Apple Discovers UC - Everyone Else, Look Out

16 Oct 2014

Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, took to the stage at the company's headquarters yesterday to announce two new iPad models and the latest version of the Mac operating system dubbed Yosemite or OS 10.10; the company also announced a 27-inch iMac with a Retina display, but nobody seemed to care. Scanning the reviews this morning, most weren't overly impressed with the incremental improvements in the new iPads, but just about everyone seems to have missed the real story which is Apple's move into UC.

Just so I make my prejudices clear at the outset, a full on Apple user (iMac, MacBook Air, iPad, iPhone and even a classic iPod). Having spent considerable time fiddling with the other mobile operating systems over the past few years, I have come to the conclusion that Apple has the most comprehensive, forward-thinking vision and delivers the best overall user experience across its entire product line -- period. The key is that Apple is thinking about its "whole product line," and not simply slapping a bigger screen on this gadget or a faster processor in that one. That includes the Apple Watch, which was featured prominently and is due early next year. That overall product line vision is clearly evident in Yosemite and its companion, the new iOS 8.1 which will hit the App Store on Monday; Yosemite was released last night though over a million users have been trying the public beta version.

As with other recent Apple events, many of the announcements had already been hawked in the media. The first big piece of news was that Apple Pay, the company's payment system, will go live next Monday. Among the list of retailers already on board are Bloomingdales, Macy's, Duane Reade, McDonald's, Sephora, Petco, Panera Bread, Staples, Nike, Walgreens, Subway and Whole Foods.

Apple's SVP of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, and Philip Schiller, SVP of Worldwide Marketing, handled the bulk of the product announcements and demos. As usual there was much self-congratulating, though a lot of it was backed up with some pretty impressive facts. In a testament to Apple customers engagement with the product, 48% of iPhones now run iOS 8, the latest version of the iPhone operating system that has only been available for 26 days; 46% are on iOS 7 that was launched in September 2013. Contrast that with Android where 54% of users are on still on Jelly Bean that was released to manufacturing in June 2012, and only 25% are on the latest release, Kit Kat, that came out almost a year ago. Google did announced Wednesday that the first devices running the new Android L, or "Lollipop," will be available for pre-order October 17, so we'll have to see how quickly that catches up. The upgrade path for earlier versions remains unclear.

While everyone's attention seemed to be focused on the new iPad Air 2 and Air mini 3, for my money the real story was Yosemite. Mr. Federighi spent a good deal of time on the handoff feature that he referred to in the context of "continuity." Handoff is the next level of integration across the Apple product line and works with the combination of Yosemite and iOS 8.1. Apple has had a growing list of capabilities that link its products together, but this new combination will take it to the next level. With handoff, you will be able to start a task on one Apple device and pick it up on anther. To demonstrate how this works, Mr. Federighi started working on a Keynote presentation (Apple's version of PowerPoint) and jumped from a desktop to an iPhone to an iPad and finally showed it using Apple TV. The capability doesn't work in all apps (at least not yet), but the APIs are available to developers. Google is planning a similar capability with Lollipop, but my guess is that it won't come close to the smoothness of Apple's offering.

The part of the presentation that really snapped my head back was when he showed an iPhone tethered to a Mac via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and was able to make and receive phone calls through the Mac - sure looked like "UC" to me. With that tethered connection you can also send and receive SMS messages; prior to this you could exchange text messages with iPhones, iPads and other Macs using the Messenger app. The big thing to notice is that Apple's version of UC operates over the cellular connection rather than a traditional wired PBX, something the UC providers should keep in mind. It seems that with no affiliation to the world of PBXs, Apple is free to deliver its version of UC through the components it controls.

"Control" is a word that comes up a lot when you're talking about Apple. While some of these capabilities will work on Windows devices, Apple's clear intention is to provide the best experience to those who buy into the whole complex, and it's all tied together with iCloud and iCloud Drive. While IT shops may think this simply consumer-ware, with the transition from BYOD to BYOA ("application"), these tools will inevitably find their way into the office. With cloud-based sharing and a user interface that is essentially effortless, this is a flavor of UC that users could come to love.

Philip Schiller took over to introduce the new iPad Air 2 (9.7-inch screen) and Air mini 3 (7.9-inch screen), though frankly, it was no great shakes. The new Air will be 18% thinner (6.1 mm) and will feature the same Touch ID fingerprint sensor found on the iPhone 5S, 6S and 6S Plus. The Air 2 also has a new A8X processor that is 40% faster than the current version and promises 10 hours of battery life. Mr. Schiller showed off some beautiful photos taken with the Air 2's 8-megapixel camera that also features burst mode and time-lapse capabilities.

Both models will feature 802.11ac 2x2 MIMO for a maximum data rate of 866 Mbps (80 MHz channel). For LTE, they will support downstream rates up to 150 Mbps and will be able to operate in 20 different frequency bands. There are 16-, 64- or 128-Gbyte models (same sizes as with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus); the Wi-Fi models price out at $399, $499 and $599 for the mini and $100 more for the larger device. The Wi-Fi plus cellular models add an extra $130 across the board. Apple will begin accepting pre-orders October 17.

From what I see, Apple's product vision is progressively merging with UC, though Apple will never use that term. However its whole message is about sharing and collaborating in the cloud, and with a user experience that leaves enterprise UC offerings in the dust. With the handoff/continuity features, Apple is adding a whole new dimension to the experience, what I've been calling "Device Fluidity." My pal Galen Gruman at InfoWorld coined the term "Liquid Computing" for it, so we'll have to see which one catches on.

So while everyone is grousing about the minimal improvements in the new iPads, cut through the noise and recognize what's really going on, Apple has discovered UC.