Apple has really done a fantastic job of marketing themselves. They have really understood the value in communicating a message by keeping it simple and to the point, while Microsoft has always tended to overcomplicate their marketing by trying to cover everything. I recently saw a video called, “Microsoft iPod,” which I thought did an excellent job of showing the difference in marketing between the two companies.
Apple hasn’t just created products, they’ve created culture. Who hasn’t heard of Podcasting, the iPod, or the iPhone? They have done an exceptional job of creating innovative user experiences and people have gravitated to this, especially people who have become more disgruntled with Microsoft. In spite of all this, I do think that Apple has some challenging days ahead.
Why Apple could be in trouble
Apple has always been strong in user experience (UX), but has never really focused on building a developer community. Microsoft has done quite the opposite in building a solid developer community, but has often frustrated everyday users by having complicated user interfaces and cryptic documentation.
Now, Apple has decided to shake things up by creating the App Store and releasing an SDK to allow developers to create their own applications. On the flip side, Microsoft has started to focus more on UX and has finally begun to hire the designers to make it happen.
Don’t get me wrong, I think it is just as difficult to be a good designer as it is to be a good developer, but I think it is a whole lot easier to build a design community than it is a developer community. You can use a functional application that looks bad, but you can’t use a beautiful looking application that isn’t functional.
Microsoft can only improve on design, and any improvements they make will build momentum. On the other hand, Apple will have to struggle through the growing pains of building a developer community, which will at times affect UX in a negative way, which loses momentum.
Yesterday I upgrade my iPhone to the new OS and decided to make sure my Apps were updated as well. I soon found out that the server had crashed, which didn’t surprise me considering the number of people I expected to also be upgrading. What I didn’t realize was the importance of this upgrade from a security standpoint.
Apparently the latest update fixes 46 vulnerabilities. Welcome to the big-time Apple! Not too many years ago I remember a number of people gloating that there were no viruses on Macs. Last night I read through over 50 iPhone pages of terms and conditions that said over and over again how Apple should not be held liable for any Third Party software or security issues including attacks and viruses.
How many people will switch to a Mac with the false idea that it is perfectly secure and realize that they will have the same problems in a prettier, more expensive package? Granted, Apple has recently cut prices, but more people using your stuff is more people to complain about it, especially after their bubble of hope is burst.
Apple has done some incredible, innovative things in its history and they continue to raise the bar of excellence. Hopefully they can navigate the deeper, rougher waters ahead, if for no other reason than I would like to continue to enjoy the experience of using their products.