Source: Twitter | Apple
What Can Brands Learn About Product Launches From Apple’s WWDC?
When it comes to throwing a launch party, nobody does it quite like Apple.
The tech giant spends tens of millions of dollars every year to put on its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which has become known as a new product launchpad going back to 2002 when Steve Jobs put Mac OS 9 to rest in a coffin on stage and introduced Jaguar, a major release of OS X.
This year’s event had plenty of buzz surrounding it before it kicked off yesterday with Apple CEO Tim Cook promising, “Today we are going to be making some of our biggest announcements ever!” The keynote kickoff has been viewed over 10.7 million times on YouTube in under 24 hours.
Much of the anticipation leading up to the conference came from reports from The Wall Street Journal, CNBC and others claiming Apple was ready to introduce its first mixed-reality headset. The reports proved largely correct, as Mr. Cook talked about Apple’s new Vision Pro headset in terms of it being a revolutionary technological advancement.
“In the same way that Mac introduced us to personal computing and iPhone introduced us to mobile computing, Apple Vision Pro will introduce us to spatial computing,” said Mr. Cook.
Apple’s presentation makes clear that Vision Pro is a platform and not just a pricey device that will roll out next year with an opening price of $3,499. The WWDC presentation spoke about the new visionOS that allows users to navigate through apps with their eyes, flick their fingers to scroll and tap to select. Voice recognition enables users to speak to dictate. Bluetooth-enabled keyboards allow users to type emails and documents.
The tech giant, falling back on Mr. Jobs’ admonition to communicate with feelings instead of product features, said the new operating system and headset were “like magic” as part of a nine-plus minute introductory video.
The initial largely positive technical reviews coming from Ars Technica, Engadget, Wired, TechCrunch, PCMag and others pointed to the Apple-consistent quality of the new device but also pointed out realities that may keep it from moving into the mainstream, including the limitations of the headset design and its price.
Wired writes that the Vision Pro “experience can be remarkable and surreal” but concludes, “Even Apple can’t out-design its way out of what is fundamentally an obtrusive technology.”
A Mashable article includes social media posts that throw shade at Vision Pro for the charging wire attached to the headset, the appearance of people wearing the device and the unit’s price.
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What livestreaming lessons can brands and retailers learn from Apple’s history of launching new products through its worldwide developer conference? Did pre-WWDC news leaks add or detract from Apple’s debut of its Vision Pro headset?
Poll
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The main thing brands can learn from Apple is to not overcomplicate technology. Apple’s new device offers things that are practical and will be easily understood by most consumers; features that enhance communication, entertainment, working, and everyday lives. This is unlike Meta and some retailers that have tried to commercialize augmented and virtual reality by focusing on niche functions such as creating metaverse worlds. To most consumers this is uninteresting and gimmicky. Of course, Apple’s device is expensive and it will not appeal to all; but at least it has decent application and is well thought through.
Livestream lessons from Apple: make your event theatrical, emotional and well publicized.
The leaks stirred anticipation among media, influencers and tech lovers, maximizing reach and rave reviews.
Well said – and it’s all about the storytelling, too! Apple told a great story that launched a new product in a new product category they defined while appealing to a massive audience.
Thank you, Ricardo, and yes they certainly did.
They can learn that they are not Apple. It has taken years for Apple to develop this ability to build momentum and excitement PRIOR to the event, then (almost always) deliver. The rumors, innuendo, etc. prior to any event just adds to the hype cycle and costs Apple $0. Any brand that tries to ape this approach with live-streaming is going to be hammered.
As a retail content strategist, what I admire about Apple is their Hemingway-esque minimalism. The copy on their website conveys technical details and personality in very few words.
In the same vein, Apple doesn’t attend every tech trade show in the industry. Apple is the company creating industry standards, not rushing to meet them.
I love the advice of focusing on feelings- that is definitely a core element of successful live product launches. I also think there’s the key fact that Apple already has a reputation for creating ahead of, but also in response to, consumer needs. Their debuts are inherently exciting because they’re a brand that understands the consumer so well and develops products that are predictive and actually exciting.
Apple remains a force to be reckoned with as they continue to drive technological innovations forward that will eventually transform how we work, learn, engage, and socialize. While critics may call out Apple’s $3,499 Vision Pro price point, there were similar pundits back in 2007 who said that the iPhone has no future and that business users, in a smartphone world dominated by Blackberry, would never adopt a device without a physical keyboard.
