Watching the Apple Event to Announce the New iPhones, I was struck by the following:
- Only Apple can do what Apple does not only because they're integrated, but because each component piece is fully realized, and their is a very clear narrative focus on what outcomes the device and specific set of capabilities enable.
- The new narrative builds heavily on the sense of AI and being Neural, with Neural element harnessing device level capabilities.
- Apple harnesses camera and sensory capture to create the kind of visual experiences that were once duty bound to high end, professional grade, predominantly analog equipment.
- Augmented Reality is one area where the company is simultaneously putting a stake asserting its intent to lead the market and make it strategic through AR Kit, and the kind of hardware, silicon, software and services that are part of a very robust system.
- Face ID is a holy shit, WTF notion. For one, it is always on. For another, that means it is always watching you, noting only taking a fingerprint of the contours of your face, but watching how it changes over time. Establishing that from a security standpoint, whereas Touch ID was a 1 in 50,000 change of someone having the same fingerprint as you, Face ID is a 1 in 1 million value proposition. The notion that Face ID is 20X more secure than Touch ID is a "stop the film" and discuss. This makes the idea of Face ID working with Apple Pay logical, but super cool just the same.
- Animojis feel like they could be a wedge into being a new form of personal communications.
- AirPower and the way that iPhones, AirPods and Apple Watches will be able to charge when resting on a paid, and the user experience around same is well thought out.
- Phil Schiller is the bridge to Steve Jobs, and he is nothing but earnest and sincere in his approach. Such a good presenter. In that same regard, Tim Cook did great, as did Craig Federighi. Today's Apple is more like a classic rock band, where Performance matters, and each presented gets to perform a solo.
- Jony Ive only seems to exists in these events, as the commercial (WATCH THE IPHONE X VIDEO - WOW) that synthesizes what Apple has just built. I am not sure what this means but minimally, one hopes he can live on as an Animoji.
- Segmentation is an Apple Advantage. To do what Apple does, they have to make major bets of silicon, supporting accessories, system assembly and fabrication, and then get the developer tools, the software, the marketplaces and channels right. But, boy, look at how they leverage it (see below). From the low end, small form factor iPhone SEE to the futuristic, likely production constrained iPhone X, this is textbook segmentation.
