Yet another great post. Apple might be the only "tech" company committed to viewing itself as a consumer-centered company, rather than a tech company that sold stuff to consumers, probably because of Jobs. Tech's current problem is they've gathered the low-hanging fruit Jobs pointed out, and nobody has any idea where to go next. What's called AI has promise, but of what no one knows. It reminds me of the earliest days of PCs, when ads and salesmen touted mom using it to keep recepies in the kitchen, and dad reading the news. Kind of correct, but those are incidental wside effects at most. Meta is a Hail Mary pass with no receiver or goal line, and crypto/blockchain, sheesh. As XKCD said, bury it in the desert. Wear gloves. What's coming for Tech is the long-delayed Hangover after the party, and it's going to give us all a headache. All that virtual money, whether Ethereum or Tesla's stock price, is gonna just... dissapear. It's not fair, but that's not gonna be good for the rest of us.
Great post, Dave. I'm going to add another of their ads from almost 10yrs(!) ago where a teen apparently withdrawn into his phone was working through the phone to connect with his family: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og637tBf91s
That social role is something that Apple gets and then forgets then rediscovers so much. The karaoke feature they got out just a couple days ago is a really good one, and they're one of the few that could make it work with the licensing and tech at scale. What I really liked about it is the potential on AppleTV, which unlike their other devices is almost inherently a shared screen/experience space, and they do so little to capitalize on that.
We've been passing around and talking about their "The Greatest" ad the past week at work as a bit of a breakthrough. Hoping to see more of this as well.
It seems there _is_ a business case for blockchain as a shared ledger other than for parties that are unable to establish trust otherwise: it prevents the need for reconciliation. https://ledgerinsights.com/siemens-digital-bond-blockchain/ not very exciting, just a simple technical trick to make certain processes simpler without losing trust in data.
A great piece which brings to light a lot of the good that companies are doing in the world (without washing over their negatives, of course) which also taught me a lot on how the less able can use technology to make their lives better.
Great post, as always! One thing - I’ve got to take issue with your dismissive comment about the watch. The watch in combo with the iPhone is a game changer in terms of empowering individuals to manage many health issues. It’s the kind of technology that can not just save lives in the short-term (e.g. by detecting AF events in real time and alerting the wearer), but can help people to be actively involved in improving their lives. It’s all very well to be told by health professionals “move more; or eat less of this thing and more of another”, but when you can get immediate data on your daily habits and activities, you can work to change the ones that are going to make you sick(er) & you can see the results. My cardiologist also looked at the ECG function on my Apple Watch and said it gave a better readout than the machine he used in his rooms (he was not so complimentary about other fitness watches). I reckon there are more features and refinements that will make this gadget essential for individual health care - it’s far from a gimmick.
Good point that, from a health/fitness perspective it's far from a gimmick.
I would say, though, that wearable tech has generally not lived up to the expectations set for it circa 2015 or so. And the same goes for the quantified-self movement. My Apple Watch can be very useful for health monitoring and self-improvement, but it hasn't been habit forming on the mass scale the way many expected. (This is in the WIRED dataset, will be writing about it on here at some point.)
There's also an interesting tension that Mickle covers in his book -- Jony Ive imagined that Apple Watch as high fashion. Other designers were more focused on the health tracking implications. Ive won that argument for the first few years (partially because the health tracking features weren't quite there yet). Sales didn't meet expectations. So the company has pivoted both the new models and the advertising to focus more on health applications.
Love this! Only thing missing so far is what our REALITY will be like when the climate situation actually HITS the proverbial FAN. Not to worry? We can always "trip" our way out of it with an iPhone? Think about it . . .
Hi Dave, your post was an inspiration for one of myself (with due mentioning of this one of course), extending the idea of using a 'use case' to be realistic about hypes. The other inspiration was a company that *successfully* implemented a blockchain solution in the financial sector and then moved away from it. https://ea.rna.nl/2023/01/02/the-lack-of-use-cases-for-blockchain-should-teach-organisations-a-valuable-lesson-about-handling-hypes/
This is great! Thanks for sharing.
