Apple's Missed Opportunity

In Spring 2014 I had an idea to utilize the Bluetooth in an iPhone as a way to send users relevant data about businesses & services that they were physically near (I called it ProxiCoin). Little did I know, in Summer 2013 Apple had announced this same idea in the form of iBeacon. As a tool, the product had a lot of potential however it received little attention from a consumer side and some on the business side. So, what happened to the iBeacon? #Apple #usercentereddesign #reboot

In Spring 2014 I had an idea to utilize the Bluetooth in an iPhone as a way to send users relevant data about businesses & services that they were physically near. I called it "ProxiCoin". Little did I know, in Summer 2013 Apple had announced this same idea in the form of iBeacon. As a tool, the product had a lot of potential however it received little attention from a consumer side and some on the business side. So, what happened to the iBeacon?

According to 9 to 5 Mac, it failed for several reasons (https://9to5mac.com/2018/10/29/beacon-adoption/) 1) Few customers have heard of beacons, so most haven’t installed retailer apps, 2) Bluetooth has limited range and signals are easily blocked by people and store furniture, 3) Customers tend to discontinue app use if they feel they’re being spammed, and 4) Growing concern about privacy, with apps failing to be upfront about the data they collect.

It’s my opinion that iBeacon was both too soon and approached its solution from the wrong perspective. I know, right? Did I question an Apple technology? Yes. I am a huge Apple fan and user, so I get disheartened to see one of their products fail. So, how do I justify my claims?

Let’s first look at timing. That, I feel, is probably the easiest to claim since phones are far more advanced now and so are their users. Users practically expect in-depth customer awareness and for services to meet their every need. That was not the case in 2013 when consumers were still getting comfortable with how much our smartphones could do.

As it relates to their approach, there are two main issues. I think they had the best of intentions and were wanting to give users a solution to a need they didn’t know they had (the true Apple way). The problem is, they didn’t tell users what that need was before they tried to sell them on the solution. The other being that they didn’t build in a way to target only relevant information to the user.

The service interaction between the business/service and user needed to be more like a key fitting into a lock or a punchcard. Meaning, for each user, only certain details of the experience are relevant. The user doesn’t need, nor do they want, to be blasted with notifications from every storefront as they walk by. They want to know that relevant information will be quickly and seamlessly presented to them.

Restaurant scenario: A young couple is walking through the city in the early evening. They discuss dinner and decide to walk around and see what interests them. One of them simply selects the “dinner” slider switch on their phone and puts it away. At that point, a punchcard of data populated from previous Yelp searches and reviews they’ve written is created. As they continue to stroll the city they pass Elephant Sushi which matches up with the punchcard. The user is then notified with two points of interest: the restaurant rating & current wait time. Should they decide to pick the restaurant, all they would need to do is swipe the wait time notification to automatically add their name to the list. (No data was shared until they added their name to the waitlist).

Public transportation scenario: A user is headed to work. They have already selected their preferred routes in their app. As they approach the transit stop they are promptly informed of the current wait time, any delays on their route, and alternate route information. 

DSW scenario: A user is walking through the city. They have previously been browsing for women’s shoes on their phone. Based on their shopping habit a temporary punchcard is created. As they walk by DSW shoe store they are notified about a current sale on women’s shoes. As a special bonus, it informs the user that if they shop now they will receive an additional discount by swiping the notification to reveal a temporary QR code to use at purchase.

By using a punchcard strategy, it allows for passive filtering and avoiding unnecessary notifications. On the business side, the data they are broadcasting is somewhat like a weekly flyer. A blast of all related data in a burst format. The data that matches the points on the punchcard gets pushed and the rest is deflected.


Macy’s illustration: The image shows how the business would input the current data points for their sale and broadcast it out via iBeacon. Three users are shown and what their punchcard data might be like. As each user passes by Macy’s they receive a notification with only the relevant points-of-interest and a call to action should they decide to shop.

Apple may have missed the opportunity in 2013, but it is my option that it still has an opportunity to become successful with the right approach.


* The images included are from the concept I had arrived at in 2014.

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