Making Music at WWDC

If you’re looking for a comprehensive summary of everything covered in today’s WWDC keynote, move along now, there’s nothing to see here. If however you’re after a look behind the scenes of the Moscone memorandum and its impact on developers, brands and consumers over the next 12 months, you’re in the right place.

My day began at 3:15am when my alarm jolted me rudely into consciousness. As my jet-lagged brain took in the surroundings of my shabby-chic San Francisco hotel room, I checked the charge levels of my mobile devices. It was going to be a long day.

Armed with my 15” MacBook Pro, 11” MacBook Air, iPad Mini, iPhone 6, 42mm Apple Watch and a bag full of battery chargers, I made the ten minute cold, dark and lonely cab ride to the Moscone Centre. It was keynote day and to ensure a decent seat I had to begin my queuing ‘experience’ at 4am.

I’m no stranger to the iQueue. In 2010 I stood outside the 5th Avenue Apple Store in New York waiting a mere 12 hours for the launch of the iPad. We were 6th and 7th in line, behind representatives of the four corners of the world… and a guy in a deckchair that waits in ALL the lines. He’s not a developer so isn’t at WWDC.

You’d think 4am would be early enough, right? Not a chance. I began writing this crouched on the floor round the back of the Moscone West Convention Centre, next to the bins. This international globe-trotting ain’t as glamorous as you think. Assuming you think it’s glamorous of course.

To cut a long and rather tedious story short, the Moscone Center doors opened at 7am and the iQueue was directed like a shuffling chain-gang to the inner hall where our next 3 hour wait began.

Through a combination of running, elbowing and misdirection I found a seat in the front row of the ‘non-VIP’ enclosure with a good view of Tim Cook’s kick-off. He took to the stage to deliver the usual stats about global eyeballs and fingertips on iOS and OS X and positive words about Apple Watch.

Others will have summarised word-for-word the minutia of the keynote. As mentioned, I don't intend to do this so here are my top 5 announcements.

Watch Kit 2.0

Apple set the standard for Apple Watch apps early on. We were restricted to a limited feature set, using official Watch Kit designated GUI (Graphical User Interface) and restricted access to the sensors on the watch itself. We made the most of this with our Porsche Car Connect app, launched on Day 1. You can read more about that [here].

This tight control wasn’t out of character for Apple (the original iPhone didn’t even have an App Store at launch) and the idea was to keep the focus firmly on the hardware and its OS, rather than take the Android Wear approach and encourage a free for all.

At WWDC, the development door has been pushed open a little and we now have access to sensors and buttons not previously in our armoury, making the watch a much more interesting proposition when pushing creative barriers, if not breaking them all down just yet.

Consumers will appreciate the new photo watch faces and customisable content but I’m still waiting for full watch faces to make the device truly personal or an easy win for brands.

Apple Music

Hands up if you love iTunes… anyone? Bueller? Yep, it’s been a necessary evil since day one. Poor search (that still applies to the App Store and iBooks Store), cranky UI and little or no encouragement to actually access all your music, movies and books.

Apple wants all that to change with the introduction of Apple Music and Beats1. With the focus firmly on streamed music and playlists or shows curated by humans rather than algorithms, Apple have proved they are probably the only organisation capable of combining all the essential content, features and platforms to deliver an end-to-end music service.

That doesn’t mean everything they offer from the start will be the best but by placing it all in one place, they certainly make it easier. The music labels should also be happy with Apple Music as it offers them a higher profile for both new and established artists and brings music, video and more to an audience likely to pay for both a streaming service and downloadable tracks.

So, farewell to cranky old iTunes on our desktops? No, I'm afraid we'll have to suffer that for a while longer, until the new UI and user experience filters down from Apple Music. It's a shame this isn't a replacement, just an improvement to music discovery, not its storage once purchased.

Apple Music is available soon in the US, UK and Australia and on Android by the end of the year. The first three months access will be free then $9.99 a month. I think the Tide may have just gone out for Jay Z…

Apple News

It will probably be referred to as ‘News’ but whatever it’s called, it looks like a potential Flipboard killer. Having worked with publishers, Apple revealed its digital magazine platform, providing a customisable feed with live interactive content.

The proof will be in the simplicity of integration with online content and how this will be monetised when News looks as good as a regular digital magazine. Publishers or bloggers can now sign up to use ‘News Publisher’ and get their hands on the tools required. Watch this space…

Car Play

Greater integration and wireless connectivity and now Apple Music. All cars should offer both iOS and Android integration as standard in the next few years, adding functionality both in and out of the car so we’re ticking boxes here.

Clearly our Porsche Car Connect app is the perfect example of this but the challenge remains for designers, developers and marketers to make the brand experience as seamless as possible with both technical, lifestyle and service information living in digital harmony within the app ecosystem.

