The ESPN NFL Draft team analyzes my iPad Pro selection
The camera light goes red. The crowd quiets. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell ambles to the podium.
"With his first pick in the 2021 iPad Pro draft, Matt selects, '1 TB model, Space Grey, with 5G connectivity and 16 GB of RAM.'"
The director cuts to ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr., who twitches and shifts in his chair. (Except for his hair. Which hasn’t moved since 1994.)
"Wow, guys, I really feel like this iPad Pro choice is a huge reach."
"What was needed here was a simple device to execute basic daily tasks like writing, Tweeting, reading Kindle books, attending Zoom meetings, and watching video."
Kiper is visibly angry. Hands flailing, but verbal cadence steady, Kiper continues:
"Matt fell in love with the measurables of the 1 TB iPad Pro, flashy numbers with RAM and 5G speeds that will have little impact on Matt's ability to execute the day-to-day basics."
"This was an emotional selection, and not based on logical evaluation."
Kiper is spent. He hasn't been this upset since The New York Jets took linebacker Jeff Lageman in the first round in 1989. He needs to gather himself, so he throws it to his colleague, analyst Todd McShay.
"McShay--your thoughts?"
"I agree, Mel. And we have to think about the salary cap here. The 1 TB iPad Pro requires a big financial commitment.
“And it's a bit of a prima donna. It won't perform at its best without its buddies, the Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard, which just add to the salary cap woes."
With that, host Mike Greenberg needs to get control over the set. The anger radiating from Kiper and McShay is beginning to seep into an increasingly unruly crowd.
"OK, ok, guys. We see it every year. A poor iPad Pro selection made based on emotion, on flash and excitement and measurables, and not rooted what's best for the organization's needs.
Now on the clock: the New York Jets, who are widely expected to draft the Apple Newton"
Prosperity Gospel: How Apple set investor expectations after an insane quarter of growth
It seems Apple investor relations could have taken this earnings call off. I mean, Apple is killing it.
Versus the same quarter last year, Apple’s revenue was up 54%. Gross margins sit at 42.5%.
And hardware growth—how are these numbers even real?
Mac: +70%
iPad: +79%
iPhone: +66%
These are mature product lines. The Mac is 37 years old, for heaven’s sakes. Absolutely insane growth.
So the earnings messaging is easy street, right? Throw a ticker tape parade, pop the champagne corks, call it a day.
Not exactly.
When a company has outlier growth it doesn’t expect to repeat, it has to be careful that the explosive growth rate doesn't become the cognitive anchor point for the next quarter’s expectations. At the same time you want to keep investors excited about your long-term prospects—if that excitement is warranted.
During the April 28 earnings call, Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri used three messaging points to help reset growth expectations for the next quarter while maintaining a rosy long-term outlook.
COVID-19 artificially lowered the growth baseline in the prior year quarter
A year ago, the world was in the early innings of lockdown. This set a lower baseline for sales, and pent-up demand helped skew the growth numbers higher than they would have been in a more normal, year-over-year comparison.
Cook explained:
Keep in mind that the compare that we're running to would be the quarter, the Q2 of last year is the quarter that China would have entered a shutdown first and then the rest of the world entered the shutdown in middle part of March. And so, part of the growth is compare -- is the comparison point.
The global chip shortage will hamper Apple’s ability to meet product demand
The world needs more semiconductor chips than it can currently produce. And the shortage will affect Apple’s ability to meet demand.
Maestri, in his prepared remarks:
However, we believe that the sequential revenue decline from the March quarter to the June quarter will be greater than in prior years for two reasons.
[..]
Second, we believe supply constraints will have a revenue impact of 3 to $4 billion in the June quarter.
Also Maestri, answering an analyst question:
Yes, and the constraints come from the semiconductor shortages that are affecting many, many industries, and it's a combination of the shortages, as well as the very, very high level of demand that we are seeing for both iPad and Mac.
Cook, later:
But I would point to Luca's point earlier about the shortages and those shortages primarily affect iPad and Mac.
