How Apple Uses Empathy in Design and Wins Customers’ Hearts! (Part 2: AutoFill OTP, AirDrop , Privacy Features)

“Privacy. Thats Apple” — Think Different. Protect Different: Apple’s Revolution in Privacy.

Shreyas J S
5 min readJan 23, 2024

Part 1 : Iphone & Airpods to this article although both can be read independent of each other.

Apple’s rich legacy of innovation traces back to its early days, characterized by a profound commitment to empathetic design championed by Steve Jobs. In this part, we explore how Apple, staying true to its origins, still incorporates empathy into its design philosophy. Clear examples, such as AirDrop, Auto-Fill OTP & Privacy Features, illustrate how Apple does exactly that to truly delight users.

Apple’s Empathetic Approach to Design

AutoFill OTP (My Personal Favorite):

Apple identified the hassle users face in manually entering One-Time Passcodes (OTPs) & empathized with the need for a seamless solution.

Major pain points included:

  1. Time Consumption —

Empathising with Users’ Time

Users wasted valuable time typing OTPs

2. Short-Term Memory & Accuracy Concerns -

Empathising with Users’ Unproductive Effort, Loss of Time and the persistent issue of users forgetting & making errors during manual entry

Empathy in Design:

Apple empathized with this frustration & introduced Auto-Fill OTP, a feature that makes the verification process a breeze, by automatically populating the OTP field with just one click, enhancing user convenience.

This feature aligns with:

  • Parkinson’s Law: AutoFill OTP minimizes wasted time during verification.
  • Miller’s Law: By reducing reliance on short-term memory, AutoFill OTP minimizes errors.
  • Peak-End Rule: Automating the process streamlines verification, ensuring a positive user experience.
Source : Apple Developer

AirDrop :

Understanding the challenges users faced in sharing files seamlessly, Apple introduced AirDrop.

Some of the Major Pain Points Included:

  1. Traditional File Transfer Hassles

Traditional methods of file sharing were often limited, complex, cumbersome & time-consuming.

2. Compatibility & Discoverability Issues

Connecting devices for file transfer wasn’t always straightforward, causing frustration & Existing solutions lacked automatic detection of nearby devices, adding to the complexity of the file transfer process.

3. Security concerns

Without a secure & encrypted method for transferring files, users could potentially leak sensitive or proprietary work data via file transfer solutions

Empathy in Design: Seamless Sharing

Recognizing the frustrations of traditional methods, Apple crafted a seamless, hassle-free sharing experience, prioritizing user convenience and enhancing the overall connection between users and their devices.

This feature aligns with the following UX design principles:

  • Parkinson’s Law: AirDrop streamlines the process with automatic discovery and minimal interaction, adhering to Parkinson’s Law, which suggests tasks fill the time available.
  • Jacob’s Law : states that users transfer their expectations of other similar technologies onto yours. With Apple managing both sender and receiver devices in AirDrop, users expect seamless operation across all Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac). Apple adheres to this law by leveraging built-in functionalities within the Apple ecosystem.

Privacy Features:

Apple recognized growing concerns about digital privacy and responded empathetically.

Users faced challenges such as:

  1. Data Vulnerability

Increasing instances of data breaches and unauthorized access.

2. Lack of Control

Users felt limited control over their personal information.

Empathy in Design

Some of the features to protect user privacy include:

1)App Tracking Transparency

App This feature allows users to control whether apps can track their activity across other companies’ apps and websites.

2)Mail Privacy Protection

This feature helps protect users’ privacy by preventing senders from using invisible pixels to collect information about the user’s device or activity in the app

3) Limited Access :

This feature enhances user privacy controls and allows users to keep their entire photo library private while still granting access to specific photos and videos

Sources — Apple [1], [2], [3]
Source : Apple (IN)

These features, along with Apple’s commitment to privacy by default and its robust security measures, help Apple protect user privacy and achieve its tagline of “Privacy. That’s Apple.”

See for yourself how users are delighted :

  1. iOS 14 Privacy: Users Can Give Apps Access to Limited Selection of Photos : apple (reddit.com)
  2. Love this in iOS 14. No more full access to my entire … Reddit · r/ios 50+ comments · 3 years ago
  3. “Hide my email” is really great : r/apple Reddit · r/apple 120+ comments · 1 year ago

Here’s what Tim Cook, The CEO of Apple says,

Privacy is a fundamental right and we build it into all our products and services at Apple. You should be in control of your data — not the highest bidder.

Source : Apple builds on privacy commitment by unveiling new efforts on Data Privacy Day

As we conclude this exploration of Apple’s empathetic design journey, it’s evident that the company extends its commitment to understanding user needs beyond hardware. The examples discussed in this article showcase Apple’s dedication to creating software solutions that prioritize user delight.

P.S.: Want to learn more about the fascinating world of user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design? Stay tuned for future articles where we’ll delve deeper into the practices that make interfaces a delight and breeze to use!

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Shreyas J S
Shreyas J S

Written by Shreyas J S

I design for the brain, not just the eye. UI/UX with a blend of neuromarketing. CSE 22' Grad IIIT-K. Hire me to craft pixel perfect brain friendly experiences.

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