Apple’s Risky Bet To Change User Behavior (Premium)

Today, Apple pulled back the curtain on their fall hardware refresh that includes a new Apple TV, Watch and a couple of new phones; you can read Paul's post about all the new stuff here. But one thing that the new iPhone X is attempting to do is to change the behavior of user which is not a trivial task and is likely the biggest 'risk' Apple has taken with the phone since its introduction.

Let me explain. When the iPhone was first announced with its one button navigation, it was a stark contrast to other devices at that time. Over the next 10 years, Apple slowly evolved the button with new features by adding Siri and Apple pay but at the end of the day, the navigation stayed the same; press the button and get back to the home screen.

Home button and iPhone go together like peanut butter and jelly, they are married to each other...until today. Apple's iPhone X is a risky bet as it does away with 10 years of ingrained user-habits in favor of gestures.

The new 'home button' is a swipe up from the bottom, the notification center is now a pull down from the left notch, and the control center is a pull down from the top right. Knowing how finicky a user can be about changing the navigation of the device, making two big changes with the iPhone X will require the company to re-train the user which is not an easy task.

This is coming from a company who does not allow you to arrange icons out of order or change up the functionality of any of the hardware buttons; Apple keeps it simple, usually.

The last time I can remember a company made a change to their ingrained user behavior is when Microsoft removed the Start button from Windows 8. We all know how that turned out and while I don't think Apple will experience the same level of backlash with the iPhone X, it's still a huge change for the product.

Replacing Touch ID, which is probably the best fingerprint reader on the market, is Face ID, that failed twice on stage; some believe that it failed as a phone was reset and wasnt logged in but the jury is still out on this. I wish that Apple would have included a finger print reader on the back of the device as not everyone wants to use their face to unlock their phone (I didn't like it on the Lumia 950 or on my various Surface products) which means I'm stuck with the PIN as the preferred way to unlock a $999 phone.

With no Home button or Touch ID, two things Apple made as cornerstones of their mobile devices, the X isn't only a new phone, it's a new approach for Apple. I would expect to see Face ID showing up in their laptops and other devices in the near future.

Only time will tell if Apple's iPhone X truly changes the direction for the phone and I haven't decided if I will buy one yet but it's clear that Apple is taking a risk here with its most popular product. Of course, the company is selling the iPhone 8 as a safety precaution for those who don't want the dramatic change or want a lower priced phone but the X is said ...