Apple TV 2.0

Only joking, it didn’t make an appearance because Apple hadn’t joined all the dots – hardware, software (including apps) and the big one… content. The content is there, it’s just the issues that remain, such as localisation, advertising and subscription models.

This hasn’t been an easy business for Apple as the direct download and rental models are far less complicated than streaming. Whilst Apple has been trying to own the end-to-end experience, the market has moved on around them with major players such as NetFlix and Amazon making substantial gains. Apple TV is still poised to make the next step very soon…

The two main headlines this year were Apple Watch OS2 and Apple Music. The rest provided interesting updates but nothing to change the world, unless you aim to use these tools to do it yourself.

WWDC is an Apple Event so naturally we all have iPhones and MacBooks of one shape or size. I’m comfortable with this as it’s the right (and in our collective opinion) the best kit for the job. I’m less at ease with the fact we all have Apple Watches. I’ve always worn a watch 1. to tell the time and 2. because I actually like wearing one - as a personal statement. It’s not very personal when everyone has the same thing.

I’ve ordered my personalised strap from Casetify to alleviate some design anxiety but I’m still not happy to run with the crowd. I’ll feature that strap later this week in my new Dawn of The DumbWatch article, alongside the Olio Model One and metal Cogito Classic.

I’m also surrounded by developers wearing the official WWDC15 fleece. I have mine on under a jacket as it feels a little like a school uniform. That and it was freezing next to the bins!

The Virtual Force Awakens

It's a blockbuster year for Hollywood, so Star Wars Day seems an appropriate time to reveal the subject of my Bitspiration talk in Warsaw... The Virtual Force Awakens.

I'll be presenting Brandwidth's, Disney's and Lucasfilm's creative story behind the multi-million download Star Wars Scene Maker app and where leading-edge digital products go next. Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and wearable technology all provide stunning platforms for digital storytelling, so it's time to push boundaries.

Feel the Force at the superb Bitspiration Festival in Warsaw Poland, June 22-23, then find out more here after then event.

UPDATE: My full presentation video (including the unfortunate #VaderPorn incident).

Fast Forward

On April 3rd 2010, the iPad was unleashed on the world and our first iPad app was ready to download on day one. Fast forward to April 24th 2015 and our first Apple Watch app is available on the day the Cupertino giant’s smartwatch hits the streets. Brandwidth’s bloody good at this stuff, but we don’t like to shout about it.

It’s easy to claim innovation and futurology are all about predicting trends and second-guessing the market. What’s more useful for clients is to take control of the path for their products, services and delivery based on facts. To achieve this, businesses need to get better at shaping their own futures. 

In 2010 the iPad-related headlines were for our incredible Guinness World Records app, now we’ve developed an extension to our existing Vodafone Porsche Car Connect app for Apple Watch. Neither of these apps were knee-jerk reactions to product announcements, they were carefully planned, developed and crafted titles, targeted to maximise user experience for new audiences.

We didn’t wait for an official announcement for either tablet or watch. I hinted at the possibility of Apple’s tablet back in 2009 (and referenced the ‘iPad’) and we’ve been planning for an Apple Watch for nearly three years. The Porsche Car Connect app wouldn’t have been possible without a visionary client, willing to take a few risks for a well-deserved halo effect. The same can be said for Guinness World Records and both clients shared in the roller-coaster ride towards launch day. It was worth every minute!

By creating bespoke products for new technology we’ve added value rather than noise. Unfortunately, for the next few months there will be a lot of white noise surrounding the Apple Watch. The temptation for existing app publishers will be to develop smartwatch extensions just for the sake of it. To make something just because they can and because their audience is demanding content for their new toys.

Stop. if you merely add clutter to what is already a small piece of digital real estate, you’ll run the risk of consumers wanting the app off their watch AND their smartphone.

We’re entering a challenging phase in UI design. Just when you thought screens were getting bigger, along comes a new era of tiny wrist-worn technology requiring effective and intelligent design, not merely smaller text and images.

Here’s the smartwatch rule to apply, as a designer, developer or client: “If there is value added by delivering information or functionality more conveniently on the wrist than any other screen, do it. It’s the future and your audience will expect it.”

We’re not afraid of firsts but they’re carefully researched, meticulously planned and expertly produced. They’re not punts based on guesswork, dressed up as analysis. We don’t bet it all on red unless we’ve been instrumental in designing a red thing.

Top L-R: Guinness World Records: At Your Fingertips, Early Apple Watch connected concept, Oculus Rift Light Saber battle. Bottom L-R: Toyota Auris 3D filming, Lexus Symphony Orchestra, Holiday Inn Green Room.

