iPhone

advertising / apple / creative / iPad / iPhone / iPod / observatory / strategy — 21 Comments
1
Feb 12

Where have Apple’s headlines gone?

Driving around LA with colleagues recently, we were greeted by iPad billboards just about everywhere we went. All shared the same clever headline: “iPad 2.”

That got my merry band wondering: when was the last time an Apple billboard or poster actually had a headline. (At least a smart headline in the Apple tradition.)

Before the “iPad 2″ headline, the headline was “iPad.” The old iPod “silhouette” billboards had headlines that seemed like novels in comparison — they said “iPod + iTunes.”

I don’t mean this as an indictment. It’s simply an observation. In fact, if I were so disposed, I could rationalize both ways of thinking.

Say no to headlines!
Apple makes things simple. What could be simpler than a beautiful image and a product name? Brevity is its own form of cleverness, and a minimal number of words makes Apple stand out even more from its complicated competitors. Apple has transcended the need to explain things. If you really want more words, there are plenty of them at apple.com.

You’re blowing a major opportunity — repeatedly.
Steve Jobs himself once told me that every single ad is an opportunity to build the brand. Every time you fail to do that, it’s an opportunity lost. Now Apple is missing what its smart headlines used to add, and therefore not connecting at the same level. Those headlines are what originally gave Apple its public personality — they put Apple in a class by itself. Is it too much to ask for a few clever words?

So what gives? Has Apple lost the ability to craft a good headline? Or does it truly believe that an image and a product name is the ultimate act of advertising minimalism, and therefore a perfect representation of the Apple brand?

One argument against the latter is that the most recent images Apple has given us don’t exactly come from the adrenaline-pumping school of photography. The current iPad 2 billboard (above), in which we see a side view of Mr. Fingers picking up an iPad, is about as sleepy as it gets.

So what do you think?

Personally, I miss the little smile that used to come with seeing a great Apple ad. I get that the products are cool-looking, and the visual reminder is helpful. But those three or four words that made you think, “Damn, those guys are good” really did add another dimension to the ads.

Clearly Steve Jobs came to believe that the headlines were no longer necessary. It will be interesting to see how Apple’s creative work evolves now that others have full responsibility.

apple / iMac / iPad / iPhone / mac / observatory / technology — 7 Comments
6
Jan 12

Apple’s predictable unpredictability

First of all, welcome to 2012. Okay, so I’m a little behind the rest of the world, but I finally made it.

The new year actually makes a perfect topic for Week 1. As you probably noticed, this week we got a mini-flood of articles about what we can expect from Apple in 2012: iPad 3, iPhone 5, Apple TV, slim MacBook Pro. To which most of us would say:

Duh.

Of course that’s what’s coming. It’s hardly news. I’ll tell ya, secrecy just isn’t what it used to be.

Though Apple continues to be thought of as one of the most secretive companies on earth, the truth is, they’ve lost the ability to surprise us like they did in the good old days.

The products are still amazing. The announcement events are fun. We still get surprised by the details as they are unveiled. It’s just that we know in advance what the products will be.

It wasn’t always this way. When Steve returned to Apple in 1997, secrets were secrets. His onstage announcements were real surprises (for the most part). The look of iMac was a shock. You had no idea that Apple was going to enter the consumer electronics market with iPod. You weren’t sure which Apple technology would be the focus of each event.

Breaches of secrecy were a scandal. Several days before the introduction of the first multicolored iMacs, the official family photo of all five models escaped from a printing facility in Germany, where a version of the multipage insert was being printed. It took the steam out of Steve’s big announcement — which was a crime punishable by death. (Or something close to it.)

As Apple has grown, and more people are exposed to the deep, dark secrets at various stages of product development, that kind of secrecy doesn’t exist anymore.

People were talking about iPhone — and calling it by name — months before it appeared. The name iPad was a surprise, but the device wasn’t — it was also widely expected months before, and its features accurately predicted.

