During WWDC, one of the most intriguing announcements was Apple’s Continuity, which lets you start a task like composing an email on your iPhone, and when you approach your Mac – you can take over from there. Seamless integration between user and their devices. It’s automatic. It’s where technology should be.
Apple Continuity
Is that the innovation we’ve come to expect from Apple? Many of us want those transformational innovations that Apple seemed to spawn for years. Continuity feels, well, continuous. I’m OK with that as it’s taking technology where I’ve asked it to be for years. I want my devices to know my proximity and allow me to take over with the most efficient form factor available to me.
The enabling factor for this is our ability to process data – large volumes of it, rapidly and accurately.
Immediate and Accurate
Information
Scott MacFarland discussed on the Huffington Post how “The immediacy and accuracy of real-time data transfer has become the norm. We now have the ability to share and connect with people, groups, and companies around the world pretty much instantaneously. The quality and ease of use of today’s digital channels are rapidly on the rise and many industries are getting in on the game.”
At the inaugural Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, Google showcased it’s driver-less car. “The project is about changing the world for people who are not well-served by transportation today,” Google co-founder Sergey Brin. To me, this showcased the power of the real-time data transfer Scott discusses.
Predictive Data
The next step will be combining the real-time data transfer with predictive models. We’ve built incredibly robust systems based on expressed intent. Google, Amazon and many others do amazing things when we ask for it. The web continues to “personalize” our experience from what it can infer about us based on the patterns we exhibit and the sites we’ve seen.
With smartphones and a growing wearables market, that same experience is going to enter more of the physical world. The gap between real-time data and predictive analytics will continue to close. And we’ll increase our ability to create products and services that not only satisfy our desires, but also ensures our safety. That’s the kind of stuff that gets my spider sense tingling.