From the app developers, I definitely learned something important from the latest version of Apple: even the titans of the industry make programming errors and face disasters.
And the magnitude of the bugs is astonishing, remember that Apple was forced to withdraw the iOS 8.0.1 update just a few days after its release.
All businesses, not just developers, can learn a lot from Apple's mistakes.
Don't let past mistakes haunt you
Steve Jobs was the ultimate leader of the company. Intelligent but also blunt with colleagues and customers. In response to complaints that the iPhone 4 had no signal in 2010, Jobs said, “It’s not a problem. Just avoid holding it [the phone] that way.”
The answer, of course, didn't sit well with the company's customers, and after their protests, Jobs apologized: "If you're still not happy, you can bring your iPhone 4 back intact for a full refund."
But the damage was done. Apple eventually accepted responsibility, but its customers and journalists agreed that they shouldn't have had a more reasonable answer to the problem sooner. Apple moved past it, but these incidents tend to have a cumulative effect. This incident has haunted Apple ever since.
The lesson? Your company has a history. This is especially true today with social media. Your best bet is to prevent problems through a more diligent approach to all your work.
Never mention that your competitor's features are unnecessary
“Nobody is going to buy a big phone,” Apple’s Steve Jobs argued in 2010. Jobs was referring to Samsung’s large Galaxy S smartphone, and insisted that “nobody is going to buy them.”
Of course, Samsung didn't forget, and so the response that came on Twitter after the presentation of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus was probably expected.
The lesson? Don't discredit the competition when you're not completely sure about something.
Don't make your enemies your biggest fans
Sure, every tech geek has seen the videos or read the stories about iPhone 6s bending. Apple's initial reaction was silence.
A few days later, the company issued a scathing response: “Under normal use, iPhone bending is extremely rare, and after six days of sales, a total of nine customers had a bent iPhone 6 Plus,” Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said. Social media quickly dubbed the issue #bendgate, and a near-hysterical parody erupted with hundreds of clever tweets.
The fact that Apple admitted the problem that nine users had is not accountability. The number is irrelevant.
Apple could have thanked the 9 new owners who reported the problem and brought it to their attention.
The lesson? Always try to use criticism to your advantage. Your users are trying to help you by finding bugs and reporting problems. Be grateful and not at all sarcastic.
Do you think Apple is big enough to suffer any financial loss? The company has long earned a reputation for producing quality products. This has given it a credit of time. Most small and medium-sized businesses do not have this important advantage. They do not have any credit of time. If your business’s new “iOS 8” does not work well, your customers will not have the patience for you to provide them with a better product.
Final lesson: It takes time and a commitment to quality to build a reputation that can withstand scrutiny and the worst criticism. In April 2014, Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “You want to take your time and do it right? Our goal has never been to be first. Our goal is to be the best. Doing things right takes time.”
Maybe he should have listened to his own advice. It's never too late.
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The article was published by Ran Rachlin in TNW.
Ran Rachlin is the co-founder and CEO of Ubertesters, a global provider of a comprehensive, cloud-based mobile app beta testing management tool.
