[UX] Innovative idea (Apple's lightening cable)

Apple has been tried to innovate their products so much, and especially one of the most innovative things is the cable, “lightening cable”. Many of manufacturers just changed their functions or parts in the product not like the cable. This approach is very sensational and successful to user experiences side.

Today, I'd like to review mobile cable design case. You know there are many types of cables long time ago.

Each manufacturer has their own type of cable, and they never standardized the type of cables. Mostly, USB cable gender was already unified to connect to a computer, by the way.

Anyway, I just want to focus on the mobile case. Since Android OS launched, the cable for Android phone was not standardized by each company. The only one company that tried to make their cable unify to all devices like ipod, iphone, ipad. They have had the same connect to all their devices but anyway Android devices hasn't like that.

However, it's not a long time since the the same connector was used to most Android devices because you know it's very hard to use the same one to lot's of devices. That means most companies should accept it so I think it's very slow to be unified.

Nowadays we can usually use the same connector to almost all of Android devices, and surely Apple has used the same one to their products though.

By the way, I have thought that those cables were not so comfortable when I use them to connect with the device. I meant I hardly know which way of the cable is correct or not without any consciousness, so I always have to check the way of cable before I connect that to the device for charging or exchanging data.

cable changes for apple devices (left is the lightening cable)

However, you know Apple changed their cables from right one to left one. Can you guess what this means? Apparently, this means lots of people who has still used their devices with the right cable can't use the cable anymore for the new Apple's devices. If you already lots of accessories like audio dock, charging dock, or something to use the right cable, you might be so frustrated about this big change.

You know this is very important for them to make a decision when they buy the product, and they have loyalties with this for sure. Anyway, when I heard about this change, I was so wondering why Apple decided to change their connector type even if they could lose their customers.

I was not a customer who were using Apple's product at that time so I just thought that was not my business though. Moreover, I was not interested in their product at that time at all. I just bought iPAD mini this September, and a couple of days ago, I was so shocked at the change in their connector.

At the first time, I just knew that they changed the size of connector. Yes! It was lighter and smaller than the right one. Left one is brand-new compared to the right one, by the way. When I knew that, that was not so interesting to me. It was just a small cable, and I just thought why they just changed the size of the cable even if they gave up the compatibility to their previous products.

I have hated this approach that some companies don't consider their loyal users. Sometimes they just force the user to buy a new product without more supports for their previous products. You know that always sucks.

gender type of the cables (left is the lightening cable)

However, I recognized that they also tried to improve the inconvenience for their users. As I said, I had to check the right way of the cable before I put it in the device because there was the only right way to connect like the right one, but they change the connector to the left one, and I can just put it in any ways to connect. That means I don't have to think which way is correct or not before I connect it.

I think they have tested a lot of users who are using their products, and they have been interested in what the users have been telling about their products. Apple make users free in the inconvenience. I think this is a very important point.

Why did they change the type of the cable, even if that is not compatible to the previous launched product? Now, I know what they intended about that.

On the user interface point, both of them are not so different because they are all the cables to connect the device, but on the user experience point, those are totally different as far as I think. You know you don't have to be conscious when you connect the cable to the device. I believe that Apple made a great job in UX like that.

I think that an innovation is not just brand-new. It should improve something uncomfortable too. When something is just new and unnecessary, we never call it innovative thing. I have seen some stupid people who are thinking about what an innovation is just new, even if it is not so useful to users.

However, I don't mean that something new is not so important in an innovation. I meant that an innovation should follow people's needs at least.

I'd like to say "How beautiful approach it is".

I wish many people would know this kind of approach is what we need to improve our life, if you are an expert in UX area at least...