Apple Intelligence: How Apple is using a simple psychological trick to keep us hooked.
Photo cred; Apple (X)
It was a foregone conclusion that 2024 was the year Apple would finally integrate AI into its suite of devices, in fact ahead of Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference event (WWDC24), there were several amusing tweets from people swearing they'd keep count every time Apple mentioned AI, so we all just figured "yeah, we'll be hearing a ton of "AI" today.
Right?
Wrong!
How do we even keep falling for this?😂
Apple always does this, they know they can’t be like the other 10+ tech events this year that have mentioned AI enough times to at least get a Guinness record for most mentioned phrases of the year.
So, what did Apple do differently?
My friend, Anchit figured it out quickly.
Photo Cred: Anchit (X)
Luca as well...
Photo cred: Luca (X)
You get it?
They rebranded from the weather-worn AI to "Apple intelligence", in the words of Marques Brownlee in his latest WWDC24 review video, they "commandeered the name for themselves."
Why???
Because, you see, Apple gets it.
Listen, to conquer a market, you must carve out a niche and differentiate yourself.
This is a trick often used by direct marketers. For instance, a marketer selling an "I'll help you make money" product might name it, "The mega money flow guideline” and another guy with name theirs, the "Rags to Riches gameplan”.
Same information. Different names and suddenly these two guys are seemingly offering different solutions.
Here’s why this trick works even when it shouldn’t.
The promise of novelty. It says, I’m not like anyone else, give me a try.
You stand out like a sore thumb in Antarctica because everyone saying the same thing has blended into the ice and there you are sitting pretty on top with your Apple Intelligence.
But hey, there's more...
To further win you onto their side, Apple uses another trick as old as time, the "US vs THEM" strategy.
Have a look:
Photo cred: Apple (X)
Apple is saying "Yeah everyone else has been making AI this, AI that, all cool, but here's actually AI for everyone else, for the rest of us"
Subtly luring you onto the Apple side by promising you an experience that's twice better than everything else with half the effort.
something along these lines
The thing is, They have full control of their software and devices to actually deliver on that promise, I believe Apple may have set a new standard for AI integration.
We're in for exciting times ahead.
But, Before I go, Here are 10 other examples of Apple rebranding features to get ahead of the curve.
Apple Terminology | Market Equivalent | Focus |
Retina Display | High-Resolution Display | Pixel Density |
Face ID/Touch ID | Facial Recognition/Fingerprint Sensor | Biometric Authentication |
AirPlay | Wireless Streaming | Streaming Protocol (DLNA, Miracast) |
iMessage | Instant Messaging App | Messaging Platforms (WhatsApp, Telegram) |
iCloud | Cloud Storage | Cloud Storage Providers (Dropbox, Google Drive) |
App Store | App Marketplace | App Stores (Google Play Store) |
Siri | Virtual Assistant | Virtual Assistants (Alexa, Google Assistant) |
MagSafe | Magnetic Wireless Charging | Wireless Charging (Qi Standard) |
ProMotion Display | High Refresh Rate Display | Refresh Rate |
P.S: How about that internship, Apple?
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Written by
Triumph Nnaemeka Ugoji
Triumph Nnaemeka Ugoji
As a Product Manager, I specialize in herding cats—also known as coordinating cross-functional teams—while maintaining a coffee addiction that rivals the product roadmap's complexity. I measure success by the decreasing size of my to-do list and the increasing volume of laughter in sprint retrospectives.