I purchased two new technologies for my family this Christmas, a new WiFi enabled Roomba and an eero mesh network WiFi router. What do they have in common? They both have simple, elegant and amazing mobile apps that help configure the technology.
This is as it should be.
You see smartphones are not really phones, they are mobile computers. And they are packed with connectivity and sensors. They are superior to laptops because they have many uses and configuring and running your Roomba is a perfect example.
I found it very interesting how useful and easy the mobile app was to configure the eero router. I was simply amazed at how easy it was. It was because of the capabilities of a smartphone and a well designed app that focused on the user setting up a router.
Using mobile apps to interface with hardware is nothing new, but how eero and iRobot did it, was the key. They both created native apps that followed the iOS UI/UX guidelines. That was key. They both knew the main mission of the mobile app was to help consumers setup complex technology. Both companies also spent a great deal of time, money and energy into designing their technology to be able to communicate with a smartphone. That was also a key aspect of the ease of setup and configuration.
Software Ops is currently working with a client who has new technology for an already established market. We are creating elegant mobile apps for this client, I will announce our involvement when they release their product. We are using a combination of beacon technology in conjunction with the “always connected” smartphone to vastly improve the user interaction and expertise with this technology.
Using a mobile app to setup and configure technology is just now impacting every day consumers. I say this, because I’m now seeing, and am involved with companies who are putting in the time, money and energy to do it right.