This isn’t a terrible thing. It’s just a different thing. The new “iTV” (or whatever it will be called) will get the same attention this year. There will be buzz for months ahead, because Apple shaking up a new category is a great story. Journalists will hang on every word at the announcement event, even if many of the details become known before.

The only difference between now and then is that we know it’s coming. At least in the broad strokes.

I do find myself wondering about one thing this year. What’s next for Mac Pro? While it has grown in power, no product in Apple history has gone this long without a major overhaul. Mac Pro can now be officially classified as a “workhorse.” We’ve come to expect internal improvements only, but no major conceptual rethinking.

Will Apple demonstrate a new commitment to the pro market? Or will Mac Pro get upgraded the way Final Cut Pro did? Does Apple still love the high-end pros, or is it really just focusing on different levels of consumer now?

While it may be easier to predict Apple’s hardware these days, predicting its intentions is a different matter.

Happy 2012.

advertising / apple / creative / iPhone / observatory — 2 Comments
19
Dec 11

Santa gets his Siri on

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. A holiday commercial from Apple. It’s a heartwarming time of year.

While the Mac vs. PC animated holiday ads always added a unique twist to that campaign, these days Apple has to dig a little deeper.

Fortunately they have Siri to play with, and it makes for a cheerful, happy holiday spot.

Love the voice they’ve given Santa (even if his little laugh doesn’t seem to be quite in sync with his cookie-chewing mouth). And the end joke is as charming as they get —  very much in the spirit of the humor Siri normally displays.

The only thing I wondered about was the timing. Running a holiday spot one week before the holiday seemed like it was cutting things a bit close. Seems like Santa could have enjoyed at least a two-week run, maybe more.

But then I noticed that in three years of Mac vs. PC holiday spots, they debuted on the 19th, 13th and 16th of December. So either the guys have been consistently late in the production department, or this is the way Apple likes to roll.

And the truth is, the short run makes these spots feel even more special, so it’s all good. And I’ll bet more than a few last-minute shoppers start seeing visions of iPad dancing in their heads.

advertising / apple / creative / iPhone / observatory / technology — 3 Comments
1
Nov 11

Invasion of the iPhone 4S ads

I love the smell of fresh ads in the morning.

Apple has now added not one, not two, but three new ads to the iPhone 4S campaign. For we who like our entertainment in 30-second spurts, this is good news indeed.

As we have come to expect, each of these new ads is a clear, straightforward demo. But that’s okay, because what’s being demoed is mostly eye-opening stuff. Here are all three new spots with a mini-review of each.

Snow Today:

Of the three, this is the one that’s most similar to the 4S ad that debuted last week, right down to a cute kid interacting with Siri. But the range of Siri’s abilities is so wide, we see a whole new batch of interesting uses. One big difference between this ad and the first is that we actually hear a lot from Siri. So much for my theory that they’re downplaying the robotic voice. But it’s interesting how the synthetic voicing of Siri becomes almost charming thanks to the human responses programmed into her.

iCloud:

With this ad, Apple makes a very sneaky (in a good way) move to simplify its story. Technically, iCloud isn’t an iPhone thing. It’s an everything thing. It’s equally cool on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Change or add something to any one of these devices or computers, and it shows up on the others. But to make it even easier to appreciate, everything we see here ties back to iPhone. It all adds up to “iCloud — on the most amazing iPhone yet.” (Never mind that you can enjoy all this iCloud goodness on your old iPhone 4 as well.)

Camera:

This one strays a little from Apple’s standard, in that it actually starts by touting technical specs — “with 8 megapixels and advanced optics.” No doubt that’s because iPhone’s camera has been lagging behind its competitors. Since the camera is the least remarkable aspect of the 4S, a spot devoted to this feature can’t possibly be as compelling as a spot devoted to Siri. Still, people take tons of photos on their phones, and it needs to be part of the mix.

I’m sure that someone, somewhere, is still arguing that iPhone 4S offers only minor improvements over iPhone 4. Likewise, some analysts are no doubt sticking to their story that Apple’s most recent earnings report was a let-down. (Even though record sales of the 4S prove that many were simply waiting for the new model.)

