Image Source : Hickman. (2020, July 15).Staying in Control of the “Apple Ecosystem.”
The UX field is primed to move beyond just designing applications, and it's now time to talk about the seamless experience of products in an ecosystem built around the user. This article discusses how Apple users are obliviously entrapped into its ecosystem on three different levels - product level, ecosystem level, and business level. As a future product/ experience designer, I am prodded to reflect provocatively from the perspective of both someone who is trapped in the apple ecosystem and as an aspiring designer, which raises the question of what my role and responsibility is and what are aspects I need to understand as a designer when designing a system such as this.
Keywords: Apple Ecosystem, entrapment, hooks, aesthetics,
Biologists generally use the term "ecosystem" to describe the deep interdependent relationships between biological communities (plants, animals, and microbes) and their physical environment (elements like air, water, and soil), interacting as a system.
In our world of online apps and electronic devices today, there lies a similar ecosystem. For example, we use smartphones, PCs, voice assistants, smart TVs, and IoT all synced with one another, enabling us with this era of convenience based on users' use of the content and services that flow between these devices. So, in our technological world, an ecosystem can be described as how well this community of interacting objects works together (Apple Newsroom 2020).
The Apple ecosystem is not something that can be purchased from the Apple store. In other words, it is a lifestyle choice that is borne out of owning/ made to own several Apple products. It always starts with one apple product. Apple does not design a single product, but they design products around the ecosystem, keeping the user at its center and building experiences around the user (Erwinkarim, 2021). Everything within this ecosystem works perfectly well in cohesion with one another, which is why a customer does not stop at one apple product but is enticed to buy other products mainly because of the convenience induced by using all its products together. And Apple has figured out a way to keep the user in the system by building a wall around the user in providing these experiences through its products in the ecosystem. As MKBHD says, living inside this ecosystem is like a "Walled Garden" (Brownlee, 2018) – a beautiful aesthetic luscious garden which is everything one could ever want, and these walls on the outside are really tall, and one cannot easily climb out to experience what's out there, thus hooking the user within its ecosystem.
I do not claim that end users do not have a choice in this case. They are obviously responsible to an extent for their activities and choices. Crabb and Stern (2010) posit that there are two aspects in which everyday technological activities are not wholly voluntary. One is how technologies compel the users to use them by virtue of their design aesthetics and function that exert control over the users' motivational process (Apple Newsroom 2020). Users can perform tasks with ease and convenience, resulting in a sense of trust and dependence on technology and sometimes even have affection for it. (Dzindolet, Pierce, Beck, & Dawe, 2002; LaFrance, 1996; Muir, 1994; Skitka, Mosier, & Burdick, 2000).
Second, technology has become "arbitrary" to the natural world (Ellul, 1954/1964). At many instances end users do not have a choice but to use the technologies that is imposed on them. These details shall be discussed further with examples. In the same context I bring about different levels of hooks brought about in Apple to keep the user in the system – Product level, Ecosystem level and Business level. We realize that the whole ecosystem entrapment is a capitalist approach to keep users in the system and benefit from these hooks. Based on my observations of apple users in my circle in the Apple ecosystem and my own experience, I discuss these different levels.
The Figure 1 shows the different levels of hook established in the Apple ecosystem. These start at the center which is the Product level which overlaps with the ecosystem level, the ecosystem level that overlaps with the business level as one level leads to another. The user is positioned at the border of the product level, where everything seems like a beautiful garden with everything that the user feels he/she/they need. The user is unaware of the traps laid at this level. As the levels increase the different levels have factors that influence at each level. Eg. at the center of the product level, Necessity of the product is at its core. We shall discuss the remaining in detail going forward.
iPhone is generally the first touchpoint for a user to enter the apple ecosystem. The device itself is laid out so articulately to induce a sense of happiness. Apple was not in the business of making smartphones until 2007. They made the experience of using the smartphone better than any handheld device in the industry (Salim, 2020, February 29). The devices are useful and beautiful and invoke emotion, feelings, mood, and motivation (Norman, 2002). Apple has carefully created this Aesthetic interaction, so the user feels that what they are using is supreme.
'You've got to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology. You can't start with the technology and try to figure out where can I sell it.' - Steve Jobs
The central theme of user experience is focusing on the users rather than technology. A good design is informed by a thorough understanding of users, the tasks they wish to perform, and the environment in which those tasks are carried out (Travis, 2021). Apple has perfectly understood this and followed through it on all its devices. Mac Os is known for its seamless operations between tasks, and it is so good that competitors are still struggling to achieve the performance to its level (Dormehl, 2021). Users fall into the system for the necessities but there are also other ways that the user just feels apple is the right choice.