So we expect to be supply gated, not demand-gated.
Cook, again:
The shortages that Luca spoke about in the color that he provided on the future, affect primarily the iPad and the Mac. And so, we'll have some challenges in there, and challenges in meeting the demand that we've got.
The long term outlook is bright
When Cook and Maestri spoke optimistically about Apple's growth prospects, they generally framed it in longer-term market trends.
See how Cook walks the tightrope here so well:
The shortages that Luca spoke about in the color that he provided on the future, affect primarily the iPad and the Mac. And so, we'll have some challenges in there, and challenges in meeting the demand that we've got.
[...]
And then, iPad, you've got remote learning and work from home as well. And the product that we just announced is really killer, the iPad Pro with the M1 in it. And so, there's a lot of great things of the strength of the product cycle in addition to the trends that we're seeing in the marketplace. And where this pandemic will end, it seems like many companies will be operating in a hybrid kind of mode.
And so, it would seem that work-from-home and the productivity of working from home will remain very critical. If you look at wearables then, the watch had a fabulous quarter. And I still think we're in the early innings on the watch. The number of new -- people that are new to the watch is almost three out of four.
And so, this is a long way from being a mature market. And so, -- and then the services by itself has really accelerated. And so, all in all, we feel very, very good.
It’s a see-saw set of messages precariously perched on tempered expectations in the short term and favorable market trends in the longer term.
It's tough to message effectively when you have to tell two stories that, in some ways, compete with each other. As usual with Apple and its messaging, it executed very well.
When the iPad Pro review embargo lifts, here’s what I want to know
Will the embargo on iPad Pro reviews lift today?
(Typically it’s a day or two before Apple begins taking orders for a new product)
Here are three questions I want answered.
How the Center Stage camera performs
Many have lamented the location of the iPad’s camera. When using the iPad in landscape (which most of us do, most of the time) the camera resides on the left bezel, which can make video calls and conferencing look a little awkward. The new Center Stage camera is ultra wide and follows you as you move, potentially alleviating some of these issues. It looked great in Apple’s product video (of course) and Apple’s John Ternus promises big things:
“What’s been really cool is that we’ve all been sitting around in these meetings all day long on video conferencing and it’s just nice to get up. This experience of just being able to stand up and kind of stretch and move around the room without walking away from the camera has been just absolutely game changing, it’s really cool.”
How will the new feature perform out in the wild?
The impact of increased RAM
iPads now have “RAM-parity” with Macs, coming in 8GB and 16GB configurations. Presumably, this will allow the iPad Pro to handle pro-level apps that may be coming, like Apple’s Final Cut Pro.
But I’m more interested in how the RAM affects the iPad’s performance in other ways. Will we see less--maybe far less--app reloading as we move through our open apps? And will Safari hold more tabs open without reloading pages?
The difference in the new Liquid Retina XDR display
The 12.9” iPad Pro gets the new mini-LED display. And the tech is pretty remarkable, as described by Matthew Panzarino at TechCrunch:
Apple has essentially ported its enormously good $5,000 Pro Display XDR down to a 12.9” touch version, with some slight improvements. But the specs are flat out incredible. 1,000 nit brightness peaking at 1,600 nits in HDR with 2,500 full array local dimming zones — compared to the Pro Display XDR’s 576 in a much larger scale.
But what will this mean in everyday usage? Is the screen markedly “better?” It was pretty great already. Will it perform better in sunlight? Is it truly better for creative professionals?
And of course, do sports and action movies actually look sharper and brighter?
Lots to learn
Those are my burning questions. What are you looking forward to learning about the new iPad Pro?
The new iPad Pro looks great, but …
I’m conflicted.
I’m planning to bet big on the new iPad Pro when preorders start Friday.
The 16GB of RAM. The Liquid Retina XDR screen tech. 5G connectivity. The M1 chip. It all sounds great.
But: there are still things (today) that the iPad Pro just won’t do. Here's a quick rundown of where the iPad Pro still falls just short for me.
