Courtesy: GDGT
Alright, so I have unilaterally declared that Techgeist’s coverage of Apple’s iPod and iTunes announcement today will come in two parts. And that’s because there are two important things that came from today’s event that we haven’t talked about yet on the site. So here we go. Update: You can find part two here.
The Story
Unless you were living under a tech-shielded rock, you know that Apple, as they do every year, decided that today, 9/9/09 would be its day to update the iPod line. We all though they were going to announce having the Beatles on iTunes (finally), but that didn’t happen. What did happen was that iPhone OS 3.1 was rolled out, as was iTunes, which will have all those social features which are so smart (yes, that means Facebook and Twitter integration). One of the big additions to the to OS 3.1 is that there will now be a Genius feature for the App Store. Like the Genius feature in the PC version of iTunes, this will look at the apps you have installed and make recommendations as to what else you might want.
Why It Matters
First, let’s talk the benefit to the consumers. One of the things that’s been bugging me for a while is that it’s really hard to find good iPhone games. There are lots of websites for it (TouchArcade, Appvee, etc), but even reading those isn’t all that useful. The Genius feature, however, is something which will inform iPhone OS users about games they might find interesting. For example, let’s say you really like a certain category of puzzle game. The App Store Genius will be able to inform you of similar games. Now you can go to TouchArcade and the like and look for reviews. This makes looking for new games, and other apps, a whole lot less hazy of a process. I probably won’t get another Twitter client now that I have TweetDeck on my iPhone, but I certainly would like to know about interesting Twitter clients that come out.
Now for business. Genius could make Apple a whole mess more money than they’re already making now, and that’s saying something. In 2009, the App Store generated $720 million for Apple, which accounted for 2.2% of the company’s annual revenue. Anything which could encourage users to buy more apps means more money in the bank for Apple.
And the App Store Genius is going to be even more of a compelling salesman than that for the iTunes music store. Whereas consumers can choose to go with Amazon or one of many other, non-Apple retailers to get their digital music, there’s only one place for iPhone apps. And that’s the App Store. So if something catches your eye enough that you want to pay for it, that’s more money in Apple’s pocket. Plus, unlike with music, the App Store often features lite versions of the same products, and that chance to try it pre-purchase could push a lot of consumers into making that additional purchase.
