By Jim Lundy
The Common Design Component Contributing to Apple and BMW’s Success
The iPhone 14 series was announced yesterday and with it new capabilities that will run on iOS 16. Similarly the 2023 BMW Series of Cars and SUVs are rolling out of their factories. Both Apple and BMW are doing well and design is one of the reasons for their success.
This blog discusses why common design and UX are becoming more than just a nice to have.
Why is Apple Winning
Apple has a common design approach and a common operating system across its device family.
User Interface is one of the reasons that Apple continues to win in the market – year after year – going all the way back to the launch of the iPhone in 2007. While some think of UX just for one device, it is actually the commonality of Apple’s design across devices that is helping it win.
The Apple iPhone and iPad, Apple Watch and MacBooks – work seamlessly together. In fact they do it so well that things like sharing apps, screens and notifications are second nature. This integration is only now gaining recognition about the seamless experience that Apple is providing.
The result – higher productivity for users. Yet, often this goes unrecognized in the mainstream press.
Why BMW is Winning
BMW features a common approach to its user interface across its car and SUV product lines.
Besides building award winning Cars and SUVs, BMW decided long ago to work on a common approach to user electronics in its cars.
It had a lot of bumps along the way, but today, if you drive just about any BMW over the last four years, the electronics – of how people interact with each of its models are close to identical, save for differences in options available on each vehicle.
The Connected Interfaces of the Future Will Be About Commonality
Apple and BMW have both come to the same conclusion – UX commonality can drive increased usage and increased customer loyalty. Note, I often watch as many tech friends who still use Windows Laptops and Android phones struggle with the mundane issue of sharing a picture across devices, let alone apps.
The same goes for cars. Many manufacturers have not yet arrived where BMW has. Tesla has for sure – and as vehicles go more EV and electronic, Manufactures will need to go with a Common UX core – just to get stuff out on time and save money in the manufacturing process.
Bottom Line
The future of devices is about common designs and interfaces for humans and machines. Apple and BMW are just two examples, but there are many more.
Enterprises need to look at UX and productivity, especially if they have many users. While choice is still considered important, we feel that the common UX approach often is the better long term strategy. This may end up limiting the number of choices to associates – but it also may force more providers to get more focused on a common user interface across their product lines.
This blog is a part of the Digital Workplace blog series by Aragon Research’s CEO, Jim Lundy.
Missed the previous installments? Catch up here:
Blog 1: Introducing The Digital Workplace Weekly Blog Series
Blog 2: Application Proliferation – Building out Departmental Tech Stacks
Blog 3: Invest in Sales Coaching and Learning Now
Blog 4: The Slow Return to the Office vs the Fast Return to Events
Blog 5: The Shift to Industry Clouds is Here
Blog 6: The Race to Intelligence and Why Future Revenue Streams Depend On It