What we can learn from the iPhone 6 release

While the new iPhone still isn’t waterproof, Apple’s announcement last week excited consumers with new products and improved models. And it clearly must be what people want, as the new iPhone 6 Plus has already sold out in the U.S. after only becoming available for preorder on Friday.

Though I am an iPhone user and have every intention to remain one, I’m not trying to suggest Apple is perfect. But they continue to be large players in their space because they’re not afraid to try different ideas.

Here are four things the marine industry can take away from the latest announcement from Apple.

Yesterday’s bad ideas are today’s innovation

In 2010, Steve Jobs was famously quoted as saying “No one is going to buy a big phone.” At the time it was a fair, albeit snarky, assertion to make, as users wanted cellular phones that could be used easily with one hand.

However, the phablet fad is booming so heavily that they are expected to outpace portable PC shipments this year. Though Apple mocked the idea years ago, they are willing to change their mind to meet marketplace requirements with the release of larger phones. Yes, they have their tail between their legs a bit, but it’s better to admit you’re wrong than stick to a product model that is no longer profitable.

Always be improving

I will admit I immediately jumped on the iPhone 5s bandwagon when it released, as it was a significant improvement from the iPhone 4 I owned at the time. But I’m not a cell phone junkie: I didn’t anticipate feeling the urge to upgrade my barely-a-year-old phone. It couldn’t be that much different, right?

Now here I am, drooling over the latest iPhone models, wishing so desperately for an excuse to upgrade. What changed my mind? The overwhelming improvements to the battery life through the iPhone 6 Plus. It has millions of other iPhone users and me absolutely giddy about the possibility of not requiring a midday charge.

Understand your customers’ negative feedback about your product or services, explore ways to improve them and use it as a selling tool. You’ll have your customers right where you want them, just like Apple has me.

Reimagine your product’s uses

A cell phone’s use as a traditional phone is an increasingly smaller priority for consumers. Apple users care more about sending messages or having a high-tech camera in their pocket. Your iPhone can even be used to pay for food now in some cases.

These are unimaginable desires compared to the original objective of a cell phone. But Apple understands that as technology continues to improve, you have to deconstruct how you view your product and envision its other capabilities. Are there ways this thought process could be applied to your own business?

Waterproof iPhones are an inevitability

Just kidding. Even with all of Apple’s technological pioneering this may be a pipe dream. And yet…

What did you take away from Apple’s announcement last week? Will the waterproof phone ever become a reality?