Zoom gloom
Yes, the new Center Stage camera tech is cool.
You know what would be cooler?
The ability to manage breakout rooms in the Zoom app. Chat that appears along the side of my meeting window rather than plastered over the top. On the iPad, Zoom chat is like someone standing up on the conference table during an in-person meeting holding up signs.
And you can’t multitask. If you want to take notes side-by-side during your Zoom meeting, the camera switches off.
It’s totally ridiculous.
Zoom was the reason I sold my last iPad Pro. I couldn’t manage my writing group sessions in Write of Passage because of missing or wonky functionality in the Zoom app.
Zoom parity. We need it on the iPad Pro.
A true desktop class browser
When Apple announced iPadOS Safari would present itself as a desktop browser to web sites, the company said Squarespace’s site would work just like on the Mac.
Apple specifically named Squarespace.
Spoiler alert: Squarespace.com does not behave as it does on the Mac. I still had to use a traditional computer to publish new blog posts.
Is this a RAM issue? Something else? I have no idea. I also have no idea if it will be fixed with more powerful hardware and/or software updates.
Loose ends
And then there’s a smaller set of wants and annoyances, some or all of which may be addressed in iPad OS 15:
Widgets on the Home Screen
True monitor support (no black bars--use a connected monitor’s full real estate)
The ability to run MacOS apps (as the Mac can now do with iPad apps)
What about you? Are you getting the new iPad Pro, or is something holding you back?
After the Shock and Awe: How Apple reiterates key messages following an event
The Spring Loaded event was a one-hour Shock-and-Awe whirlwind of product reveals, flashy product shots, music, and entertaining made-for-meme videos.
So much information. So much dazzle. How does Apple surface and reinforce the core messages it wants reiterated after the big show?
By following up with precise and consistent messaging. One key tool in Apple’s post-event PR arsenal: one-on-one (or, in this case, two-on-one) executive interviews.
Let’s look at the iPad Pro as an example.
Joswiak and Ternus: On tour
Greg Joswiak, Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, and John Ternus, Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering John Ternus were interviewed by Andrew Griffin at The Independent and Matthew Panzarino at Techcrunch. And they did so with remarkable consistency.
The iPad Pro and Mac are not merging into one product
At the 2018 WWDC keynote, Apple's Senior Vice President of Software Engineering took a moment to subtly address questions about a Mac-iPad product line merger:
Nevertheless, the storyline lingers.
The new iPad Pro gets the powerful new M1 chip, just like the Mac computer line. Online forums and Twitter lit up with speculation that the iPad Pro will ditch iPadOS and move to macOS, or enable some kind of dual-boot scenario.
Said Andrew Griffin in The Independent:
Many ... argue that Apple’s real plan is not to keep the two devices around but instead to mash them together into one device: a touchscreen Mac, or an iPad that can run macOS, or perhaps both.
Jozniak in The Independent:
“On the one hand, people say that they are in conflict with each other. That somebody has to decide whether they want a Mac, or they want an iPad.
“Or people say that we’re merging them into one: that there’s really this grand conspiracy we have, to eliminate the two categories and make them one.
“And the reality is neither is true. We’re quite proud of the fact that we work really, really hard to create the best products in their respective category.”
And then Joz, in Techcrunch:
“This is my favorite question because you know, you have one camp of people who believe that the iPad and the Mac are at war with one another right it’s one or the other to the death. And then you have others who are like, no, they’re bringing them together — they’re forcing them into one single platform and there’s a grand conspiracy here,” he says.
“They are at opposite ends of a thought spectrum and the reality is that neither is correct. We pride ourselves in the fact that we work really, really, really hard to have the best products in the respective categories.
Right on message.
The iPad Pro is ready for professional-level applications
The iPad Pro has always been fast. Now, it’s chip is on par with the Mac, and so is the iPad Pro’s RAM spec (8 or 16GB of RAM, depending on how much base storage you buy).
