Opinion

The new iPhones may not be revolutionary, but they are refining the experience

Jason Deacon DTWith the launch of two new iPhones today DT’s Jason Deacon says Apple has done the job of redefining mobile experiences.

When you pick up a phone in a store the first thing that grabs your attention is the display. It’s the feather fascinator on a Melbourne Cup goer. The ‘new and improved’ sticker on your washing detergent. The hundreds and thousands on white bread.

We are dazzled. Drawn into the bright and colourful aura, momentarily distracted from the less refined attributes, which may lie beneath the surface. By virtue of this screen size arms race, the iPhone has increasingly (and undeservingly) come off second best in side-by-side in-store comparisons. Like comparing apples with bowling balls. One is certainly better for you, but gosh that bowling ball is big!

This all changes today. Though, given Apple’s famous philosophy of not bending to trends or outside pressures (Netbooks, anyone?), I imagine it is somewhat bittersweet for their exec team to stand up in Cupertino’s Flint Centre this morning and decree the benefits of a larger (much larger) screen.

But the market has turned. Just as megapixels once dominated digital camera purchase decisions (before we saw the sense in sensor quality), so too has the mobile phone industry created an arbitrary metric for measuring what is perceived as good. Despite previously condemning the industry’s obsession with screen size, Apple had no choice but to play the game.

Apple’s ad about screen sizes:

And this ain’t a bad thing.

The extra space (available in two sizes; 4.7 for the iPhone 6 and a hefty 5.5 inches for the iPhone 6 Plus) will be welcomed by Apple fans.

The iPhone will once again pass the superficial side-by-side test, and customers can put aside the girth of the glass to focus on what truly makes Apple a superior choice — the same reason why they turned the mobile industry on its head in the first place. Attention to detail, build quality, and a cohesive software experience designed wholly around the user, not carrier partners or advertisers. That’s what makes a phone.

But philosophies aside, what lies beneath the razzle dazzle? If we’re talking tech specs, the iPhone 6 builds upon an already solid base. The cellular modem is faster and includes even more bands for getting the most out of overseas networks, and the inclusion of the new 802.11ac protocol will see your WiFi speeds triple on next gen routers.

The battery and processor get a notable bump, and a swath of camera improvements (such as HDR video and image stabilisation in the Plus model) will see our hobby photos and videos work even harder for those coveted Instagram likes.

Lastly, the inclusion of NFC — near field communication, a technology already present in many competing handsets — should hopefully act as a tipping point for the modernisation of contactless payments, though Australia unfortunately won’t see this in market at launch.

Of all the improvements to the iPhone, NFC (near field communication) presents the most interesting opportunity for marketers. Finally, the QR code can die. While unconventional use of this technology for brands will rely on Apple opening up an API, we should start to consider now how to leverage this beyond mobile payments now. And let’s go beyond simply activating Call To Actions, too. The potential of two-way near field data exchanges as standard across all mobile devices is huge.

Wearables have been on the rise for a while now. And now that Apple bring this further into the mainstream, the shift of attention from pocket to wrist is well worth watching. Third party apps will be available for this platform next year. How might your brand best utilise this behaviour change? Contextual arm ads? Maybe. Wearables – the Apple Watch included – are packed with sensors that allow us to do so much more than just broadcast a message.

What should you do right now? Keep pushing that iBeacon strategy. These low-energy Bluetooth emitters are rolling out into retail outlets across the US, and there’s still a significant, untapped opportunity in the Australian market here.

As categories mature, the rate of innovation inevitably declines. We can add features and make things faster, but the form factor and usage principles are defined and understood. Now, it’s about refinement. With the iPhone 6, Apple does not disappoint, as they continue to advance an already exceptional platform.

The iPhone 6 concedes that bigger is better. What that means, however, is our focus can now shift away from the superficial. The discussion has been reframed, once again, around what truly makes an incredible mobile device: hardware and software working together seamlessly, and an unmatched hunger for perfection.

Jason Deacon is creative director for DT

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