in the same way that Disney is expected to deliver the very best of theme parks. To draw attention to a wannabe rival implies you’re threatened by them in some way.
Apple doesn’t believe any of these competitors are gaining ground on them. So while it seems to be trendy right now for Samsung to make fun of Siri and iPhone, if you were to ask Tim Cook what he thought of those commercials, he’d probably say, “Oh, I didn’t realize they made a commercial.”
This isn’t ego or not being humble. It’s just that Apple is choosing to make this solely about what they are doing, not what the others are trying to do.
That’s why this keynote, to me, felt more positive and warm than any other.
They are not resting on their laurels either. While others, as always, try to play catch up, Apple continues to move its existing products forward.
Samsung will try to convince you that they are the gold standard because they came out with a larger screen smart phone first and Apple is late to the party. But Apple’s business model has never been about being “the first.” For them, its about making their experience “better than the rest.” There were portable music devices in existence before Apple “invented” the iPod. They just worked horribly.
It’s the same with the Watch. The competitor released their watch, what, a year ago? I haven’t noticed anyone wearing any. But come this holiday season, Apple will find themselves dominating the watch market as well. More on that later.
I’ve never felt Apple dropped the ball or has taken a step back because they weren’t the first to come out with a larger screen phone. I’ve always trusted that Apple’s first priority is with a quality customer experience, and they will release a product only when they feel it’s ready. So even with Apple arriving late, I still know their experience is going to be better than Samsung’s.
Speaking of the large screen, the biggest leap this year is with the iPhone 6 Plus, and I cannot wait to get my hands on this! I want to know what the larger screen fuss is all about. This is a new novelty, a first of its kind for Apple, and I’m so curious to discover if the Plus will be a permanent move, or if I will be longing for a return to a smaller sized phone.
The camera improvements are what have me salivating over this model as well. With each new generation of iPhone, there always seems to be a significant upgrade to its photography and video capabilities, and since this is such a dominant part of so many of our daily routines, from casual shots to more professional business applications, this alone always will always motivate me to upgrade.
If companies embrace ApplePay, it will revolutionize the country. As always, when you have to rely on a company to integrate a new technology into their existing infrastructure, when you have to ask them to change, it can be a snail’s pace. Does Target really need to add ApplePay to help its bottom line? Probably not. But I, for one, can’t stand the lines at Target. Is there ever a time when they aren’t lined up? Just that added bit of customer service, the improvement of the guest experience, will ensure we keep coming back.
It’s fine that McDonalds will be giving us ApplePay. When In-N-Out embraces ApplePay, now the world will have something.
I went into the keynote expecting the Watch to be of no interest to me. By the end, I found myself wanting one. It isn’t that it’s so revolutionary. It isn’t that this is going to be essential to my business productivity. But what it is is a new burst of fun. On being able to transform the digital face based on my preference, I want one. On being able to switch out bands with ease depending on your mood or activity, from jogging to attending an elegant dinner, I want one. I’ve never worn a watch that can do that. Thus, this makes the Watch unique.
My first reaction was that the price point, starting at $349, seemed rather stiff for a watch. If I’m going to fork over a few hundred bucks for a new iPhone, am I really wanting to do the same for a watch?
And then I realized who I’m talking about. This is Apple. They are not pricing their watch with a goal of having it be worn by every single human being on earth. They want it to be a novelty, at least at first. They want it to be worn by a small handful of people at a club so others take notice.
When iPhone first came out, it was a conversation piece. Not everyone had one. But everyone wanted one. It will be the same with Watch.
Yes, it costs a lot more than a watch you can find on the shelf at Target. But it’s also a heck of a lot less expensive than a Tag Heuer. And hey, guess what, Apple products always cost more. As long as the premium consumer experience is delivered with the watch, and given their track record, I have to assume it will, then its worth paying a few extra bucks for the novelty.
So where the heck is that long-rumored Apple television set, or what I refer to as the iTV? Have they abandoned this technology entirely?
Are you kidding me?
No way!
I’d bet money Tim Cook right now watches programming on his gorgeous prototype 70″ 4k anodized aluminum, stainless steel, and glass display in his living room.
So what’s the hold up?
Blame your local Time Warner Cable, which goes and creates its own sports network, pays an exorbitant amount of money, and snatches up 30-year rights to big market sports teams to keep key programming in the hands of the cable providers. That’s also why fans couldn’t get their Dodgers games for most of the season. And as long as programming is at the mercy of these providers, whose ancient business philosophies continue to decay, television is not going to take the leap forward it needs to that would allow an iTV to truly thrive.
See, Apple has long prided itself on the seamless integration of hardware and software to deliver the optimum consumer experience. But with a television set, there’s a third component. It’s seamless integration of hardware, software, and programming.
For an iTV to exist in the form I believe it wants to be in, the consumer will need true a la carte sports programming.
You can already get Boardwalk Empire, the Colbert Report, and Once Upon a Time on iTunes. For creative content, networks seem to have already embraced digital downloading as a viable revenue stream, so this isn’t the issue.
It’s sports programming, which is the last true holdout.
The Lakers made their deal with Time Warner Cable Sports Net, put in upwards of a billion dollars in their bank account, and now Time Warner holds their cards to achieve a viewership of what, 400,000 people a game on a good day?
Because I’m such a Lakers fan, I’m truly hoping the organization has retained some sort of future digital downloading rights, otherwise, their thinking may be short-sighted.
If I’m the new owner of the Clippers, with their television rights soon expiring, do I look to Time Warner Cable Sports Net as a new home for my team? Or is there an even bigger picture?
Tim Cook planted the subtle message in the Keynote thanks to U2.
Did you notice it?
In an unprecedented move, U2 has chosen to give away its new album for free to iTunes subscribers. Tim Cook and Bono had a very fun banter about this. Giving away music for free? Crazy!
Why did Bono do it? Besides probably some hefty donations to his charity of choice, talk about the exposure!
Apple will be giving the album to “half a billion iTunes store customers.”
Think about that.
Except on nationally televised games, the Lakers reach might be to the 400,000 loyal LA fans. Heck, I’ll even generously throw in a couple hundred thousand NBA TV subscribers, and that’s the extent of it.
And yet, the exposure of U2’s album will be to 500,000,000 people.
What if instead of assigning their rights to an antiquated cable company, the Clippers instead chose to offer their games a la carte on iTunes for free? I mean, why even charge? Where advertising revenue on Time Warner Cable is tethered to the few hundred thousand viewers, think about the potential when we’re talking 500,000,000 viewers!
The U2 sequence at the end of the keynote was awesome. It reinforced the love fest, and was a truly generous feel-good moment. And on a side note, how amazing is U2’s new album? Truly the best they have put out in years. I love U2. This is their renaissance. So great to see.
But make no mistake. This was also Apple sending signals to the world.
Entertainment programming may be enough to put an iTV on the shelves, I’m guessing in 5 years.
But here’s the pitch: Sports teams, bring your games to iTunes, we’ll broadcast it on a crystalline new 70″ Apple-branded television set, and advertisers, you can have half a billion people tuning in. Welcome to tomorrow.
That’s a look ahead. For today, I’m glad I have a larger screen iPhone to look forward to, and the novelty of a cool new watch come the holiday season.
More than anything, I’m just so glad Apple continues to do what it does best. By simply being Apple.
What are your thoughts on the new phone and watch? Are you going to rush out to the stores to snatch one up? Think an Apple television set is the next big innovation? How did you like U2’s new album? Let’s discuss!