A few days ago an Italian blog posted leaked screenshots of internal slides Microsoft used in April to define their future strategy for Windows 8 and mobile products. The slides clearly show that the guys over at Redmond have been keeping an eye on Apple, especially in regards to the user interface, interactions in the operating system and - yes - the App Store.
This is one of the slides I’m referring to. “This is something people will pay for!”, it screams. Basically, they’re saying that anything that “just works” and has low friction in UX is something people could pay for.
See, Microsoft, when I buy a new Apple product I don’t feel like I’m exactly paying for it. Ok, sure I’m paying for it - but with some differences. I feel like I’m buying my well deserved ticket to a new experience. When you buy a new microwave oven, you know you’re paying bucks for that. When you buy an iPad or an iPhone, you’re not paying for just a new gadget. Don’t let pissed Steve Jobs tell you so. You’re buying the whole experience, and there’s no price for that. There’s no slide that can prove it, because it’s only about taste, experience and genius.
Microsoft doesn’t get it because they still think everything is measurable in terms of money. Does a better UX cost more money? What if we rewrite the user interface, can we charge more for that? That’s where the difference with Apple is. They (Apple) don’t change things for money, they change things for the sake of changing you and making you want a new product. They introduced multitouch for changing the way we think of a mobile phone, and they announced the iPad for showing us that there was indeed place for something in between a phone and a computer. I guess you own both of them. They could have priced the iPad at $999 and still sell millions of them. They released something revolutionary, priced it aggressively (but pay attention, with a margin that’s profitable for them - they’re a company, ultimately) and focused on making people happy. Happy customers tell their friends to buy an iPad, and more customers mean more money. Money, taste, great design and focus on user experience can live together.
That’s what Microsoft doesn’t get. They’re stuck in the 80s, when a new computer costed more if it had more features and new chips. They don’t get it because it’s not really about paying, it’s about making the user fall in love with technology.
A happy user is a valuable customer. Millions of valuable happy customers is every company’s dream.
The question is, how do you get there?
