Customer Adoption and Change Management
Each time, the feature didn’t feel necessary in the moment. But that discomfort? It was strategic conditioning — a “future prep” cycle.
Mark Saymen
6/13/20251 min read
🚨 Apple Just Gave Us a Masterclass in Sustainable Change
And it has nothing to do with specs — and everything to do with how people change.
With the introduction of liquid glass displays, Apple isn’t just launching a new material.
It’s training users to accept a transparent future.
At first glance, the idea of transparent, curved glass across iPhones, iPads, and Watches may feel unnecessary — even uncomfortable.
But that’s the point.
🧠 Apple’s Change Strategy Is Psychological, Not Just Technical
They’ve done this before:
🎧 Removed headphone jacks before wireless AirPods were mainstream
🔌 Eliminated USB-A ports before most accessories supported USB-C
🧭 Switched from physical buttons to gestures (remember the Home button?)
📲 Replaced the iPhone SIM tray in some markets to make eSIM adoption inevitable
Each time, the feature didn’t feel necessary in the moment.
But that discomfort? It was strategic conditioning — a “future prep” cycle.
💡 And it goes even deeper.
Steve Jobs had the iPad ready before the iPhone.
But he didn’t launch it — because people weren’t ready to accept that much glass without first trusting the phone.
He paced the change — slowly expanding the user's tolerance for new screen formats, gestures, app behaviors, and UI metaphors.
🔄 The Takeaway for Leaders Driving Change:
Whether you’re introducing AI, new processes, or cultural shifts — don’t just launch innovation.
Design on-ramps to it.
✅ Normalize discomfort early
✅ Introduce transitional features
✅ Let people live in the future for a while — even if they don’t fully need it yet
♻️ The Change Loop Apple Follows:
Remove something familiar
Replace it with something slightly premature
Refine it until it feels indispensable
Scale it into the next standard
That’s sustainable transformation — not just technical rollout, but emotional architecture.
📱So no — liquid glass isn't about design flair.
It’s a preview of how change is seeded.
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