But the iPad’s ecosystem has lacked high-powered applications to take advantage of the hardware horsepower. Whether that’s Apple’s own professional apps, like Final Cut Pro, or full-featured third party apps, the Mac has remained the primary place for professionals out of necessity.
Apple wants to position the iPad Pro for, well, pros, and Joswiak’s messaging is on target, using Adobe Photoshop as a key example.
Independent:
“We provided that performance even before the need was there, if you will,” he says. “When you create that capability, that kind of ceiling, developers will use it.
[...]
“And our developers are pretty quick about taking advantage. It isn’t like, it languishes for years. Trust me the Adobes and the Affinities and all the people creating pro stuff – this is like music to their ears, they need this kind of power to have more capability to do more features.”
Techcrunch:
“When we created the very first iPad Pro, there was no Photoshop,” Joswiak notes. “There was no creative apps that could immediately use it. But now there’s so many you can’t count. Because we created that capability, we created that performance — and, by the way sold a fairly massive number of them — which is a pretty good combination for developers to then come in and say, I can take advantage of that.”
The Center Stage camera is a breakthrough for video conferencing
Apple’s new software technology attempts to appease complaints that the iPad’s front-facing camera is in the wrong place. When using the device in landscape mode, the camera sits on the front left bezel. But now it features an ultrawide lens that will follow a user as they move around, and adjust to include multiple parties, such as when family gathers in front of an iPad Pro for a FaceTime call.
Tenus, in The Independent:
“One of the things that I found really cool about it is – spending all this time in these meetings, you sit a lot,” says Ternus. “And it’s so liberating to be able to just stand up and stay framed in the image, and stretch and move around and sit down,”
And in TechCrunch:
“What’s been really cool is that we’ve all been sitting around in these meetings all day long on video conferencing and it’s just nice to get up. This experience of just being able to stand up and kind of stretch and move around the room without walking away from the camera has been just absolutely game changing, it’s really cool.”
The new Pro Display is on par with Apple’s top-of-the-line XDR display
The 12.9-inch iPad Pro gets a new Liquid Retina XDR display, as described by Matthew Panzarino:
Apple has essentially ported its enormously good $5,000 Pro Display XDR down to a 12.9” touch version, with some slight improvements. But the specs are flat out incredible. 1,000 nit brightness peaking at 1,600 nits in HDR with 2,500 full array local dimming zones — compared to the Pro Display XDR’s 576 in a much larger scale.
The key message, shared by Panzarino, is that the Liquid Retina XDR display is not only did Apple shrink its Pro Display XDR, but made it markedly better:
“[With the] Pro Display XDR if you remember one thing we talked about was being able to have this display and this capability in more places in the work stream. Because traditionally there was just this one super expensive reference monitor at the end of the line. This is like the next extreme of that now you don’t even have to be in the studio anymore you can take it with you on the go and you can have that capability so from a, from a creative pro standpoint we think this is going to be huge.”
Precision and consistency
When Apple floods the media with as many product announcements and details as it did last week, the follow up clarifies and pulls forward the most important points for each product. The company strategically deploys its executives, as we see with Josniak and Ternus, who reinforce key product messages clearly and repeatedly.
Apple AirTags are here! What are the reviewers saying?
Apple AirTag reviews are out! Here are some of the most insightful, interesting, and useful snippets from the early reviews.
What are AirTags for?
Rene Ritchie scored an interview with two Apple execs: Kaianne Drance, Vice President, Worldwide Product Marketing, and Ron Huang, Senior Director of Sensing and Connectivity.
Drance laid out some use cases for AirTags:
Anything basically that you might … lose that maybe goes with you from place to place and gets left behind. For example, I think one of the most easily relatable ones is your keys, ... perhaps your purse, your wallet, your backpack.
How do they work?
Dieter Bohn at The Verge had a fun idea. He sent his friend off into the city to hide an AirTag, and Bohn set out to find it.