Their WWDC announcement focused on the practical applications of the Vision Pro and how it will help enhance and transform our lives and did not focus on technological innovations. Technology, for technology’s sake, will never resonate with the consumer. Apple did more than focus on the innovative qualities of the Vision Pro. They ensured you understood it has an entire ecosystem for work and leisure already available, including apps, content, and interoperable operating systems between devices. No other headset OEM including Meta, had this at a major product launch.
Everyone loves a good story, and Apple had another masterclass live streaming product launch event.
Apple is one of the best at launching new products, despite some criticism from other tech experts. They have an uncanny knack for delivering innovation beyond what most companies ever dream of. In terms of the eye-popping price for the new Vision Pro, let’s not forget about the price points for the launch of the iPad Pro (~ $800) and the iPhone X (~ $1,000). Many believed those prices were too high, but it didn’t kill demand for their products. Apple carves long lasting niches with their products, and I expect the same for the Vision Pro.
Apple has been remarkably consistent for decades, whether they are speaking to developers (and indirectly the consuming public) or directly to their retail customers. They are committed to being best in class, not necessarily first — with the new Vision Pro headset as a perfect example. And they are also committed to selling high-end products that may or may not develop mass appeal over time as economies of scale drive down prices.
Let’s start with the second question first. Call me a cynic, but I’ve often thought the Apple release “leaks” were staged going back to the “accidental” misplacement of one of the new iPhone prototypes in a bar. Planned or not, the leaks act like digital chum in the hi-tech media waters. As to the live-streaming lessons, perhaps the most important lesson is that they are brand-compliant with a brand that manages to consistently build excitement through spectacle rather than innovation. Vision Pro is a great example. Who wants to spend almost $4,000 on a headset when tech firms like Humane are developing wearable technologies that give you many of the same features? Apple consistently commands a premium price point in a market that logically should be characterized by significant price declines as competitors figure out ways to clone technology and consumers grow bored with existing offerings. How does it do that? With a pinch of style, a soupçon of design, a tablespoon of entertainment and showmanship, a teaspoon or two of breathless excitement, a dash of humanity – remember when Steve Jobs said the PC was smiling – and, oh, yes, a carefully planned leak or two so the media can do the reshow promotion for you.
Anytime a brand like Apple does anything new or different, pay attention – not just for the product(s) the company is releasing, but for how they do it. Apple has been known for something very different from how most brands operate. They develop products that people don’t know they want yet. And they are successful at doing so. They how they promote is another lesson. Watch how they use traditional and social media to make the introduction. They are a masterclass in business.
Apple may have jus introduced one of the most complex pieces of technology ever to be developed, but they did it in a way that everyone is talking about the lifestyle possibilities the technology creates rather than the tech itself. That is the lesson – Apple exemplifies launching a product heavily dependent on technology by only using the technology as an enabler of other, more relevant to the consumer, ideas. The focus isn’t the technology it’s the possibilities the technology opens up for the consumer. Contrast to what we’ve seen from others, like Meta’s Quest, that focus almost exclusively on the technology and expect consumers to follow simply because of the technology. The goal should always be to make the tech as transparent to the experience enabled by the tech as possible – and Apple executes this extraordinarily well!
Will consumer buy the product? Not many well at the launch price. But that isn’t the point. The real story here is that Apple has created a new category – spatial computing – and immediately positioned themselves as the leader and created a sizable moat around the category to protect themselves from competitors. The goal was to create a desire to own and use one, even if it is out of reach for the majority of consumers. This sets them up for future versions that will no doubt be delivered at lower price points once the category is firmly established with the help of legions of Apple ecosystem developers who will create apps for the Vision Pro. This isn’t a short term sale, Apple is in this for the long-term and it will be very interesting to see how this new category develops. And no, it’s not about the metaverse!
Just like their revolutionary product design, Apple’s marking is superb. Apple leads with compelling real-life use cases, not tech features or far-out vision, that appeal to consumers. They keep the customer front-and-center when developing strategies and they execute creatively and flawlessly
Apple spent a lot of effort on product launches, from story telling to touting the benefits rather than features wherever possible and invoke emotions. Building up the story layer by layer, bringing in people who are experts where needed and ending up a bang. A lot of time spent on choreography and content and I am sure rehearsals… Not easy to duplicate but definitely lesson worthy
Apple’s unparalleled success with product launches can be distilled into: simplifying the complex, compelling storytelling that builds on itself, emotional hooks, ensuring the customer is the hero, creating an aspirational future and of course, elegant and highly refined product design and features.
The launch this week was not really a consumer launch – it was a launch for developers. Developers being the ones who will imagine how this product can be used and can change our lives. Look at the innovation that came out of the iPhone – music streaming, ride hailing, location based services, mobile payments – these were not thought of at the time of the launch of the iPhone – the ideas came later – many of which from developers.