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While following along with Apple’s press event, I couldn’t help but read between the lines. As Tim Cook and the gang revealed the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s, I picked up on a few things they weren’t saying. Some aimed at customers, some at competitors and others at adjacent industry leaders.
iTunes Festival
The iTunes Festival is an ongoing success for Apple, now in its seventh year. Cook noted that Apple has streamed live concerts to viewers in over 100 countries. The subtext: just like a television network. In fact, many people watched the shows in HD on their televisions, via Apple TV.
The audience gasped when Cook revealed that over 20 million people applied for tickets. The subtext: We know how to promote top musical artists very successfully.
iOS 7
Now this is a post-Jobs product. Craig Federighi was loose and comfortable while presenting iOS 7 today, delivering stats and jokes with equal ease. The subtext: Apple full-on believes in this update. It’s clear how enthused its executives are. This company knows where its going without the benefit of its late, visionary co-founder.
iPhone 5c
Previously, Apple has discounted the outgoing iPhone model. The 5c adds a bold new case to the mix for a whole new look. The subtext: get used to this. Now we have two model lines to update every two years. Price-conscious customers get something new, too, instead of the “obsolete” model at a discount.
iPhone 5s
New colors, and it looks similar to the 5 and 4S. The subtext: This basic body design is here for the foreseeable future. Not including new colors and a larger screen size, this general design has been in place since the iPhone 4 was introduced three years go. Consider the iMac. Once Apple hit on the “display on a pedestal” design with the iMac G5, it’s refined it, refined it, refined it. Even the current-generation iMac is a clear descendent of that 2004 model.
Finally, the message delivered by the iPhone 5s camera is clear: Apple is becoming a serious imaging company. They spent a lot of time on that camera. You don’t need a point-and-shoot camera anymore. There’s no need to find a cable or a memory card reader. This is your camera.
Today I saw a company that’s confident and talented. Especially after reading between the lines.
Subtexts in Apple’s Sept. 10 iPhone event originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 10 Sep 2013 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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