These new spots should do a good job of erasing the doubts — while they stir up some good, old-fashioned iPhone lust.

advertising / apple / apple news / iPhone / observatory / strategy — 1 Comment
25
Oct 11

Siri makes her TV debut

Welcome to Steve Jobs Authorized Biography Week. Shame on me for not writing about the Isaacson book today — but hey, that thing is long. Meet me back here in a few days.

For now, let’s talk Siri, which is shaping up to be a giant leap for such a “disappointing” iPhone 4S.

What better way to celebrate a giant leap than with a TV commercial. And the verdict is…

Excellent.

Like Siri, this spot feels new. The music track has a sense of magic. What we see is simply a sequence of different people interacting with Siri in different ways. It may be an obvious way of demoing Siri, but when you have an extraordinary feature, obvious is your best friend.

Siri comes off like the practical application of the technology we’ve seen forever in movies like 2001 and Star Trek. (With slightly better results than 2001.) It feels like the cast is talking to a person rather than a computer, which of course is the whole point of Siri — and what makes it such an “on-brand” technology for Apple.

There are nice touches in the writing that add to the humanity. Like “How do I tie a bow tie again?” Siri doesn’t particularly care about the “again” part, but that’s how people talk. In the last clip, we get more of a lament than a question or command: “I’m locked out of the house.” Siri seems almost empathetic.

If Siri is a world-changing feature, Apple could have run a grand manifesto ad to boldly proclaim the beginning of a new age. Instead, they went the quieter route, demonstrating how Siri fits into our lives. We hear Siri speak only once — which is another part of the crafting, as too much of Siri’s voice would only draw attention to one of her weaker areas.

So congrats to Apple and Chiat for a job well done.

Anything to quibble over? One small thing. In a spot where “human and natural” is the theme, the shots of Mr. Hand holding an iPhone (first and last scenes) feel unnatural — because they are lifeless still images of a hand rather than film. I’m sure this makes it easier to add the screens in post production, but surely the technology exists to do the same with real film. I think I know what Siri would say:

“I’ve found three digital effects studios fairly close to you.”

Conan O’Brien has already done his version of this commercial. See that here.

apple / iPhone / observatory — 5 Comments
18
Oct 11

iPhone’s Magic 8-Ball

Human beings have this built-in need to be fascinated.

In the past, Apple’s iDevices have done a pretty good job of seducing us simply by their elegance and simplicity.

With iPhone 4S, however, Siri is doing the job all by itself. Or, should I say, herself. Simultaneously, Siri manages to appeal to both our adult lust for coolness and our inner 12-year-old.

I might look scornfully upon those spending valuable time asking Siri silly questions if I weren’t so busy doing it myself. People actually search the Internet to find new Siri jokes, just so they can ask the same question and see the answer again on their own phone.

Siri is the Magic 8-Ball, redesigned for the 21st century. She’s mysterious, intelligent, witty and displays a charming robotic arrogance. Oh, and she also has some seriously productive uses.

Siri mysteriously stopped working for me after a few hours, then sprang back to life hours later. I wasn’t aware that Siri required a connection to Apple’s servers, and those servers are being overworked by the hordes seeking Siri’s wisdom. The initial frenzy will die down soon enough.

I’m sure Apple will keep the numbers secret, but during this “getting to know you” phase, it’s not hard to imagine that the comedic uses of Siri at least equal the serious ones. Not only do people amuse themselves, they then feel compelled to entertain friends, family and colleagues.

Part of the fascination of the old Magic 8-Ball was watching it work. Out of that murky black fluid inside, amazing answers would come into focus. Like Reply hazy, try again. Or Signs point to yes. Or Don’t count on it. It knew everything.

The fascination of Siri is that she has more answers than a three-dimensional triangle. She can be outright verbose too. Plus, she has a robotic awareness of human weakness and doesn’t hold back. Unless, of course, she doesn’t have the answer in her database.

