Connecting the Apple Dots
Apple is following a clear and defined product strategy. Last week, Apple provided the latest look at this strategy by unveiling new iPhones and a redesigned Apple Watch. These products represent clues that help paint a picture of where Apple is headed.
Mission Statement
Tim Cook kicked off Apple’s most recent product event at Steve Jobs Theater with an overview of the company’s mission statement. Here’s Cook:
“Apple was founded to make the computer more personal. Of course first with the Apple II, and then later with the Mac. Over the years, we’ve taken this mission further than anyone could have imagined. We’ve created several categories of technology that have had a profound impact on people’s lives - from the iPod to the iPhone to the iPad to the Apple Watch…
Of course we aim to put the customer at the center of everything that we do. That’s why iOS is not just the world’s most advanced mobile operating system. It’s the most personal. We’re about to hit a major milestone. We are about to ship our two billionth iOS device. This is astonishing. iOS has changed the way we live - from the way we learn, to the way we work. To how we’re entertained, to how we shop, order our food, get our transportation, and stay in touch with one another. And of course, how we capture the moments of our lives and share them with those we love. It’s amazing how our mission started with personalizing technology for the desktop to now seeing the many ways that we’ve made it more personal in so many aspects of our lives.
So it’s only fitting that today, we’re going to tell you about two of our most personal products - the ones that are with you everywhere that you go - and how we are going to take them even further.”
Along with announcing three iPhone X successors, Apple unveiled the most significant year-over-year change to Apple Watch since its unveiling in 2014.
My full review of Apple’s event is available for members here (major themes and takeaways) and here (full notes).
iPhone XS / XR
In order to push the iPhone X experience forward, Apple focused on three items:
Larger screens (A 6.5-inch screen with the iPhone XS Max and s 6.1-inch screen with the XR.)
Smarter brains (The A12 Bionic gives Apple an even larger lead over the competition.)
Better eyes (The dual-camera system is giving iPhone the ability to see the surrounding world with a more intelligent perspective.)
The following image does the best job at describing the current state of the iPhone business:
There is a reason Apple spent nearly 10% of the presentation talking about the A12 Bionic chip. Apple has spent the past decade working to control the core technologies powering its devices. The end result is an Apple chip that is providing the company a significant competitive advantage in the marketplace. With each new iPhone release, Apple’s custom silicon is responsible for an increasing portion of the iPhone experience. Apple didn’t just announce three new iPhones last week. Instead, thanks to the A12 Bionic and increasingly capable cameras, Apple announced three AR navigators serving as laptop and desktop alternatives.
Apple Watch Series 4
While the new iPhones were impressive, Apple Watch Series 4 stole the show. Two slides from the Apple Watch portion of the presentation stood out. The first of these covers improved optical heart sensor on the back of Apple Watch. The second shows Jeff Williams demonstrating some findings from Apple's multi-year research into falls.
Both slides depict Apple Watch as a proactive digital assistant. The device is capable of monitoring everything from our heart rhythm to whether we have fallen and need help. By being worn on the body, Apple Watch is able to handle tasks that will never be given to iPhone. When combined with the independence found with cellular, Apple Watch contains an incredibly powerful value proposition.
Apple Product Theory
The iPhone and Apple Watch represent the two most personal devices in Apple’s product line. While it may seem like these products lack any obvious connection with their larger siblings, there is a single philosophy connecting each of Apple’s major product categories. Introduced in 2015, my Grand Unified Theory of Apple Products is worth revisiting given the significant changes that have taken place within Apple’s product line.
Apple’s major product categories are interconnected by the roles they play in making technology more personal. Each product is given a goal that ends up describing its design attributes.
Mac desktops. Designed to be powerful and capable enough to push the boundaries of a computer.
Mac portables. Designed to handle tasks that may have traditionally went to a desktop.
iPad. Designed to serve as an alternative to laptops and desktops.
iPhone. Designed to be powerful enough to reduce the need for iPad and Mac.
Apple Watch. Designed to handle an increasing number of tasks so that less time has to be given to iPhone and iPad.
