iPhone Turns 15, Initial Quality Takes A Dive, Adults Crave More Mindspace

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On this beautiful Summer Day we’re talking about the birthday of the iPhone and it’s impact on society. We also cover JD Power’s Initial Quality survey and how things aren’t trending in the right direction, as well as new report from the American Psychiatric Association showing that a large portion of the adult population are too stressed to do normal things and what we can do about it. 

• 15 Year Anniversary of the public release of the iPhone. June 29, 2007
  • Biggest player at the time was Blackberry with the Curve
  • “Truly, we just thought this was gonna be a fun, easy-to-use thing when you want to do a few messages,” Tony Fadell, a former senior Apple executive who worked on the original iPhone, told the WSJ. “We didn’t think it was going to become the center of your life.”
  • Sold 6.1 million units until it was discontinued a year later
  • 233 million iphones in 2021
  • 128mb of memory and 4 gb of storage (now 4gb of storage and 128gb memory)
  • 2mp rear camera w no front facing camera
  • Take away: Who’s feeling old
• JD Power initial quality index hits record lows with an 11% increase in reported issues
  • On average 180 problems per 100 vehicles. Buick lowest at 139 v Polestar at 328
  • Remote work, chip shortage, and high prices cited as primary reasons
  • David Amodeo, director of global automotive at J.D. Power, said  "In general, initial quality has shown steady improvement throughout the history of this study, so the decline this year is disappointing — yet understandable. Automakers continue to launch vehicles that are more and more technologically complex in an era in which there have been many shortages of critical components to support them."
  • Releasing vehicles without certain expected features and infotainment systems account for a significant number of reported problems
  • Take away: Any perceived ‘problem’ is going to reflect on the dealer. In many of these cases, more communication and delivery attention could have reduced these points of frustration. That IS in your control. 
• According to the APA, more people (especially millennials (48%)) want more ‘mind space’ and less noise
  • 32% of adults (48% Millennials 37% Gen Z Adults, 32% Gen X, 14% Boomers, 3% Older adults) are so stressed they struggle to make everyday decisions like what to wear.
  • Brand marketing has been about dominating headspace however savvy brands are doing so by giving consumers some of that space back
    • Nike highlights mental wellness on par w physical achievement
    • UK retailer Selfridges has a quite hour of shopping w no music or screens
  • A McKinsey study shows that in an 8 week period, people have adopted more digital communication means than would hav

Join Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.

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