While the Magic 8-Ball quickly landed on our bookshelves gathering dust, Siri is looking like she’ll become part of the family. Once you become more acquainted, you get why she’s still a Beta. However, you can also see her amazing potential. Obviously she’ll sprout new voices (the real HAL will be a must-have) and she’ll learn to interact with more apps.

Will Siri change the way we interact with all of our devices, including our computers?

It is decidedly so.

 

 

iPhone / observatory — 6 Comments
13
Oct 11

The Apple critics’ endless loop

When it comes to assessing new products from Apple, there are two kinds of people in the world: critics and customers.

Seemingly, only a small number of critics have the skill to think like customers. Because collectively, the majority seems to make the mistake with each new Apple product launch.

When Apple unveiled iPhone 4S last week, it was widely greeted as a “modest” upgrade. These reactions gave birth to negative mainstream press, such as an MSNBC story that referred to the “tepid response” to iPhone 4S. Bear in mind, the hands-on reviews were yet to come and customers had yet to offer any response, tepid or otherwise.

Then, surprise surprise. iPhone 4S pre-orders begin, and the hands-on reviews get published. These reviews have been unanimously positive, some even using the “magic” word. AT&T reported the biggest first-day sales of any phone in its history. All told, Apple sold over a million of them.

That’s because there is nothing modest about iPhone 4S. As I mentioned the other day, functionally it contains three major improvements (dual-core processor, Siri, better camera), compared to the iPhone 4, which contained four (processor, better camera, Retina Display, FaceTime).

It may well be, as some have theorized, that Apple will now settle into a pattern of form-factor change every two years, since two-year contracts make it tough to upgrade annually. But this hardly means that the innards will suffer from neglect.

Of course, we shouldn’t be surprised at the 4S reviews. iPad, the great game changer, received not one but two batches of “underwhelmed” responses — one for the first iPad, the other for iPad 2. Judging by the enormity of the iPad revolution, it becomes even sillier to think about those initial responses. “Just a big iPod touch.” “No breakthrough technology.” Only a minority could see the revolution within. iPad 2 got the same “modest upgrade” treatment from the critics, followed by the same “I need one right now” response from the customers.

So history repeats with iPhone 4S. What many technology writers fail to consider is that real people aren’t technology writers. They just want a reliable phone that will dazzle them with the latest features — and iPhone 4S does a pretty good job of delivering.

apple / apple news / iPhone / observatory / strategy — 13 Comments
5
Oct 11

Tale of the misnamed iPhone

What’s in a name? Judging by the cries of despair echoing in the night, apparently plenty.

Before yesterday morning’s iPhone event at Apple, the world was consumed by rumors. Seemed like we’d either see an iPhone 4S, an iPhone 5 or both. The 4S would be the economy model while the 5 would be the giant leap that got us all excited.

What we got was the iPhone 4S only. Damn! They gave us the puny one. That little baby step beyond the 4. Woe is us.

I do think Apple made a mistake. But wasn’t the phone — it was the name.

The name iPhone 4S sent the message loud and clear that this new iPhone was an incremental improvement. Meanwhile, nothing could be farther from the truth.

If Apple’s new baby was unveiled as iPhone 5, I doubt that we’d be reading articles with titles like Apple disappoints fans with modest iPhone 4 update and No iPhone 5 and no Steve Jobs send Apple shares lower.

The changes in this generational shift are actually very much in line with the changes in the last one.

When we moved from 3GS to 4, we got the Retina Display (a big leap in displays), the A4 chip (a big leap in speed), FaceTime (major new capability) and a better camera (from 3 megapixels to 5).

In this move from 4 to 4S, we get the A5 chip (a big, dual-core leap in speed), Siri (a major new capability) and a better camera (from 5 megapixels to 8, plus face recognition). So iPhone 4 delivered four major advances while iPhone 4S delivers three. But then 4S tosses in full 1080p HD video with stabilization, plus an extra hour of talk time.

So why is the iPhone 4 a huge leap and iPhone 4S only a baby step? iPhone 4S looks just like iPhone 4. And design is a very big deal, for Apple more than any other company.