Dieter explains how AirTags work:
If close to your iPhone, AirTags work by connecting directly to your device via Bluetooth. If farther away, AirTags can be located by riding anonymously on the Find My network of (a billion!) Apple devices. Apparently it works well:
I finally found him. He was standing on a street corner with no foot traffic whatsoever, which meant that the intermittent signals I got detailing his location came from a couple of iPhones in cars that were driving by.
That’s impressive.
What is the user experience like?
Matthew Panzarino at TechCrunch found that with Bluetooth, AirTags can take a moment to speak up but then give very precise locations:
It often took 30 seconds or more to get an initial location from an AirTag in another room, for instance. Once the location was received, however, the instructions to locate the device seemed to update quickly and were extremely accurate down to a few inches.
Panzarino says AirTag batteries are replaceable:
The AirTags run for a year on a standard CR2032 battery that’s user replaceable
[...]
The battery contacts inside the casing are not simple bend prongs as is normal for small devices; instead, the contact is made via the internal casing clasps and a set of three pressure contacts. This should improve longevity as they are less likely to get tweaked or bent during a battery replacement or lose contact over time.
Photo: Matthew Panzarino
AirTags will need new batteries about once a year.
AirTags scratch
AirTags are scratch magnets, according to Marques Brownlee:
So you can probably skip the $449 Hermes luggage tag to show off your AirTags:
(Yes, those are real products.)
Of course, there are other accessories that cost less than your car payment.
AirTags are available right this very minute at Apple’s website. You can buy one for $29, or a four pack for $99.
The unique difference in Apple’s Earth Day message
It’s Earth Day, which means we can expect lots of corporate and governmental messaging replete with virtue-signaling and admonishment. Call me cyncial, but words without action ring hollow, and people don’t respond well to guilt-inducing browbeating. The net effect of much of Earth Day messaging is skepticism and inaction.
All of which is why I actually like Apple’s Earth Day video:
Rather than preaching or chastising, Apple looks to inspire people to action by telling the story of its own plans and processes.
That makes a huge difference.
As a result, Apple has taken a global leadership position on climate change and recycling. And, Apple is having some fun with it. There’s nothing in the messaging about the earth being in critical condition, or how awful we all are for, you know, living and consuming stuff.
The messaging and tone are upbeat and forward moving. The message is optimistic. And it’s backed up by real actions.
None of this means Apple is perfect on climate change and recycling. But Apple is pretty damn ambitious and inspirational about it. The company tells its story in a fun way that makes people want to join in. No browbeating required.
The old writing axiom holds true: show, don’t tell.
And a little fun and positivity never hurts, either.
A mishmash of marketing and public relations thoughts on Apple’s Spring Loaded event
Finally.
After a longer than expected wait, Apple’s Spring Loaded event took us through a whirlwind of product and service announcements, dizzying camera zooms around Apple Park, and Tim Cook’s Mission Impossible moment. The pre-produced, one-hour video moved fast, rivaled Hollywood’s best efforts for production quality, and sprinkled the usual magic marketing dust over some very cool—and pricey—new tech toys.
What can we learn from a marketing and public relations standpoint? Plenty!
Up first: the environment
Apple Events traditionally opened with business metric updates. That’s changing, however, as Dieter Bohn observed:
Starting with environment! I think this is the new vibe -- Apple used to always start with "the numbers" showing how popular its products are.
This isn’t performative virtue-signaling. Apple has set ambitious goals and reports its progress regularly. The company has taken on a huge operational and communications commitment, and has assumed a global leadership position on carbon emissions, resource consumption, and smarter chemistry—through words and actions.
No mention of iOS 14.5 and the new ATT feature
Facebook seemed to believe Apple would land a couple of haymakers yesterday in its ongoing spat over the app transparency feature coming in iOS 14.5. Mark Zuckerberg gave an interview to Casey Newton yesterday in which he said Facebook was fighting for the little guy, or something. Said Zuck:
I think that this is about enabling people. Right, so the question for me is, ‘Do you believe, at some basic level, that if you empower individuals that that leads to more good?
But Apple said nothing about iOS 14.5. Instead, a footnote in an event press release told us the update would be released the week of April 26.
