The Mac. The iPod. The Iphone.
Apple has made quite significant contributions to the way we experience personal technology. In fact, I think you could easily argue that Apple’s greatest legacy is its products. All three products completely defined their categories and influenced all attempts to follow their successful paths.
For example, there is no doubt that the iPhone is one of the most notable inventions of the past 20 years. Beside the personal computer, it may be the most revolutionary piece of technology – ever. It completely transformed the way we connect and communicate with the world around us in ways that were unimaginable before being presented on stage by Steve Jobs in 2007.
Or perhaps Apple is known as the champion of privacy. The company has taken a highly public stand against many of the practices of other technology companies that track user information and monetize it with targeted advertising. Apple’s view that privacy is “a fundamental human right” has not only benefited consumers, it has also raised awareness about how much of our data is collected by the applications and services we use every day. This is certainly a noble contribution.
Tim Cook, however, says it is not one of those things that will define Apple’s legacy, at least in terms of what people will think was its biggest contribution. As CEO of the most valuable company on the planet, it is intriguing to hear what he believes Apple will be known for when people look back in 20 or 50 years.
In an interview with Outside Magazine, Cook repeated what he said earlier about the most important contribution he thinks Apple is making:
“I really believe,” he adds, “that if you look to the future and look back and ask, ‘What was Apple’s biggest contribution?’ will be in the area of health and well-being. “
I think it must certainly be argued that Apple has done more to raise the amount of information that people now have about their own well-being. A recent report by analyst Above Avalon suggests that there are now 100 million Apple Watch users and that 35 percent of Americans who own an iPhone also have an Apple Watch on their wrist.
Apple Watch, in particular, made it possible to track all types of data in a way that was not accessible before. This does not mean that there are no other devices that can help you monitor your fitness, but there are none that are so deeply integrated into the iPhone – a device used by more than 1 billion people today.
In addition, Apple launched Fitness +, a subscription service that uses your Apple Watch to monitor your activity while you participate in video workouts. This may not seem like a big deal, but when you consider that most people had to radically change their routine during home stay requests and disconnections, making this type of service so easily available is a definite win.
Few companies have the existing platform, or scale, to move the cursor on health and wellness in the way that Apple can. The company has partnered with healthcare professionals and researchers on everything from cardiac studies to Covid-19 detection up to a week earlier.
Finally, it may be that the privacy commitment has as much to do with it as anything else. There is something to be said for a company that has built a reputation for protecting user data, which is no small matter when you use a device that is constantly generating data about what you are doing and how your body is reacting.
Leveraging this reputation and scale to help people gain a better understanding of their health and provide them with viable information to do something about it is certainly a valuable contribution.