2023-09-16 13:30:00
If I ask you to think of a memorable event of Apple, or at some specific moment in a keynote that stood out to you, I bet most of you will search the memory archives for something involving a person on a stage, perhaps accompanied by applause or laughter from the audience, right?
In 1999, Phil Schiller jumped off a platform to prove that the iBook had wireless connectivity.
Well then. The last time something like this could happen was in September 2019, when Tim Cook and his troupe presented the release dates for Apple Arcade It’s from Apple TV+, o seventh generation iPado Apple Watch Series 5and the genesis of the Pro line with the iPhone 11.
Since then, we have evidently gone through a pandemic that forced Apple to improvise and adapt the way it presents its products. The in-person event left the scene and the event entered 100% pre-recorded.
The first experiment with this format was in March 2020, when Apple announced by surprise, in a video lasting just over 2 minutes, the arrival of support for mice and trackpads on the iPadOS. In June of the same year, the WWDC20 with the embryo of what would become this new complete format.
Just over three years later, the situation is already much more under control. After the end of lockdown In the United States, the company began to welcome journalists and developers to Apple Park again for its events, but maintained the dynamics of the recorded presentation. And that is a great shame.
Press play
Even before the pandemic, ultra-produced videos weren’t exactly new to Apple’s presentations. During the event September 2019for example, the company displayed 12 pre-recorded videosincluding long TV commercials, creative concepts for each product, and even the series trailer “See”.
Still, a quick browse through this video also brings up things like Phil Schiller on stage detailing — with his characteristic irreverence — the cameras of the new iPhones, Greg Joswiak introducing the seventh generation iPad and Tim Cook acting as master of ceremonies, passing the ball between presenters and applause that heightened the impact of each segment.
Schiller presenting the iPhone 11 Pro
Of course, video segments are nothing new at Apple events. Even in Stevenotes, as the events hosted by Steve Jobs were called, there was the occasional showing of one commercial or another. But product demonstrations and the presentation of their benefits were always live, opening space for unforeseen events so memorable as well as the best products presented.
There’s no doubt that each pre-recorded, ultra-polished presentation gives Apple a creative freedom that in-person events did not allow. They even allow the fun games with Craig Federighi which have already become a trademark at WWDC.
At the same time, every event over the past three years has seemed to leave a much smaller legacy than the live performances. Rewatching some of these events, I noticed a pattern: everything looks absolutely epic, but nothing is memorable. Today, the impression is that we are watching press releases in video format, permeated by endless tours of a invisible roller coaster inside Apple Park.
Unforeseen events happen
There should be nothing worse than investing billions of dollars in the creation and development of a feature, meticulously planning the best possible way to present it to the world, rehearsing everything exhaustively, creating great expectations, moving people from all corners of the planet to show it live for the first time and… Not work.
The first demonstration of Face ID left Craig Federighi in the lurch.
A pre-recorded video obviously eliminates this type of possibility. But it also eliminates some of the magnitude of the ad. Who watched the Olympics during the pandemic and didn’t miss the sound of the public encouraging the athletes and reacting to each record broken? If you didn’t, maybe you don’t mind the pre-recorded events either. And everything is fine. Lucky for you, you have more fun these days! ????
There is another aspect to this: the suspense inherent in the risk of presenting something new live. And that was always part of the fun. Every time someone took the stage at an Apple event to announce something surprising and then said “let me demonstrate,” the person’s tension was palpable. It was like watching someone about to walk a tightrope.
And it was not for less. Both the person and we knew that this was the moment of truth and all the work of the last few months (or years!) of hundreds of people would culminate in glory or misfortune in a matter of seconds. Most of the time, it worked; and when it didn’t work, it was never anything that a few nervous laughs and a little elbow grease couldn’t solve.
Science experiment goes wrong at WWDC09.
The new normal
Apparently, Apple does not intend to return to the old event format anytime soon. And perhaps it shouldn’t, after all, there are probably those who see the old format as an outdated dynamic.
It is undeniable that the new format gives total controle about each aspect of the presentation, in addition to enabling a much more opulent end result, even if more pasteurized. Even the competition surrendered to this style, to no one’s surprise.
And perhaps the problem lies precisely there. By trying to make its events more epic, Apple has made them less unique. And for a company that has always sought to launch products that only it can make, it would be nice for its events to follow the same line again.
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