iPhone and the App Culture

September 9th is a day Apple fans have been waiting for. The official unveiling of the new generation iPhone means that the time has come for the retirement of my 2-year-old iPhone 5.

Yes, for me there is no second thought about getting my hands on the new iPhone. It does not matter if other competitors introduce new funky features, if the smartphone has a matte back cover or if it is water-proof with screen that will not crack as easily.

Apple’s iPhone has set the tone for the smartphone category in terms of design, look and feel, user experience and it is still a leader in the app ecosystem (from the aspect of the quality of apps and revenue).

Earlier in June 2014, Apple announced at the Worldwide Developer’s Conference that the App Store has recorded 75 billion downloads with 1.2 million apps available on the iOS platform.

No doubt, while Apple defined the modern smartphone with the launch of the iPhone in 2007, its head on competitor -- Samsung has been growing rapidly by offering the mid to high end smart devices to the market. Samsung has had little to none competition in the large-screen smart phone market. According to research firm International Data Corporation) IDC, since 2010 Samsung's share of the smartphone market has quadrupled to 31%.

The anticipated introduction of a pair of larger iPhone models could shake Samsung’s advantage.

Reports and leaked images on tech blogs indicated that Apple is preparing to roll out both a 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 6.

When the new iPhone hits the market, a new round of the battle of the giants will commence.

Call me biased but ever since I moved on from a feature phone to the Apple mobile ecosystem, there is no turning back. For the longest time, the Nokia feature phone was my best friend. My humble feature phone had witnessed and hosted countless messages and calls that marked significant moments in my life; I literally grew up with the Finnish-manufactured product.

The official launch of the iPhone 4 in Malaysia in late 2010 changed everything for me. For the first time, I experienced the wonder of mobile applications (apps). Often times at tech related events, the techies would say “there is an app for this” (inspired by Apple’s iPhone 3G commercial "There's An App For That" in year 2009) — from productivity to social, education to health, entertainment to games, the world of apps opened up a host of new possibilities.

Before the era of smart devices, downloading software over the Internet and installing it was only for the tech savvy. In my case, it was my cousin who did most of the download and installation for the family computer. However since Apple launched the App Store in 2008, users of the iPhone, iPod, and iPad have discovered that discovering, downloading, and even paying for software can be easy and exciting.

The app culture has become so mainstream that as an end user, I would find it disappointing if a web based product does not has an app for it. Whenever I meet a business owner I often ask “your service sounds great, I like it. Are you launching an app soon?” because if I like your product I will want to have access to it even as I am on the go. While you may connect and interact with your end users via social media platform, you will want your product information and services to be readily accessible by the users even when they are out of home or office – thus creating an all rounded consumer experience. It makes perfect sense isn’t it?

As the world set their eyes on the new generation of iPhone, I would like you to join me for a walk down the memory lane to catch the memorable "There's An App For That" Apple commercial – because it is the Apple’s app ecosystem that does it for me. Without a kick-ass app ecosystem and user experience, the Apple iPhone would have been just another fancy invention.