While the event was a prime opportunity for Apple to restate its position on user privacy to a huge audience, it evidently didn’t want to pull the spotlight off of new products.
No mention of Apple’s position on the App Store
Ahead of a court date with Epic Games, Inc. about App Store policies—and a congressional hearing on big tech antitrust actions today—Apple paused its consistent drumbeat that its App Store policies 1) protect customers from scams and bad software and, 2) create enormous economic opportunity for developers.
Apple did share the spotlight with third-party developers in a smart way, using developer testimonials to highlight the processing power and associated third-party development opportunities of the new iPad Pros.
A RAM blitz on the iPad
No, not that kind of Ram blitz. This kind:
It's honestly wild that Apple put iPad RAM on the spec slide.
I know, Deiter! We are in new territory, here.
Apple hasn’t highlighted RAM in the iPad before, because iPads never had much RAM. Now, with 8GB and 16GB RAM configurations, iPad RAM is on par with Macbooks.
Hopefully, this means exciting things ahead for iOS15 and full-fledged apps on par with Mac applications (I’m looking at you, Zoom).
Music supports the colorful theme
Music is an important part of Apple Events (even if, occasionally, the attention is negative).
The event’s musical choices supported the spring colors theme:
“The Darkness That You Fear,” by The Chemical Brothers kicked off the event. (The song is brand new, and releases Friday. What a cool way to launch the song!)
“The Candyman,” by Aubrey Woods introduced the purple iPhone 12.
“Carrera,” by Brokenstra & YADAM accompanied us as we went underwater—what was that, anyway—to the secret Mac Lab bunker, I guess.
“Better in Color,” by Lizzo accompanied the introduction of the iMacs.
“Celeryjuice,” by Party Favor took us through the Tim Cook Mission Impossible scene. (Can’t quite get the image of Tim Cook peeling off a fake face out of my head. And I’m really trying.)
New AirTags, new antitrust accusations
No sooner did Apple announce the long-awaited AirTags than Tile, which makes a similar tracking product which uses Bluetooth, fired off a statement:
We welcome competition, as long as it is fair competition. Unfortunately, given Apple's well-documented history of using its platform advantage to unfairly limit competition for its products, we're skeptical. And given our prior history with Apple, we think it is entirely appropriate for Congress to take a closer look at Apple's business practices specific to its entry into this category.
Interesting that Tile makes no specific claims of antitrust violations here. Rather, Tile makes a vague reference to the past, and expresses concern about the future. Tile’s messaging will need to be more precise if it’s antitrust accusations are going to gain traction.
Apple’s position is that the Find My platform predates Tile, and third parties have integration capabilities with the platform. On April 7, Apple introduced the Chipolo One Spot, a third-party tracker that works similarly to AirTags on the Find My network. The announcement initially seemed oddly timed, in advance of Apple announcing its own first party tracker. But now it makes more sense now in the face of Tile’s accusations: the One Spot is evidence of a competitive, third-party product that integrates with Find My.
Tile’s messaging problem is similar to that of non-Apple headphone manufacturers. Their stuff can work with Apple’s platform, but won’t operate as seamlessly as Apple’s first-party offerings. That’s a tough case to make, whether in court, or the court of public opinion.
Secrets prevailed
Siri may have spilled the beans on the Spring Loaded event, but Apple still managed to unveil some surprises that no one in the media or leaker class saw coming:
The iPad getting the same M1 chip as the Mac
A updated (and still incredibly expensive!) Apple TV with a long-desired remote redesign
A redesigned podcast app and new podcast subscription service
A new software-based “Center Stage” feature to help address complaints about the front-facing camera position on the iPad
While some product releases leaked in advance, Apple still had plenty up its sleeve.
A jam-packed hour
On its biggest stage, Apple set aside its antitrust communications challenges and kept the spotlight firmly on a fast-moving and fun parade of new products and services. And that may be just what Apple needed as it gears up for some high-stakes battles ahead.