One could say that Apple was just being honest. They did the same thing in the move from iPhone 3 to iPhone 3GS. The body style was unchanged, so the model number stayed the same.

But Apple, of all companies, should understand the marketing impact of a word. Or, in this case, a number. The name speaks volumes, and this name said “modest update.” That’s why people are referring to it that way — not because its improvements are insignificant.

If they called it iPhone 5, I believe things would be different today. Some would have written that the changes were modest, but those comments would have been quickly forgotten as the lines started forming again.

The happy ending, though, is that this little episode will be quickly forgotten anyway. Just like Antennagate. The launch details may get technology writers in a stir, but they have little consequence in the real world. To most, iPhone 4S will simply be the latest version of a great phone with great new features.

So why do I even bother mentioning it? It’s because episodes like this are just unnecessary self-inflicted wounds. There was no need for a bad headline to appear on the front page of CNN.com, and little things do add up over time.

I wish Apple had just called it like it is. And what it is, is an iPhone 5.

apple / apple news / iPhone / observatory — 3 Comments
29
Sep 11

iPhone 5 and the riddle of the sphinx

I’m not sure why this tickles me so, but it does.

We know that any move by Apple sets off wild speculation, but this time it was better than than ever. Within minutes of the official iPhone 5 launch invitation going out, articles were being written to “decode” its contents.

Look! There’s a “one” in the phone icon! That means no second model! Yep. It could also mean you have one message, and you’re looking at it.

Look! It says “Let’s talk iPhone.” Talk? Don’t you get it? Real voice recognition is here! It could also mean there’s one message for you, and you’re looking at it.

I wouldn’t normally get swept up in such things, but there are three other obvious clues here and nobody seems to have noticed:

1. The Push Pin. Look closely at that Map icon. See where the push pin is pointing? Not to Infinite Loop. It’s pointing to the middle of De Anza Blvd. That’s right. This event will make history (though the traffic noise may be a problem).

2. Form Factor. Sure, that’s always been the phone icon. It may also be the shape of iPhone 5. It’s been hidden under our noses all this time. They’re toying with us.

3. The Second Hand. The second hand on the clock is conspicuous because it’s atop the minute hand. Get it? “Second hand”? Apple will announce a new program offering second-hand iPhones. It’s obvious.

Let’s see who’s right.

iPhone / observatory — No Comments
28
Jul 11

Dear New York Times: loosen up those i-rules

Okay, this has been bugging me for a good ten years now, and I’m finally going to let it out.

It may not be important in the scope of things, but hey, I’m a writer. Grammar and punctuation count.

Listen up, New York Times. It’s time to get off your high horse and spell like the rest of us. Look at the headline you wrote for the article above and tell me if you see anything wrong.

Obviously, your official style guide demands that the first letter of the first word in a headline be capitalized. Admirable.

But when the first word of your headline is iPhone, iPad, iPod or any other i-device — it’s really okay to break the rule. It’s a product name. This capital-I thing is making you look kinda silly.

I’m guessing that your style guide doesn’t require you to capitalize the second letter of a word. So why the capital P after the capital I? Oh, I get it. That’s how Apple spells the product name.

So it’s okay to respect the P, but not that lowly little i? I see the game you play.

I promise that if you write iPhone the way it’s supposed to be written, wherever it appears in a sentence, it won’t set off a tsunami of grammatical lawlessness. I like a good style guide as much as the next guy, but honestly — these things aren’t carved in stone.

Then again, the spelling of iPhone may be the least of your worries. If you Google the above headline today, you’ll find an article with the same date and same author — and virtually the opposite headline. Up in the title bar, it still says iPhone Bolsters Verizon Results. But the article itself has been retitled Verizon’s Bet on iPhones Brings a Slow Return. Rather an extreme turnaround, isn’t it? (Oh, and in the title bar you actually did spell iPhone properly.)

So I guess you do believe in revising things when you get them wrong. Or wildly wrong, as happened with this Verizon story.

Maybe there’s hope yet for that outdated style guide…

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