The iPhone X Release is a UX Nightmare
“ The user experience is made up of all the touch points a user has with a product or service.” — Schmidlin, 2016.
This is something that Professor karin schmidlin taught us in our first-year User Experience Design class that has stuck with me. Everything from the user choosing which product to purchase, the process that user must go through in purchasing that product, and all the way through the user actually using the product, are all (or at least should be) equally important parts of the UX of a product.
Now we all know that Apple has set the benchmark in the purchasing process. Whether in store or online, Apple has one of, if not the best user journeys when it comes to purchasing products. They have streamlined the process, making it incredibly easy, intuitive, and exciting to purchase Apple products. However, when it came to this year’s new iPhone rollout and release, I have noticed a few UX issues, in my opinion.
One reason we all love Apple so much, whether we are aware of it or not, is that they took a lot of the decision making away for us. When Steve Jobs would get up on stage and introduce a revolutionary, industry-changing product, he would introduce one single product. We didn’t have to think. There was one product to buy, one variation, and we wanted it. All we had to do, as users, is go and get it.
Now like most people, I always thought that more choice was better, until I read Barry Schwartz’s The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less (2005). In it, Schwartz talks about how as consumers, we have been driven to a point where we are bombarded with hundreds of choices that we have to make every time we purchase something. For example, when it comes to purchasing tech products, Schwartz went to his local consumer electronics store and found 42 different computers with various ways to customize each of them, 27 different printers, 110 different televisions, 50 different DVD players, and so forth (Schwartz, 2005, pp. 12–13). With all of the choices we have to make with everything we buy, it can become exhausting to be a consumer in the 21st century.
So, when Steve Jobs would get up on stage and announce that Apple is releasing a revolutionary new product — such as the iPod, the iPhone, or the iPad — and there was just one option, while we may not have been consciously aware at the time, this was incredibly alleviating for us as consumers. We didn’t have to think about what size we wanted, what model we wanted, what look we wanted, what features we wanted… There was just one, with the same look, and all the same features. The only choice you had to make was how much memory you wanted in the device.
Now, we have definitely come a long way since the initial introduction of these devices, and I’m not saying the choices that Apple has provided us with are bad. Starting with the iPhone 6 lineup, we have been offered the regular size and the Plus size options; the regular size being for the average consumer, and the Plus size adding a few bonus options for the more advanced user — larger screen, better camera, etc. While the choices we had to make between size, colour, and memory of the iPhone were still big choices, they were pretty straight-forward. You generally knew what kind of user you were and whether you wanted the smaller or bigger device, you probably had a colour you preferred, and you knew how much memory you needed on your phone.
However, at this year’s Apple Keynote Event in September, they launched three separate phones; the iPhone 8, the iPhone 8 Plus, and their “revolutionary” iPhone X. The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are essentially “7s” versions of the iPhone 7, with a similar physical design and a few notable upgrades. However, the iPhone X is The Future of iPhone, as Tim Cook described it (Apple, 2017), with its full-screen display, no home button or fingerprint sensor, and all new facial-recognition to unlock your phone and use Apple Pay.
Having had the iPhone 6 for three years now, I am ready for an upgrade, and I know I wanted to spring for Apple’s largest device with more features. I wanted the bigger screen and better camera, since I plan on selling my DSLR and using my iPhone as my main camera. In previous years, my decision would have already been made. But, as a consumer (read: user), Apple’s release of a completely different third option has presented a lot of issues for me and left me with an incredibly difficult decision to make:
- The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus were released September 22, but the iPhone X won’t be released until November 3rd. Do I want to wait for the iPhone X?
- Apple has reportedly been having issues with manufacturing enough units to supply the demand (iTwe4kz, 2017), even saying that it may not be until spring 2018 that everyone who wants to get an iPhone X will be able to get one. Should I wait for the X, or just get the 8 Plus now?
- The iPhone X is $260 CAD more than the iPhone 8 Plus, both of which have essentially the same features, except for the display, a (very) slightly different camera, and iPhone X’s face ID recognition. Is the iPhone X really worth the extra price?
- iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are the end of an old era for the iPhone, with the large “chin” with the home button and large “forehead.” Do I really want to spend $1,059 CAD on an iPhone 8 plus that will already feel incredibly outdated once the iPhone X comes out, and especially once new iPhones come out over the next two years?
I know, what terrible first-world problems to have. My point is, that Apple’s release of the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X has been a UX nightmare for many of their loyal customers. What they are left with are users who are underwhelmed with the first two options (iPhone 8 & 8 Plus), overwhelmed with the price of the third option (iPhone X), anxious for the premium option (iPhone X), and many users who will likely be incredibly upset once the premium version that they waited for is released, but they can’t get their hands on because of such limited supply.
I know Apple likely has many reasons for why they released these three phones simultaneously, such as manufacturing issues and trying to make enough units to meet supply in the given time frame, but it would have been nice for Apple to have just released an iPhone X base model and an X Plus version with some better features, or even all of the features the announced iPhone X has, with the base model having a few less features.
It has been rumoured that at next year’s iPhone keynote, Apple will be announcing an iPhone X and X Plus, as seen above (Lee, 2017). If this could have been done this year instead, it would have been more in line with what Apple has been known for doing; offering one product, with a maximum of three, rather minor options for the user to make.
In the meantime, I think I have decided to try and get the iPhone X. But each day I have the internal conflict of whether I want to spend the extra money, wait any longer for a phone I may not even be able to get because of limited supply, and whether I’d regret buying the iPhone 8 Plus; a phone created for the past and not the future. And I have a feeling I’m not alone.
Citations
Adams, S. (2009, December 1). [Comic Strip]. Retrieved October 5, 2017, from http://dilbert.com/strip/2009-12-01
Apple. (2017, September 12). IPhone — Compare Models. Retrieved October 05, 2017, from https://www.apple.com/ca/iphone/compare/
Apple. (2017, September 12). Watch the Apple Special Event. Retrieved October 05, 2017, from https://www.apple.com/ca/apple-events/september-2017/
[iTwe4kz]. (2017, September 27). How To Get An iPhone X On Launch Day! [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM1MUeP96f0 .
Lee, J. (2017, October 04). IPhone X Plus to Be Released in 2018 Reports Suggest. Retrieved October 05, 2017, from https://www.idropnews.com/rumors/iphone-x-plus/51494/
Schmidlin, K. (2016, September 9). Intro & Design Thinking. Lecture presented at the University of Waterloo, Stratford, ON.
Schwartz, B. (2005). The paradox of choice why more is less. New York: HarperCollins.