Yet another great post. Apple might be the only "tech" company committed to viewing itself as a consumer-centered company, rather than a tech company that sold stuff to consumers, probably because of Jobs. Tech's current problem is they've gathered the low-hanging fruit Jobs pointed out, and nobody has any idea where to go next. What's called AI has promise, but of what no one knows. It reminds me of the earliest days of PCs, when ads and salesmen touted mom using it to keep recepies in the kitchen, and dad reading the news. Kind of correct, but those are incidental wside effects at most. Meta is a Hail Mary pass with no receiver or goal line, and crypto/blockchain, sheesh. As XKCD said, bury it in the desert. Wear gloves. What's coming for Tech is the long-delayed Hangover after the party, and it's going to give us all a headache. All that virtual money, whether Ethereum or Tesla's stock price, is gonna just... dissapear. It's not fair, but that's not gonna be good for the rest of us.
Excellent post, Dave. Thank you!
Great post, Dave. I'm going to add another of their ads from almost 10yrs(!) ago where a teen apparently withdrawn into his phone was working through the phone to connect with his family: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og637tBf91s
That social role is something that Apple gets and then forgets then rediscovers so much. The karaoke feature they got out just a couple days ago is a really good one, and they're one of the few that could make it work with the licensing and tech at scale. What I really liked about it is the potential on AppleTV, which unlike their other devices is almost inherently a shared screen/experience space, and they do so little to capitalize on that.
We've been passing around and talking about their "The Greatest" ad the past week at work as a bit of a breakthrough. Hoping to see more of this as well.
don't even need to click the link... I immediately know exactly the ad you're talking about. Iconic.
It seems there _is_ a business case for blockchain as a shared ledger other than for parties that are unable to establish trust otherwise: it prevents the need for reconciliation. https://ledgerinsights.com/siemens-digital-bond-blockchain/ not very exciting, just a simple technical trick to make certain processes simpler without losing trust in data.
A great piece which brings to light a lot of the good that companies are doing in the world (without washing over their negatives, of course) which also taught me a lot on how the less able can use technology to make their lives better.
Thank you!
Great post, as always! One thing - I’ve got to take issue with your dismissive comment about the watch. The watch in combo with the iPhone is a game changer in terms of empowering individuals to manage many health issues. It’s the kind of technology that can not just save lives in the short-term (e.g. by detecting AF events in real time and alerting the wearer), but can help people to be actively involved in improving their lives. It’s all very well to be told by health professionals “move more; or eat less of this thing and more of another”, but when you can get immediate data on your daily habits and activities, you can work to change the ones that are going to make you sick(er) & you can see the results. My cardiologist also looked at the ECG function on my Apple Watch and said it gave a better readout than the machine he used in his rooms (he was not so complimentary about other fitness watches). I reckon there are more features and refinements that will make this gadget essential for individual health care - it’s far from a gimmick.
Good point that, from a health/fitness perspective it's far from a gimmick.
I would say, though, that wearable tech has generally not lived up to the expectations set for it circa 2015 or so. And the same goes for the quantified-self movement. My Apple Watch can be very useful for health monitoring and self-improvement, but it hasn't been habit forming on the mass scale the way many expected. (This is in the WIRED dataset, will be writing about it on here at some point.)
There's also an interesting tension that Mickle covers in his book -- Jony Ive imagined that Apple Watch as high fashion. Other designers were more focused on the health tracking implications. Ive won that argument for the first few years (partially because the health tracking features weren't quite there yet). Sales didn't meet expectations. So the company has pivoted both the new models and the advertising to focus more on health applications.
I hadn’t seen that ad, so thanks for that. I hope you’re right about the direction tech is heading.
Love this! Only thing missing so far is what our REALITY will be like when the climate situation actually HITS the proverbial FAN. Not to worry? We can always "trip" our way out of it with an iPhone? Think about it . . .