It’s not all about Apple and apps either, demonstrated by our award-winning Lexus Symphony Orchestra, 3D screens, gestural interaction and a gold medal won at the Hampton Court Flower Show for our Holiday Inn Green Room… and a bunch of things you haven’t seen yet.

The future’s bright, because we’re busy designing bright things.

iVolution of the Species

Evolution, iteration, or however you want to refer to incremental development is essential for achieving design perfection. Not very exciting though is it?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I used to look forward to the 12 month cycle of mobile phone upgrades. The whole process doesn’t set my pulse racing in the same way it used to and as a self-confessed design, tech and Apple fan, that makes me sad.

The last non-Apple phone I owned was a Samsung Z720, because it was small, light and inoffensive. I bought this just before the first iPhone launched and by the time my one-year contract ran out, the iPhone 3G was poised to appear on the scene.

Smartphone ownership wasn’t unfamiliar territory thanks to my time spent with a Sony Ericsson P900 back when a stylus was the only available input device so I took the plunge and opted for a two-year contract on a 3G. The 3S arrived a year later, leaving me feeling suitably vindicated for taking out a longer contract – the big changes were under the skin.

And so the two-year cycle began. I purchased an iPhone 4, 24 months later a 5... and now I find myself confronted with two new Apple smartphones, the 5c and 5s.

Tech pundits and financial markets alike have chastised the Cupertino giant for not matching Android handsets punch for punch and saturating the free handset market. This isn’t where Apple plays, for very good reason – their perceived value drops, dragging higher spec hardware down with it and introducing an audience unwilling to pay for content.

Apple has successfully cultivated a level of desirability global competitors can only dream of and their hardware retains its aspirational glow thanks to superior material quality, reliability and premium pricing.

Apple’s rivals are consistently guilty of innovation for innovation’s sake, trying to second-guess the market rather than shape it. Samsung is one of the worst offenders, throwing as many digital gimmicks at their handsets as possible in the vain hope that consumers will buy according to checklists rather than useful features. Eye tracking and facial recognition sound impressive but once they’ve been demonstrated in the pub, how many users turn them off again?

Similar criticism has been leveled at Apple following the inclusion of their new fingerprint scanner, Touch ID. Statistics show that very few smartphone users set a passcode so why not make it as simple as possible to secure your handset? Yep, I’ve seen plenty of comments that laptops have had this functionality for years – but they never looked this good! There’s a level of theatre involved that sums up Apple’s appeal to its users and we want to use the hardware, we don’t just feel we have to.

So, has Apple done enough to stay at the top of the smartphone heap? Yes, for one more year. The 5s is a beautifully designed, beautifully made piece of technology that you actually want to spend time with. The 5c makes a great support act, helping its shinier brother appear more sophisticated, seem better specced and offer better value. iOS7 is the added ingredient that gives the evolutionary hardware a revolutionary edge.

Apple must return to significant 12 month product cycles if it intends to stay ahead of the competition. Early iMac updates changed the form factor significantly between the original Bondai, to the angle-poise, to the all-in-one screen but the profile has barely changed in the past 8 years, where design strategy has focused on perfecting the shape, essentially removing the computer and leaving us with the screen – the centre of our attention.

This approach works with larger hardware because of frequency of purchase. We don’t feel the need to renew an expensive piece of desktop equipment as often as a personal mobile device.

The phone market is a different animal where ownership is about features, reliability and user experience but more than anything, it’s about personality. Spectacular product design, ergonomics, weight distribution and use of tactile materials delivers this but we want to be moved emotionally and don’t like to wait two years to see any significant changes.

I’m one of Steve Jobs’ ‘Crazy Ones’ that queues up at 5am on release day, so I want to make damn sure it’s worth the effort every 12 months.

One more thing...

Well it’s a couple of things really – two new iPads. I wrote about new iPhones safe in the knowledge that, like busses, we’d see some Apple tablets come along in quick succession.

The faster and pixelier Retina iPad Mini and super-slim iPad Air are both superb examples of iVolution in action. I may have complained about the iPhone’s biannual updates but these devices illustrate the need for incremental development. When a product is all about the screen (and the content displayed upon it) nibbling away at everything but the glass is perfectly acceptable.

Making the device faster, thinner, lighter and clearer are all more important than unnecessary bolt-on innovation. By 2020 we could just be interacting with a sheet of glass or plastic in varying sizes but where’s the personality or the brand in that?

When your audience demands more and more from less and less, the design and innovation challenges lie in retaining some form of standout in a fiercely competitive market. Every mobile device manufacturer faces the same issue and focus will be increasingly on how and why something works and how it makes the user feel, not merely on how it looks or a long list of features.

Long live the smartphone revolution. Long live the tablet evolution.

Edited and updated from my column in this month's iCreate magazine.