The internet is mad at Apple.
And for good reason. It’s latest product launch for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus left much to be desired.
A 12-megapixel camera? OK, great, now it’s just as good as the Samsung Galaxy camera.
Water resistance? It’s about time they figured out that one.
A pressure-sensitive home button feature? Kind of cool, but not revolutionary.
In fact, the “feature” that’s gotten the most press is actually the one that’s been eliminated from this version of the iPhone: the headphone jack.
That’s right, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have no headphone jack. There’s a single port for the entire phone.
Now, that’s not to say that Apple doesn’t have a plan. They’ve actually offered up two solutions: One, use the $159 wireless AirPod headphones created specifically for the iPhone 7 / 7 Plus or use the Lightning charging port adapter to plug in your old, wired headphones. The Lightning adapter is shipped free with your purchase, but the AirPod headphones (which will be available in October), you’ll have to pay extra for.
That seems only slightly annoying, but the real issue is that unless you’re ready to buy Apple’s newest $49 accessory for the iPhone 7 — the Lightning Dock port — you can’t charge your phone and use your wired headphones at the same time.
Fortunately for Apple, this will push iPhone 7 customers to buy either the AirPods or a Lightning Deck. Or maybe they’ll choose to purchase wireless Bluetooth headphones, which will also work with the iPhone 7. Luckily for Apple, they own Beats, the top-selling Bluetooth headphone brand! This is how a company sets up control of an ecosystem. Slick, right?
And that’s pretty much why the internet is angry at Apple right now. The bad news for them is that this launch may cause more problems for them than a few angry tweets. According to eMarketer, only half of current iPhone users would trade in their current phone for a newer model. Why not? Like we noted, the features just aren’t that spectacular this time around. Plus, the product slated to roll out next year will be launched on the iPhone’s 10th anniversary. Everyone is expecting it to get a major makeover as a birthday present, so they’re probably saving up to buy the 2017 version.
eMarketer “Branding Brand “Apple Consumer Survey”, Aug 30, 2016
But what about iOS 10?
Let’s not forget about iOS 10, Apple’s new operating system. Current iPhone customers will be able to download the official version next week. Updates and new features for this operating system center around the idea of improving user experience. Apple’s last update saw around 75% of current users switch to the new system during the first month.
So, even though more people will be downloading iOS 10 than buying the iPhone 7, they might not be blown away by this latest operating system.
iOS 10 has a few new notable features including more visible iMessages and the ability to delete stock apps, as well as improvements to Siri, Apple Music, Apple News and the Maps app. iOS 10 will also boast an improved Apple Store search ads template, which is good news for companies that market their apps through that channel. Another feature marketers are excited about is rich push notifications, which are more customizable and interactive than ever before. They allow advertisers to communicate with users through video, audio, images and GIFs, creating an enhanced experience.
The most important change that publishers need to be aware of is the update to the “Limited Ad Tracking” option in the privacy controls. iOS 10 has expanded advertising privacy controls by updating its “Limit Ad Tracking” option. In previous versions (< iOS 10), users could let advertisers know they preferred limited ad tracking. However, their IDFA data was still available and used for frequency capping. The Limited Ad Tracking option in iOS 10 zeros out the IDFA of the user, making them anonymous.
What does all this mean for my in-app ads?
The most important thing Smart publishers need to know is that all these new features have been taken into account when we created our new SDK 6.4.1, now available for download.
This latest version was developed to reduce the “Limit Ad Tracking” option’s negative impact on ad serving, in particular, frequency capping. It randomly generates an identifier for users who enable the “Limit Ad Tracking” option. This identifier is renewed every 24 hours, and bound to a single app (if a user has two different apps, they will have two different random identifiers and cannot be tracked from one app to another). We believe this is the best way to ensure normal service for publishers using frequency capping while respecting Apple’s desire to provide stronger privacy controls.
If you’re a current customer, click here to download this latest version of our SDK. Remember, you can easily integrate using Cocoapods!
Sources
http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/7/12828714/apple-iphone-7-isght-duo-camera-plus-announced
http://www.techinsider.io/why-apple-is-getting-rid-of-the-iphones-headphone-jack-2016-7
http://uk.complex.com/life/2016/09/charge-iphone-7while-listening-music-49-dollar-lightning-dock?utm_campaign=complexmag&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social
http://www.techinsider.io/why-apple-is-getting-rid-of-the-iphones-headphone-jack-2016-7
http://uk.businessinsider.com/airpods-apple-iphone-7-wireless-headphones-explained-faq-2016-9?r=US&IR=T
http://mobtimizers.com/app-store-optimization/new-ios-10-apple-app-store-search-ads-relevant-business/
http://uk.businessinsider.com/apples-ios-10-expands-advertising-privacy-controls-2016-8?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=referral?r=US&IR=T
