iPhone 5 is there, so is iOS6 and its new features. Personally, I am very interested in the Passbook function of iOS6.
It seems that the new iOS6 Passbook has caught the eyeballs of a few business juggernauts. Delta, American Airlines, Starbucks, Ticket Master, Walgreens, and Target, just to name a few.
The iOS6 Passbook claims to integrate its users' boarding passes, retail coupons, movie tickets, loyalty cards, etc all in one; it makes them readily swipable or scannable on the device without presenting any physical form of them. It claims to offer convenience through organizing and sending alerts about expiration or updates information of the above listed. To me, it seems to be a good idea as I am a coupon person and hold many membership cards of many companies. I would love to see a less occupied wallet as I could put away those cards that take up most of the space.
But criticism has come along as well. According to an article on Forbes, Passbook does not only lack the intuitive nature that has been defining the Apple products, but also seems like a less than fully baked product that could have been a lot better. And that there are only more than a handful of brands that are ready to be used on Passbook, who yet still requires download and update through the Apple website. These seem to be some limitations that can cause quite some UX problems.
However, being under-developed means more space for improvement. Hopefully Apple will be able to keep up with it and more business will be participating in Passbook to make it really more convenient by saving time and space and money for the users. I'm hoping by making things digital, Passbook may also help to save a lot of the unnecessary plastic cards that are printed and be more environmental friendly as a result.
References:
Apple Passbook images:
http://www.apple.com/ios/whats-new/?cid=wwa-us-kwg-features-00001&siclientid=6381&sessguid=e3e39672-7486-40d8-be3e-65eb63a5e567&userguid=e3e39672-7486-40d8-be3e-65eb63a5e567&permguid=e3e39672-7486-40d8-be3e-65eb63a5e567
Forbes Article:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/09/20/apples-ios-6-passbook-not-ready-for-prime-time-players/
It seems that the new iOS6 Passbook has caught the eyeballs of a few business juggernauts. Delta, American Airlines, Starbucks, Ticket Master, Walgreens, and Target, just to name a few.
The iOS6 Passbook claims to integrate its users' boarding passes, retail coupons, movie tickets, loyalty cards, etc all in one; it makes them readily swipable or scannable on the device without presenting any physical form of them. It claims to offer convenience through organizing and sending alerts about expiration or updates information of the above listed. To me, it seems to be a good idea as I am a coupon person and hold many membership cards of many companies. I would love to see a less occupied wallet as I could put away those cards that take up most of the space.
But criticism has come along as well. According to an article on Forbes, Passbook does not only lack the intuitive nature that has been defining the Apple products, but also seems like a less than fully baked product that could have been a lot better. And that there are only more than a handful of brands that are ready to be used on Passbook, who yet still requires download and update through the Apple website. These seem to be some limitations that can cause quite some UX problems.
However, being under-developed means more space for improvement. Hopefully Apple will be able to keep up with it and more business will be participating in Passbook to make it really more convenient by saving time and space and money for the users. I'm hoping by making things digital, Passbook may also help to save a lot of the unnecessary plastic cards that are printed and be more environmental friendly as a result.
References:
Apple Passbook images:
http://www.apple.com/ios/whats-new/?cid=wwa-us-kwg-features-00001&siclientid=6381&sessguid=e3e39672-7486-40d8-be3e-65eb63a5e567&userguid=e3e39672-7486-40d8-be3e-65eb63a5e567&permguid=e3e39672-7486-40d8-be3e-65eb63a5e567
Forbes Article:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/09/20/apples-ios-6-passbook-not-ready-for-prime-time-players/