What the new iPhone means to marketers
More video on the move and the launch of Passbook are the two most significant things marketers need to consider when the iPhone 5 launches next week, argues Cathie McGinn.
The iPhone 5 launched today, with the usual blend of zealotry and vitriol that has come to typify Apple product releases.
It’s hard to say whether this is indicative of a different approach after the death of notoriously controlling CEO Steve Jobs, but it’s interesting to note that unlike most previous Apple product launches, there was little in today’s announcement that wasn’t already rumoured across tech blogs and media.
Billed as “ the thinnest smartphone in the world” the key features of the Phone 5 are a new, larger screen, higher quality camera (with eight megapixels), faster connectivity and a longer battery life. The new data protocols of HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA are supported, as they are on the new iPad – along with ultrafast LTE (4G).
Telstra, Optus, and Virgin (which piggybacks on the Optus network) have been named as the carriers able to provide 4G immediately. It explains why Optus rushed to announce its limited 4G network earlier this month. Telstra is further advanced with its 4G rollout.
It represents good news for content makers who already have mobile in their sights, and it’s definitely indicative of a trend towards greater consumer uptake of high definition content on the go, along with offering a much more creative breadth for mobile display ads.
Foad Fadaghi of technology analysts Telsyte says: “The iPhone 5 isn’t going to grow market share by much but it will reinforce market share for the next 12-24 months and give added confidence about mobile as a strong platform. It’s ideal for video. Faster 4G and a bigger screen means streaming high definition content to devices. It presents a great oppoortunity for advertisers and brand content makers, and mobile display can be richer and more engaging.”
The new components in the iPhone 5, along with the thinner phone body have necessitated a new adaptor with fewer connecting pins, something that will enrage any Apple fan with a suite of companion products now requiring a clunky adaptor.
The cynical mutterings of “planned obsolescence” are probably less fair this time: the reality is the new connectivity speeds and supporting the clarity of the screen mean the battery has to be bigger in order to have a reasonable charge life.
One interesting omission is the lack of a near field communication chip, which had been hotly tipped to be the new way of connecting with consumers, with outdoor companies like JC Decaux already investing in the technology. NFC gives consumers the ability to swipe a phone to pay for purchases and is used by Google’s cash free development Google Wallet.
Apple instead is pushing its new closed system Passbook technology, which is being implemented by brands like Virgin Australia. Passbook stores tickets, membership cards, manages tickets, check-ins and so on, with in-built live updates – for example late flight departure alerts – and is a step towards the digital wallet that Google has already surpassed. Apple is traditionally leery of adopting third party technologies until they have the weight of numbers behind them, but this seems overly cautious, a missed opportunity to give consumers and third parties an open system that works across devices.
The oportunities for marketers are significant: because Passbook runs continually, users won’t need to open an app to interact with a brand. Using GPS, consumers can be sent a voucher or find out about deals and offers near them while they’re in a shopping centre, for example.
In what seems to be something of a shift in allegiance to social technologies, the iPhone 5 won’t come with the YouTube app already included in its house apps – a departure for Apple – but will offer new instant Facebook integration for Contacts and Calendar.
YouTube has created its own app which will join the rank and file in the App Store.
The new screen has a 16:9 aspect ratio display, which will doubtless delight the thousands of app developers who will now have to reformat every single app design. This is going to represent a significant cost in aggregate terms and seems a blunder from Apple. Until the app icons are updated they will display a letterboxed version.
In other good news for fans of function and form, Apple will be replacing their uncomfortable headphones at last with the new EarPods which may actually fit the human ear, and has launched a redesign of iTunes to showcase content in a new, sleeker and aesthetically pleasing platform.
Overall, there’s nothing unforeseen and nothing that represents a huge leap forwards. It does suggest that marketers who aren’t considering how to reach the consumer on the move already need to get galvanised to do so or risk losing the opportunity altogether. Passbook is the single most important marketing issue to focus on, I’d argue.
But fans will doubtless queue in droves at Apple stores on the 21st of September, and the slick presentation images plus the classic Apple copyboggling of quotes like “anodised aluminium body with diamond cut chamfered edges and glass inlays for a truly incredible fit and finish” might persuade iPhone 4 owners to consign perfectly working telephones to landfill regardless.
Cathie McGinn
shame no NFC… lets see what Passport does…
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Great summary. Definitely a lack of significant “wow” feature, like the retina screen or Siri launched in previous versions. But it will certainly bring it more in to line with other handsets on the market. If you are interested in how it compares with other top end handset on the market, this is a good article: http://mashable.com/2012/09/12/iphone-5-compared/
Lots of opportunities for companies, brands and products to take advantage of the new features of iOS6, looking forward to seeing what the mobile software developers come up with to take advantage of this handset and Os upgrade.
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Nice wrap up! I would maybe argue that the NFC issue is a little more complex than outlined here however. Passbook if anything suggests future NFC integration dmfir the iPhone rather than an “instead of” scenario, passbook as it stands is not really built as a pos interactive system, and to retrofit global infrastructure to support a gps payment system seems counter intuitive to the current landscape in which companies like Coles, woolworths, mcdonalds etc already have implemented NFC payment systems. Apples exclusion of the tech most likely signifies that they will be launching their own proprietary payment system an that this is simply not ready yet. The issue surrounding that release involvse local carrier agreements as well as the credit card companies as the fight to put the secure NFC element on the sim rather than the device continues. Carrier networks have the fear of loosing the 24 month lock down on consumers via device contracts to payment institutions (if your phone is your credit card, perhaps your new iPhone will come in the post from MasterCard rather than Telstra in the future) and that is potentially what is holding apple back, as oppse to other device manufacturers who create the hardware an leave the software to google.
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Like peak oil, we have reached peak Apple.
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The information about PassBook is not quite right.
PassBook does not automatically allow a user to receive vouchers/coupons etc as they walk through a shopping centre for example.
You must already have installed an app which has built in integration with PassBook.
ShopperNova for example will talk to PassBook to allow users to save offers and vouchers ‘Passes’ into their PassBook. If the user then enters the vicinity of one of these stores, these passes will then appear on the lock screen of your iPhone.
In the same way, Virgin et all will allow you to save your boarding pass in PassBook and they will appear on your screen in the vicinity of the airport.
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All the features of Passbook handle cards, vouchers, tickets etc. all work with barcode readers NOT NFC. What’s more Apple have released an API for Passbook, I think what Apple are doing with their NFC strategy is very smart.
Retailers are a long way of having compatible NFC readers on the counter, and there are serious questions centering around who controls the customer via the NFC technology that’s embedded in the device.
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Actually most large Australian retailers already have the technology in place and operational, I have a google wallet install running on my android and have used it to pay at: woolworths, Coles, 711, McDonald’s, hungry jacks, Kmart, taxis an many more. Barcode technology is easily integrated with an NFC antenna once installed in the device
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purely to add some colour. CBA announcing in July their new eftpos terminals… this could of been an opportunity for Apple to work with retailers (and CBA?) http://www.smh.com.au/business.....228hi.html
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Sorry but Apple’s Passbook is nothing more than a glorified folder on a mobile phone.
Compare passbook to the mobile wallet in Windows Phone 8 and Google’s wallet.
Apple’s Passbook is not even remotely like a mobile wallet and without NFC it’s dead on arrival.
Once again it’s amazing what Apple can convince people of……
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When I spoke to an Apple product priest a couple of months ago about NFC, they were incredibly evasive. This usually means they have it just up their sleeve.
Remember kids – with iPhone, the numerical iterations are for looks, the S iterations are for capability. My prediction is that NFC will be the wow with iPhone 5S.
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