Apple’s product strategy is based not on coming up with replacements for existing products, but on using personal technology to come up with alternatives to more powerful computers. By relying on new form factors in addition to new user inputs and outputs, Apple has seen much success in coming up with products that contain less in the way of barriers between the user and technology. Intuitiveness is used to harness technology’s potential. Apple’s goal with iPhone has been to give the product enough functionality to serve as a Mac and iPad alternative. Meanwhile, Apple’s goal with Apple Watch is to give the product enough functionality to reduce the need for an iPhone.
The Grand Theory also does a good job of explaining why Apple uses a hands-off approach when it comes to telling consumers which product(s) fit best in their lives. While some think this has been a strategic error on Apple’s part, ultimately management wants customers to determine the degree of personal technology that makes sense for their needs. For some customers, a Mac may be required. For others, an iPhone is the only computer needed. Based on the most recent Mac and iPad Pro ad campaigns, Apple management has become comfortable in allowing each product category to stand on its own and not necessarily lift up one category at the expense of the other.
Connecting the Dots
Based on the most recent iPhone and Apple Watch updates, Apple’s longer-term ambition has become crystal clear. This is a company that believes Apple Watch will serve as a viable alternative to iPhone. As a result, the environment will become more hospitable for new form factors capable of making technology even more personal than is possible with Watch. As shown below, the Grand Unified Theory will likely expand to include a new product category beneath Apple Watch: Apple Glasses.
Apple Glasses fit perfectly within the theory as a product category given the job of handling tasks currently given to Apple Watch and iPhone. This would be accomplished by new user inputs (such as glances and voice) and outputs. The work Apple is doing with its custom silicon, along with miniaturization techniques it is using on Apple Watch will come together to make a pair of lightweight smart glasses possible. With the iPhone continuing to gain new capabilities as an AR navigator and the Watch becoming a new kind of proactive digital assistant, there will be room for a simpler device. This device will be designed to break down technology even further to provide an enhanced view of the world around us. There won’t be too many things as intuitive as a pair of smart glasses.
Consequences
One of the major consequences of the Grand Theory is shown below. Apple’s various product categories have dramatically different user base sizes based on the amount of personal technology found with each product. While the Mac has a combined user base of around 100M users, the iPad has almost three times as large of a user base. Meanwhile, the iPhone will soon exceed a user base that is nine times as large as that of Mac.
For more information on the methodology and calculations used to derive these estimates, visit here (iPhone), here (iPad), and here (Apple Watch).
Apple Watch’s user base has grown to 40M in just three years. For context, the iPhone user base stood at 55M after three years. Considering that an Apple Watch still requires an iPhone, the 40M user base figure is that much more remarkable.
As shown below, my expectation is that Apple Watch and Apple Glasses will one day be used by more people than will the iPhone. Such a radical idea may seem like fantasy, especially given how pivotal of a role the iPhone is playing in our lives. However, the appeal found with intuitive devices capable of making technology more personal will prove too powerful.
As new form factors allow Apple to harness technology’s potential, the scope to which those products are able to connect with humans intensifies. Multi-touch was a leading factor in iPhone having a user base that is nine times larger than that of Mac. A proactive digital assistant on the wrist will give Apple Watch a user base that eventually exceeds that of iPhone. The key to my projection is the eventual decoupling of Apple Watch from iPhone. This is an inevitable development. The only question is found with timing.
When it comes to glasses, a product that will be tasked with making technology more personal than iPhone or Watch, providing enhanced vision will be one of the more attractive value propositions in existence. While a user base of 900M people may seem impossible for Apple Watch or Apple Glasses to surpass, there are 7.5B people on Earth. Everyone can benefit from a device that delivers an enhanced view of the world around us.
The Current Era
With smarter brains and better eyes, the iPhone XS and XR will continue the trend of iPhones gaining functionality. It is not a surprise that we see iPhone pricing begin to move higher as a result. However, despite these advancements, the Apple Watch Series 4 was the star of the show at Apple’s recent product event. While this may have come as a surprise to some observers, there have been signs that this day would come. The Watch’s ability to proactively monitor our life is game changing.
When we look back at the late 2010s for Apple, we will likely refer to this as the early stages of the Apple Watch and Apple Glasses era. Apple’s multi-decade quest to make technology more personal is based on using intuitiveness to knock down the barriers that exist between humans and technology. One way of accomplishing this is push the boundaries found with today’s most personal products. The faster Apple runs with iPhone and Apple Watch, the closer the company will get to announcing its most personal product yet: glasses.
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