As social creatures, our lives are often influenced by those around us and we adapt our behavior or actions according to those influences. (Cialdini, 2001). For example, we might pick a certain food at a restaurant because a friend recommended it. Robert Cialdini coined the theory of social proof. A similar effect is found in Apple products. Users tend to associate iPhones with a good status in society and exhibit the behaviors of social proof embracing the 'reward of the tribe' culture from Nir Eyal's Hooked Model (Eyal, Hoover, 2019). It is known to be a luxury brand often. They believe owning an iPhone sets them on a higher status in this society. For example, if someone's an android user, the concern would be for the specs like RAM, camera, Storage refresh rate, etc. But when it comes to iPhones, specification is secondary even if it is a limitation (e.g. customization, 4G/5G compatibility, storage, keyboard swipe, dual sim capability, etc.) Most users only relate to the model's name, and even fewer know its basic specifications.
Researchers have discovered that Apple has cult-like followings of customers who are loyal to the brand and view it as sacred (Liu, Wang, 2020). These customers are often called "iSheep" due to their seemingly unwavering loyalty to Apple According to a survey (Dormehl, 2015) conducted earlier this year, 78% of iPhone users "couldn't imagine having a different type of phone".
Airpods are a prime example of an ecosystem trap. Apple removed the headphone jack and forced users to buy Airpods (200$) to solve the problem they created. Initially, people were annoyed but later adapted to it. Adapting is good for our evolution, but at the same time, when these adaptations are so overpriced, the user is forced to comply as they're already invested in the ecosystem.
Moving outside the Product level falls the ecosystem level where the user experiences the real convenience of owning more than one Apple device. The iPhone is only a shepherding tool used to lure users into the system, and it is only the beginning to entice the user for the next hook.
You start with one product; you don't stop at it. You feel the need to buy more, sometimes beyond one's ability to afford, just because it is simply so easy to be in the system. I first acquired an Apple device because I needed to sketch and take notes as a designer. I am also a photographer, and I frequently use Lightroom and Photoshop for editing purposes. My self-proclaimed "powerful" Windows system is much harder to use than the iPad, which is so much smaller and lighter in size. It's a tiny powerhouse! I'm questioning my decision to go with Windows at this point. This is why apple is perfect as a product and for all of its functionalities. Instead of feeling like it is a hefty application on my Windows, I simply sync my photos into Lightroom and edit them over iPad. However, now I wonder how this would work on a Mac? MacBook? I use Lightroom on my Android device. Besides file transfer, drive or photos, I do not have any easy way to sync photos from Android to Windows. The same transaction over Apple - iPhone -> iCloud (sync) -> Mac -> iPad = Image editing, Process, Export. It's easy as that! The ease of file transfer using Airdrop in the current Bluetooth and third-party application transfer is no comparison. Even if it is just one task, this seamless interaction between devices makes users want more. A user enters this system once it's not easy to turn your back against it.
Apple has a very good portfolio around its products. If I own an iPhone and intend to buy a smartwatch, it only makes sense that I choose an Apple watch. Apple pencil when you need a stylus for your iPad. There is an apple product for everything that a user would need. Apple has figured out a way to keep the user in the ecosystem. Why would the user leave? They provide lots of convenience in their products, and that is exactly what Apple wants to do. Offer features that are magical, and which is true – they work so seamlessly. These products are designed to be as exceptionally good as possible, but they are designed to keep you in the hooks rooted in the ecosystem and make you buy more apple products. On the surface or behind these walls, some features seem limited/useless, e.g., Homepod limitations with only apple music and Siri and no headphone jack. It is perfect for a person who uses iPhone, iCloud, Apple Music. So, for the complete experience, one needs to have the whole ecosystem. Users generally feel it is worth the investment when other devices can achieve the same tasks. It's frustrating that I like the product so much that I keep convincing myself not to fall for one of the hooks.
In light of this, we must ask if the user can leave this ecosystem? Leaving an ecosystem is easier said than done. The iCloud account is tied to everything, so to remove everything from this system, we must detach the iCloud account from everything and import it into the new service. It brings me back to the days when we had Nokia cellular phones and we had to import our contacts via messages or sims to switch devices. But the ecosystem only becomes more complex with time. The closer the device is to iCloud, the more hooks it has in the ecosystem, making it more difficult to remove. If one is using Apple music and wants to shift to Spotify, it is simply not possible to transfer the entire music library to Spotify. This sounds so laborious to even think about it. When you leave the ecosystem, you give up the app store, iMessage, iCloud, HomePods become useless, we loose the reminders and tasks, and an apple watch cannot function without an iPhone.
A typical Apple user would still skip another phone if it had a better screen, better battery, better storage, or even a headphone jack, because they are so heavily invested in the ecosystem. They have to convince themselves that the grass is still greener on their side.
