Macadamian Blog

The Apple Magic

We're often asked - "What's Apple doing that makes them so successful?" and "How are they approaching product design and product management that's so different?", and naturally "Can you help us become the Apple of our product segment?"

The launch of the iPad reminds us why Apple makes such successful products.

Apple starts with the user

There have been so many attempts at the Tablet computer, or at a product that sits between a smartphone and a laptop. Tablet PCs were essentially laptops with a swivel screen and a slightly different version of Windows. They flopped. Netbooks are popular, but essentially because they are cheap.

Apple took a different approach. They clearly started with a question: "What would someone want to use a tablet-sized device for?" and designed a new device from the ground up. People will likely be using their device on their lap on a plane, or in a cafe - watching movies, perusing their email, reading the New York Times, or reading an eBook. So does it really need a keyboard? Would that add value?

Apple thinks about the user context

Sure, there are elements borrowed from both the iPhone and desktop computing, but each application has been redesigned with the user's context in mind. They thought about not only what a user would be doing when they are using a device, but how they would be using it and in what context. The clips of the Photo application are a great example - what would people want to do with a Photo application on a Tablet? It's likely they will want to browse through the Photo and email them to people. Apple designers resist the tempation that so many other product companies would succomb to, which is to add a plethora of features to the photo viewer simply because the device has the horsepower and screen size.

Apple has their priorities straight

One of the remarkable things about the iPhone is that they focused on getting the key features that provided the most value to the users. The first iPhone let you make calls, play music, and read your email, and it did all those things well. Yes there were annoyances - the contact list was slow, you can't scroll through the calendar the same way you can other objects, it doesn't always hyperlink addresses and phone numbers like you would expect in every context, but the highest-value functions were there, and they were reliable and delightful to use 95% of the time.

Apple develops experiences

With the iPad, Apple extends it's iTunes strategy into books. What made the iPod so successful in a sea of MP3 players is largely iTunes - they provided the whole ecosystem and streamlined the experience, not just of listening to music, but aquiring it and managing it as well.

Who's your daddy?

I suspect that there will be plenty of tech-savvy pundits who will slam the iPad in their blogs for the touch screen keyboard, or the lack of Firewire port. Apple knows who their customers are, and they know they are not  power-users who write tech blogs. Apple will ignore them... and I guarantee it won't hurt sales one bit.