Introducing the iPhone 6
Apple’s other announcement this week was the launch of the latest member of the iPhone family, the iPhone 6 – and its phablet (phone/tablet) sized alternative, the iPhone 6 plus.
Whilst people generally expected the larger, thinner size*, the one thing no one could deny was a coup for Apple was the switch from Bluetooth technology to NFC. As contactless payment becomes standard, and already established in many high-street retailers, Apple found itself behind the pack.
*not always a good thing. Duncan Bell from gadget magazine T3 **** his surprise that Apple have chosen to eliminate the 4-inch iPhone, given its previous success – “It would have at least slightly addressed criticisms that all Apple does is follow the market, rather than leading as it once did.”ApplePay could be the thing to bring mobile payments to the masses, even more likely given what Business Insider calls one of Apple’s most quietly powerful advantages – they have around 600 million accounts on file, most of which are linked to credit cards. Compare that to the fact that Amazon, the biggest e-commerce company in the world, only has 224 million accounts…
This is also great news for brands – rather than hoping that passersby take note of that poster and remember to look it up when they get home, campaigns can be tailored to provide the audience with immediate rewards for participation in the form of offers and exclusive content, transmitted directly to their phones. A brilliant example of this is the campaign Guinness initiated last year – they have been installing NFC-enabled founts in establishments across the UK. When customers tap their smartphones against the harp symbol they can unlock exclusive content and also see if they have won a complimentary pint.
Whilst NFC technology hasn’t fully taken off yet, perhaps the fact that Apple is starting to embrace it will be a turning point, and if this is the beginning of a new trend it will be interesting to see how creative businesses can get with the tech.
What are your thoughts on Apple’s latest products? How do you see businesses making the most of Apple’s switch to NFC technology?
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