In the world of consumer technology, innovations that take off tend to enhance life, simplify it or make it more efficient – without requiring significant change in the user’s natural behavior. Even the most innovative product, if too complex or unnatural to use, goes by the wayside.
For example, MP3 players had been around for several years when Apple decided to take a crack at entering the digital music market. Players were available, but not ubiquitous. Then, along came the iPod and iTunes – suddenly digital music became very easy to buy, organize, manage and enjoy. The result? An explosion in a new product category.
Recently, yet again, Apple has revolutionized my world by making an every day activity easier and more natural.
See, I’m a watch guy. Back in the day I had this habit – when a meeting got too long or too boring, I would look at my watch periodically, sometimes even taking it off and playing with it on the conference table. It was terribly rude, but became a clear indication it was time to wrap things up.
Then along came smart phones. They provided a distraction and an excuse for tuning out. No one could be completely sure whether I was taking notes, doing something related to the topic of discussion or just randomly Google-ing facts like “how much does a rhinoceros weigh?” Like many, I would sneak a peek at my phone during a long and/or boring meeting. It was a clunky way to be rude, and to be honest, did not come natural to me, but I soldiered through and made it an integral part of my personality’s darker side.
Recently, my Apple Watch arrived. A key feature of this wonderful device is that notifications of my emails, texts and calls show up on the watch, which vibrates on my wrist when such an alert comes through. Of course the sensation of my wrist vibrating immediately leads me to look at my watch.
Imagine the sense of relief and freedom I feel now that I can go back to the more natural form of rudeness which I had perfected over so many years. No more clunky and complicated picking up a phone and looking at it.
I’m back to glancing at my watch in meetings. A perfect enhancement to my brusque form of cutting things short, along with a perfect excuse as to why I might be glancing at my wrist.
Now if only Google had make eye-rolling or impatient sighing a crucial part of the Google Glass experience. Maybe then it would have taken off.