My business partners Jonathan Beddoes and Jeroen Seghers and my friends around the globe keep telling me I should blog about my ideas since I don’t shut up about them, so Ive decided to write what I’m thinking maybe 3 or 4 times a year. Lately, the one question I can’t get out of my head is, who is the visionary behind Apple now? If it’s Tim Cook, then please, replace him with me now… before it’s too late! Since I was a kid, I have always been mesmerized by Apple...always in wonderment of what they might produce next. But now, all I see is a company riding a stock bubble and chasing the ghost of Jobs’s vision and coming up with no answers. The latest products launched by Apple are reactionary, not revolutionary. I’ve always said that the high value of Apple is sustained by 3 factors: 1) the mystique of the next big product, 2) the style, or fashion, or as some would say, a statement of class - especially in a country like China 3) and staggering the release of the iPhone to different carriers and countries to show continuous sales growth. But the only way for Apple to flourish and not burst this bubble is to truly give us the next big thing. The Apple Watch was definitely not the answer. Apple could have created a futuristic product that was so simple, while still mesmerizing the public. I think when people envisioned a wearable smart device on their wrist, they were not actually thinking about a watch. Samsung, in their 6th generation of wrist wearables, is just now beginning to understand this. You could have blown our minds, Apple. If Apple had been thinking about simplicity and style, this iBand would have been a bendable OLED non-bezeled screen that wraps around your wrist like a slap bracelet. While not in use, the animated screen saver could be set to match your clothing or your favorite sports team. It could interact with you subtly, with vibrations and colors to indicate different people contacting you or notifying you of other things happening on your phone. By also using sensors and gestures, one can interact with the device without interrupting the social environment around you. The iBand, when removed, could be straightened out and used on your desk or table as another input or notification device. But instead, Apple, you give us an actual watch, and included a dial instead of a gesture camera or laser. I almost feel like we are going back to the 80s calculator watch. Remember Apple, your vision has always been about style and simplicity. Now speaking of the new iPhone 6 and 6+, Apple is playing catch up to Samsung by creating bigger phones with features like the NFC chip for cardless payments, which Samsung has had for years. But they introduce nothing new or revolutionary. At the same time, they ignore a big portion of their demographic that always liked the small, sleek, fashionable iPhone which is usable as a phone, and not necessarily for all computing needs. They liked being able to slip their phone out of their shirt pocket or mini-purse, and operate it with one hand and a thumb while signing autographs and contracts with the other, lol. Lately Apple’s internal geniuses have decided that since they can’t shock us with something new and exciting, they think they can still be fashionable by releasing gold editions of the iPhone and Apple Watch. Steve Jobs is rolling over in his iGrave right now regarding this tacky move. Samsung is ahead in the smartphone game. Everyone else is racing toward smart wearables. So Apple needs to think on a whole new level to shock the world again. Sometimes I believe they are so narrowly focused that they don’t see the different areas they could take over. A few years ago, when Beats headphones came out at a high price point based on their brand, not only did I see Beats using Apple tactics, I was awaiting an immediate onslaught of Apple branded headphones at an even higher price. It was so obvious. From the iPod to the iPhone, the earbuds were the bottleneck that hindered the audio experience. But they never came out. I could not figure out why they were not launching their expensive, branded Apple headphones. Apparently, someone woke up way late and decided that your earspace was a major part of the overall interactive experience and decided to buy Beats for 3 billion dollars. They could have saved that money, taken over the market, and crushed Beats early on. While Apple has definitely excited us with amazing products in the past, I’ve always questioned the business moves they seem to keep repeating. As you know, when Jobs decided not to license the Macintosh operating system to other hardware manufacturers, it allowed for Windows to be created and thrive by licensing their OS to others, allowing Windows to dominate the market. Instead of Jobs crying about Windows copying him for years, he had the chance at the beginning to keep Windows from getting a foot in the market at all. When the iPhone came out, I thought this was his chance to do it right this time - control the market and never look back. However, he repeated history by doing the same thing he did with the Mac OS. Not only did he not license iOS to other phone manufacturers, he even stuck with only one carrier from 2007-2011 (AT&T). He basically begged for Android to be created and evolve. Other carriers had to compete with the iPhone as well as other manufacturers, so they adopted Android and the rest is history. Instead of dominating the market, he once again allowed another operating system to not only emerge, but take over. And, at first, when iPhone was too good for the prepay market, Android embraced it early with low cost phones. Android built up to where it is now, which is 85% of the mobile phone operating system market. Once again, Jobs started crying non-stop about how Google copied him when he could have owned the market before competition even began. So now, Tim Cook, it’s up to you to shock us with the next big thing. Or you could call me - I can help you out. I will say this, the future of the interactive world is sensors… everywhere, and on everything. You need to think outside the box Apple. You already should have an Apple Car in the works, as well as interactive Apple sneakers and clothing. I’m not going any further until I’m hired as a consultant ;-). If anyone really wants to know where the next big thing is coming from, I’ll give you a little taste. NextBit has formed a company consisting of top executives from HTC, Amazon, Google, along with a couple of founders of Android to create a new cloud based technology. I know where they are headed because the idea has been rolling around in my mind for a while now. They will be creating the cloud based mobile phone. In other words, your entire phone from your contacts, data, pictures, mail, apps, home screen layout, wallpaper, etc. will be stored on the cloud server. You will basically be able to grab any phone, log in, and see your phone and its contents and operate the phone as if it was yours. Parents will be able to log into their children’s phones and see its entirety. Imagine dropping your phone in the lake, log into a replacement, and instantly, everything is as you left it. The next level of that technology is the ability to access and operate your Android phone on an iPhone and vice versa. I know some of you are still scared of the cloud, but everyone is learning that it’s the most safest place to store all your valuable data, documents and pictures. You will always have it no matter what happens to your hardware. If you are concerned about the security of the cloud, I will say this… your home PC is connected to the internet, and technically part of the cloud. If I wanted to, right now, I could hack into your computer, turn your webcam on, and spy on you. So the cloud is the least of your worries. LOL. I can see people scrambling to check their firewalls now. In conclusion, I’m calling for Apple to step up their game and do something to shock the world. Call me Apple! Share this blog so that it might make its way back to Mr Tim Cook. Christopher Cain The Dude Abides
Posted on: Mon, 22 Sep 2014 19:15:26 +0000
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