This hook is outside of the user's purview as he is completely unaware of this hook as this is happening at an industry level. Apple is not just targeting the users but also the users of its competitors. Apple has absolute authority over what programs can be added to the device. As an example, consider the remora fish, also known as a sucker fish, commonly found on sharks. In addition to providing them with food, the sharks protect the remora from predators and allow them to travel freely throughout the ocean. The remora prevents harmful organisms from growing on the shark's body. Sharks don't benefit much from remoras, and it is not a symbiotic relationship. The Remoras are only safe as long as the shark decides to do so.
Apple is also known for its 'copy acquire kill' strategy when dealing with potential competitors. Multiple small businesses enter the app store with a feature, and Apple is known to remove them from the app store and implement the same feature in its device. The Watson app, a popular third-party tool that supplemented Sherlock's capabilities, was crushed when Apple copied the features and included them in Mac OS X 10.2. It is now known popularly by Spotlight (Lovejoy, 2020).
Another current example is how Apple's Find My Network Program offered new third-party finding experiences. (Kirschner, Shanahan, 2021). Apple AirTags replicate the same functionality as the Tile tags which has been there since 2013. They both help a user find whatever they are attached to. But apple uses its ecosystem network to find the intended object using the AirTags. This frictionlessly happens in the background and is far more powerful than the Tiles community mesh network connected only through another tile app user. When Apple opened its find my network for third party use, it also meant that Tile could use Apple's network, but it also meant that users need not use the Tile app to find the object. This puts Tile in a compromising situation and the tech industry calls it a Paradox of choice.
• If Tile does make its tag Apple-friendly that means the tile users are accessing Apple's network, and there is a sense of realization that they could have picked Apple AirTag instead, which surprisingly is in the same price range as Tile.
• If Tile decides not to participate, it would eventually miss out on potential sales, and their less appealing network would go extinct as people opt for the ones that are more deeply networked.
Tile is in the same precarious position as remora fish. Either it swims off to the rest of the ocean, or it swims with the shark. The tech industry eagerly awaits the final showdown. Thus, Apple's main target is the users of its competitors and not just the competitors themselves. If Apple decides to do so, it can destroy the competition.
In summary, we understood that an ecosystem is how well a community of interacting objects work together. We then understood the seamless interaction created by the Apple Walled Garden of an ecosystem (Brownlee, 2018). The importance it gives to the user at its center by building experience around them. Finally we understood how Apple is determined to acquire all the users and at the same time keep the existing users in its system. These levels of hooks reveal a subtly hidden capitalist approach of entrapment of users within its ecosystem and a strategical approach of acquiring users of their competitors, where we, as users, become oblivious influencers in the loop of this approach.
At each stage, I reflected as a user and an observer, which brings me to some prevalent question from this synthesis. Am I aware that these walls exist? What kind of entrapments do I face when I buy any product in this era of technology? How deep am I hooked into the system? Is it too late to unhook myself? There is no right answer to this as Apple only provides an option but is it really an option is what users need to be mindful about.
Apple is just one case study I have presented in this paper but there are also other similar ecosystems that are evolving like Google, Amazon, Adobe, etc., and are expanding every day. All of these companies might have similar walls of entrapment that can be long, short, or no walls.
Based on my learnings and understandings from the Foundations of HCI course, I have reflected both as a designer and as a user at all these different levels in the ecosystem. Being a user and an observer, I have been able to understand technology's role as a social actor and the politics involved in the Apple ecosystem. A user is an oblivious influencer at the core of the entire ecosystem. Now, as a designer, what do I need to take away from this whole synthesis? Building on this reflection about me as a user, I provide a provocative reflection of how this influenced me as an experience designer. I have a few questions on the back of my head that I want to carry with me while I enter this whale of an industry.
From a Product level; How aware am I of the different levels in the ecosystem? Am I setting any hooks for the user in any ways? How much should I think of ecosystem level and business level? Do I need to take any precautions or measures at this level? How much power or influence do I as a Designer have at this level? Do I have any limitations or restrictions?
From an Ecosystem level; Am I aware of the Business level? What kind of influence do I have at this level? How is the designer's role defined within the ecosystem? What are the designer's responsibilities? What guarantees can I offer at this level? (Gray, Boling, 2016) During the design of this ecosystem, was I as a Designer aware of all these hooks? Did I do it intentionally? Or are was I helpless?
From a Business level; Generally Design roles cannot extend to business levels as this would fall under the management and marketing departments so the question that is provoked here is: Do I have the power as a designer at this level? If I as a designer had the power at this level what can I do? Can I be responsible at this level? How would this entire entrapment deconstruct the walls from this business level?
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Apple hits 1.5 billion active devices with ~80% of recent iPhones and iPads running iOS 13 : https://9to5mac.com/2020/01/28/apple-hits-1-5-billion-active-devices-with-80-of-recent-iphones-and-ipads-running-ios-13/
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