Apple’s public relations stakes for the Spring Loaded event
Like you, I’m looking forward to seeing what shiny new toys Tim Cook has to share with us today.
But showcasing new products isn’t the biggest stakes for Apple today. The company will sell mountains of whatever it introduces.
Rather, today’s Spring Loaded event is Apple’s biggest chance to share it’s messaging around two issues critical to the future of its business, with antitrust implications in play.
iOS 14.5 and Apple’s privacy fight with Facebook
iOS 14.5 may release today, and it includes a new privacy feature for users: App Tracking Transparency (ATT). The concept is simple: Apple will ask users if they want to permit each app--like Facebook--to track their web activity for advertising purposes.
ATT has huge implications for Facebook’s core advertising business. And Facebook alleges Apple is using its market power to harm small businesses by limiting ad targeting.
The App Store and antitrust behavior
In May, Apple has a court date with Fortnight developer Epic Games, Inc. Epic claims Apple’s iron grip on the App Store and its 30% cut of in-app payments amounts to anticompetitive behavior, higher customer costs and reduced market choice.
Apple can highlight its key App Store messages today:
The economic opportunity created by the App Store for third-party developers (Apple calls the App Store an “economic miracle”).
The enhanced user safety created by only allowing apps onto the iPhone (and iPad) via the App Store
The brightest spotlight
Apple is already conducting strategic and steady PR campaigns on both the user privacy and App Store fronts. But today the company will speak to its largest possible audience: the entire tech press, the wider, general press, industry analysts, and millions of ardent Apple supporters and tech enthusiasts, all at once.
What Apple has to say--and how it says it--about the ATT and App Store issues is just as fascinating as the new products to be paraded across the stage.
Apple press release breakdown: April 15 Fitness+ announcement
Let’s deconstruct Apple’s announcement to see what writing and public relations lessons we can learn.
What was announced? Apple is introducing new instructors and specialized workouts to make its Fitness+ service more accessible to pregnant women and older adults.
Apple Fitness+ introduces even more ways to make fitness welcoming and inclusive with new Workouts for Pregnancy, Workouts for Older Adults, trainers, and Time to Walk guest
What was interesting about the communication strategy? Apple seems interested in building up the profiles of its instructors. These aren’t people that are easily swapped in and out of prefabricated workouts. Apple wants us to know who the instructors are as people and what makes their workouts unique.
People become loyal to instructors they like, whether through Fitness+, Peloton, or in-person classes (remember those?).
How did Apple execute the strategy? The release includes photos and bios of new instructors that generally cover four areas. Let’s look at the bio for Anja Garcia:
1. Their backgrounds as people
[...] in addition to being a busy mom and pediatric nurse in an intensive care unit.
2. Instructor credentials
She brings more than 15 years of experience teaching workouts in gyms and online [...]
3. The fitness courses the instructor will teach
In addition to seeing Anja Garcia in the new Workouts for Pregnancy and her weekly Rowing workouts, users can now catch her in HIIT.
4. Teaching philosophies and unique wrinkles
Anja has an inspiring ability to coach with authority, vitality, and compassion.
Quickly and efficiently, we know a lot more about Anja. Apple took a similar approach with Jonelle Lewis, and includes names and photos of other instructors already on the Fitness+ team.
What else can we learn? Apple is working hard to build an inclusive, no-judgement zone with Fitness+. Take this simple word choice, for example:
For those who are just getting started, consider themselves a beginner, or are getting back into exercise after a long break
The use of the word break is a great choice. Apple didn’t say layoff, or absence. “Break” implies time off from exercise that was well-deserved, justified, and deliberately chosen.
Apple’s inclusive strategy is supported with a quote from Jay Blahnik, Apple’s senior director of Fitness Technologies:
“With more options for getting started, and staying active and healthy during pregnancy as well as at any age or fitness level, we hope even more people will be inspired to keep moving with our amazing team of passionate trainers.”
Big picture: Apple PR is supporting Fitness+ with a release that portrays the service as welcoming for people at all fitness levels and ages, and helps build familiarity with new instructors and classes.